I am hearing... i'll admit it.

Damian DeGolier

Damian DeGolier

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Hello! I'm Damian, and I want to be honest and open. I love connecting with people from a lot of different cultures. I started to learn sign to communicate with my sister. She was a little older than I was and she taught me her language. However, she chose to stop learning sign and really stretch vocal skills. I think she has the right to connect how she wants. However, I stopped learning sign. I have a few deaf people in my local community and wanted to connect with them...

However, I'm a hearing person. I can't stop feeling that in some ways I am approaching on someone else's territory. How do you feel about hearing people learning ASL?
 
Welcome! I love it when people make an effort to communicate, even if it gets forgotten over time. It happens. Don't beat yourself up over it. You could always pick it up again if you would like. Learn a sign or two each day. :)
 
AlleyCat said:
Welcome! I love it when people make an effort to communicate, even if it gets forgotten over time. It happens. Don't beat yourself up over it. You could always pick it up again if you would like. Learn a sign or two each day. :)
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What advice do you give a hearing person who wants to learn ASL?
 
Welcome aboard...as for any advise...well...can you sign the alphabet? (A-Z)...perhaps practice it, become fluent and fast...then pick up other signs. One thing that does get on my last nerve (at times,,,LOL)...is someone coming up to me and trying to sign their name and forget how to make a letter...then asking me how to make that letter...then of course saying I'm sorry over and over....Patience is the key (as I keep telling myself). So patience is needed on both parts.
 
Welcome to AllDeaf forum. I have a feeling you will goof if you don't know anything about Deaf Culture. Also you don't know what it is like to be deaf. Just try not to ask silly questions which you might assume we are suppose to do or act. Learn about everything on the forum about our experiences. Just have fun here. :wave:
 
In the ASL class that I'm in now, through a local community college. The teacher told us at the beginning that she wants us to be able to comfortably have an initial conversation in sign. So she started out teaching us the alphabet. She basically said that it's the thing she wants us to become most fluent in. Because if you don't know the sign, you can at least ask for the sign by fingerspelling. Then we learned basic initial conversation type things. What, Where, When, Who, Why, How, and Numbers. Now we're learning foods, things about the house, family signs, and some common verbs like: have, like, know, understand. Now in our 4th week, she's been teaching us signs that are appropriate to our jobs. So for me, since I work in the medical field, she's been teaching us things like doctor, nurse, patient, sick, pain...So basically it was learn the very basics, then learn things that you will most likely need to talk about. People will often start with the basics. What do you do? Where are you from? What's your family like? Why are you learning ASL? Common questions that many new people will be curious about for a new person.
 
Bebonang said:
Welcome to AllDeaf forum. I have a feeling you will goof if you don't know anything about Deaf Culture. Also you don't know what it is like to be deaf. Just try not to ask silly questions which you might assume we are suppose to do or act. Learn about everything on the forum about our experiences. Just have fun here. :wave:
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Okay... I have to ask. What was a random deaf question that you have been asked?
 
AlleyCat said:
I would say the alphabet and numbers. Then conversational words. House, how are you, dogs, cats, family, food, that sort of thing. The rest comes easier after that.
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You know I am starting to really learn sign. and it is surprising how much people spell words. With my experiences with the deaf community has been awesome. People are patient. The open up. It has been awesome so far.
 
Im hearing too , my friend is hard of hearing and I'm learning ASL for her and I just wanted to get into the culture and in the community and I wanted to be able to speak to her and speak to everybody.
 
Alylexi said:
Im hearing too , my friend is hard of hearing and I'm learning ASL for her and I just wanted to get into the culture and in the community and I wanted to be able to speak to her and speak to everybody.
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That's awesome. It was a big thing for me to realize ASL isn't a signed English. But another language. With its own culture. which is pretty awesome! I am a very slow signer. But practice! we can spread sign to everyone.
 
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