Question of Goals

[RedCoyotesRose]

I see people asking why someone hearing would learn ASL. How important is it to you to know why?

I am curious because I am finding it difficult to pinpoint why I was drawn to ASL.

My Grandfather was severely HOH and refused to admit it so I watched him struggle with even the most basic interactions daily.

My partner and I both have a mild hearing loss. My partner's hearing is a bit worse than mine. Though for both of us, it continues to worsen as we age. (I am 39 and she is 31)

I worked retail for 15 years and have often found that customers who were having difficulty communicating with other employees came to me, whether it is because they did not hear, did not speak or did not speak English.

I have always been drawn to ASL. I learned the alphabet at a very young age. I finally have the opportunity to take classes and began to do so.

But I can not pinpoint exactly why I want to sign. I hope to continue taking sign and to participate in silent events so that I can better understand the Deaf culture.

I have made people feel that I am disrespectful and for that I sincerely apologize. I had been reading these discussions for quite awhile before I joined and I felt that I understood what would be disrespectful. Obviously, I was wrong.

I firmly believe that people do not truly learn anything until they have made a mistake. So, I feel that I am learning and I thank those who have corrected me for doing so kindly and gently.

But I really do wonder, is it truly important that I pinpoint exactly why I am learning ASL?

I believe that most everyone would benefit from learning ASL. I do not understand why segments of the population should be marginalized. I did not see the Deaf community as wanting to be isolated to the extent that they would prefer only Deaf and HOH people to know ASL. I do understand that ASL is not just a language but a piece of a fully developed culture. I want to learn more about the entire culture. But again, is it truly important that I can say exactly why?

To be clear, I have no intention of being an interpreter or in any way making a profit from ASL. I no longer work retail so it is not even to help my employer make a profit.

 

[dereksbicycles]

My girlfriend is taking ASL class for the sole reason to communicate with me. It has nothing to do with Deaf Education or being an interpreter. She is spending her own $$$ on ASL classes. I really appreciate it. It implies how far a person is willing to go to learn ASL for a relationship.

She does have a goal of opening a day care so learning ASL can go a long way. You never know who will end up at a day care.

 

[DeafCaroline]

I see people asking why someone hearing would learn ASL. How important is it to you to know why?

I am curious because I am finding it difficult to pinpoint why I was drawn to ASL.

My Grandfather was severely HOH and refused to admit it so I watched him struggle with even the most basic interactions daily.

My partner and I both have a mild hearing loss. My partner's hearing is a bit worse than mine. Though for both of us, it continues to worsen as we age. (I am 39 and she is 31)

I worked retail for 15 years and have often found that customers who were having difficulty communicating with other employees came to me, whether it is because they did not hear, did not speak or did not speak English.

I have always been drawn to ASL. I learned the alphabet at a very young age. I finally have the opportunity to take classes and began to do so.

But I can not pinpoint exactly why I want to sign. I hope to continue taking sign and to participate in silent events so that I can better understand the Deaf culture.

I have made people feel that I am disrespectful and for that I sincerely apologize. I had been reading these discussions for quite awhile before I joined and I felt that I understood what would be disrespectful. Obviously, I was wrong.

I firmly believe that people do not truly learn anything until they have made a mistake. So, I feel that I am learning and I thank those who have corrected me for doing so kindly and gently.

But I really do wonder, is it truly important that I pinpoint exactly why I am learning ASL?

I believe that most everyone would benefit from learning ASL. I do not understand why segments of the population should be marginalized. I did not see the Deaf community as wanting to be isolated to the extent that they would prefer only Deaf and HOH people to know ASL. I do understand that ASL is not just a language but a piece of a fully developed culture. I want to learn more about the entire culture. But again, is it truly important that I can say exactly why?

To be clear, I have no intention of being an interpreter or in any way making a profit from ASL. I no longer work retail so it is not even to help my employer make a profit.

I think one of the reasons why it's important to us to understand why a hearing person wants to learn ASL is to determine whether it's worth our time to answer their questions for a great majority of people who come here and say they want to learn ASL don't stick around nor commit to continue learning it. For many of them, it's "cool" but they don't take the time to really learn it for themselves and instead expect us to teach them because they're too lazy to go google ASL syntax themselves or too lazy to learn how to sign a song for their ASL class that they're taking to get a college credit. In fact, I would go so far as to say most hearing people who come here and say they want to learn ASL, they don't stick to it beyond ASL 101. It's a passing fad for most of them. The biggest give-a-way that they're here for selfish motives is when they get mad that we're not answering their questions when all the answers they need, they can find right here on AD threads if they care enough to take the time to read them.

So, we can't be bothered to waste our time dealing with those kinds of people. If a hearing person comes here and says that they want to learn ASL because they have a deaf family member, then we're happy to help. If they come here saying they want to learn ASL because Emmett on Switched at Birth is soooooo cute and now they want to date deaf guys, well, you can imagine we would roll our eyes and think "next!"

 

[RedCoyotesRose]

My girlfriend is taking ASL class for the sole reason to communicate with me. It has nothing to do with Deaf Education or being an interpreter. She is spending her own $$$ on ASL classes. I really appreciate it. It implies how far a person is willing to go to learn ASL for a relationship.

She does have a goal of opening a day care so learning ASL can go a long way. You never know who will end up at a day care.

She sounds like a keeper!

 

[RedCoyotesRose]

I think one of the reasons why it's important to us to understand why a hearing person wants to learn ASL is to determine whether it's worth our time to answer their questions for a great majority of people who come here and say they want to learn ASL don't stick around nor commit to continue learning it. For many of them, it's "cool" but they don't take the time to really learn it for themselves and instead expect us to teach them because they're too lazy to go google ASL syntax themselves or too lazy to learn how to sign a song for their ASL class that they're taking to get a college credit. In fact, I would go so far as to say most hearing people who come here and say they want to learn ASL, they don't stick to it beyond ASL 101. It's a passing fad for most of them. The biggest give-a-way that they're here for selfish motives is when they get mad that we're not answering their questions when all the answers they need, they can find right here on AD threads if they care enough to take the time to read them.

So, we can't be bothered to waste our time dealing with those kinds of people. If a hearing person comes here and says that they want to learn ASL because they have a deaf family member, then we're happy to help. If they come here saying they want to learn ASL because Emmett on Switched at Birth is soooooo cute and now they want to date deaf guys, well, you can imagine we would roll our eyes and think "next!"

Thank you do much for taking the time to explain! That makes so much sense!

Having been on GLBT forums, I know that there are those who come in and are "gawkers". No one wants to be the freak show for someone else's amusement and some of the visitors made it quite clear that this is what they thinking.

I did not realize that the Deaf community would have the same issue with "gawkers" as I do not see what there is to "gawk" at.

I don't need help with my homework

 

[deafdyke]

Thank you do much for taking the time to explain! That makes so much sense!

Having been on GLBT forums, I know that there are those who come in and are "gawkers". No one wants to be the freak show for someone else's amusement and some of the visitors made it quite clear that this is what they thinking.

I did not realize that the Deaf community would have the same issue with "gawkers" as I do not see what there is to "gawk" at.

I don't need help with my homework

Not gawkers.... More like OMG ASL sO TrEnDy! It's like those kids who are obessed with anime and thinks it's SO freaking tReNdY and the only thing about Japan (besides sushi) vs. kids who actually get into REAL Japanese culture.

 

[Anij]

Not gawkers.... More like OMG ASL sO TrEnDy! It's like those kids who are obessed with anime and thinks it's SO freaking tReNdY and the only thing about Japan (besides sushi) vs. kids who actually get into REAL Japanese culture.

Yeah ... it's sort of like ASL is their "flavour of the month".

Weekly we get I bet a dozen hearing people come here, thinking ASL is the coolest, neatest "thing they ever saw", sure their destined to be interpreters, wanting to have a bunch of deaf friends, maybe marry one etc.

Most post for a few months, never do the research to find their local Deaf Community, never take a proper ASL class, don't bother with learning grammar at all etc. Some have the nerve to tell us how "ASL should be" (ie "it should be like English, that would be better").

The part that worries me a bit to be honest is that it seems there are a LOT of "students teaching students" via webcams going on. I'm not talking about near fluent signers helping out some newbies to make sure they're forming their ABCs correctly, I mean large amounts of "ASL 101" or less people going online with each other and then "learning ASL together" (read: butchering ASL, forming signs wrong, not knowing anything about grammar etc) and then claiming to people online, or in person that they are "learning ASL" or "know ASL" .
It's sort of like a bunch of uni-lingual English speakers sitting around a library table with Mandarin -to-English dictionaries and "learning it together" without a Mandarin speaker insight (or even available to contact for help).

 

[kellycat]

That's a good point, Anij. I think finding someone to practice with is great if you have no connection to local Deaf people, but teaching should be left to someone who actually knows the language.

We can hope that it's likely that people who don't know about language acquisition probably won't teach in an effective way and the "student" won't really LEARN much, but may feel encouraged to seek out real classes? Maybe it will be more than a passing fad.

 

[metalangel]

Devil's advocate: You have to try something before you can be sure that you want to do it (whether to learn for your own interest or for a future career). It's one thing to think signing is cool, but it's another to then learn some, realize how much is going to be involved, and want to keep going.

Proper teaching is key, though, I agree. I tried to learn to rollerblade, and as soon as I left that nice flat parking lot I was all over the place. On the other hand, I had motorcycle lessons every week for three months and went from the instructor asking me "are you sure you want to do this?" to passing my test the first time.

 

[JanatheShort]

Well, for me, I have had trouble finding an ASL speaker to practice with. The deaf where I live don't seem to have a strong community, (from my attempts to find them, and from the experience of another AllDeaf member who went to school here) and it is too far for me to drive the hour and a half to bigger cities for socials and such... if I could actually find them. The university here is more than a year away from having an ASL class. So... my options are ASL videos, practicing with students, or don't learn at all. I'm trying out the video option... Going back through the Bravos series!

 

[Mountain Man]

The part that worries me a bit to be honest is that it seems there are a LOT of "students teaching students" via webcams going on. I'm not talking about near fluent signers helping out some newbies to make sure they're forming their ABCs correctly, I mean large amounts of "ASL 101" or less people going online with each other and then "learning ASL together" (read: butchering ASL, forming signs wrong, not knowing anything about grammar etc) and then claiming to people online, or in person that they are "learning ASL" or "know ASL" .

Ditto the ones who claim to have taught themselves ASL.