QUESTION: How can I immerse myself in ASL conversation remotely?

[Jax94]

Hi I'm Jax, hearing, and a college student. I asked myself this question, and ended up making a list.

1. Watch Movies in ASL. 

2. Watch Vlogs in ASL on youtube.

3. Start a video diary where you only use ASL.

4. Practice ASL conversation in online chatrooms.

5. Join a social ASL learning group online. For example, you could join a discord server or a fb group.

6. If you have a friend who knows ASL talk with them often. 

7. Join an online ASL immersion event. 

8. Hire a virtual tutor to practice ASL conversation.

9. Find a friend to plan and schedule a day together, where you will use 'no voice' and only ASL. 

10. Attend a free virtual meeting/seminar that relates to ASL or Deaf Culture.

 

If you have additional suggestions please feel free to leave them in the comments below. I look forward to your response.

[AmberASL]

Hi Jax, that's an excellent list.  Yesterday I saw the youtube TED talk on "learn any language in six months", and it has amazingly helpful tips that will speed up the process.  It's good to look up and it reminds me of a dream I has last month, where I signed to someone that "my signing reception really bad", and they signed back (as my subconscious), with a signed response that I couldn't make out.  Luckily another person walked through and voiced the translation, which seemed to fit the signs, saying, "I'm in the same boat as you"

I'll just print the comment that explained the TED talk in shorthand now:

- Focus on language content that you like      Use new language to communicate from day 1     When you first understand the message you will unconsciously acquire the language   Physiological training      Psycho-physiological state in training

- Listen a lot (brain soaking)       Focus on getting the meaning first (before the words)       Start mixing what you know         Focus on the core       Get a language parent        Copy the face/hands        "Direct connect" to mental images

  You can always go to different stores in your city and if you're lucky find someone Deaf who works somewhere that you can also shop at, like a food store. Then tell them you're learning sign and are practicing.  Just remember that this is a huge imposition to begin with, just think if you're good at math and someone randomly comes up to you and asks you to help them learn mathematics, or some other thing, completely out of the blue, surprise!

Also you can go to the local community college and talk to the ASL teachers, who ended up giving me a classlist and circled the ASL classes, which gave me a crazy idea that I could give the classlist to the manager of the store where the Deaf person works and magically create a signing place.  I can't say if that would be a good thing, possibly go to a place you already go frequently or that you work at and suggest that it become an ASL signing place, you never know.

And I might still even take the second class in the list, if I can confirm that it will indeed help me through the level I'm at now.

Anyway, keep showing yourself as many different examples of signing from as many different people as possible and practice moving your hands fluidly in signing, even repeating many times to find all the little efficiencies in motion.

Glossing, look through as many examples of ASL glossing as possible, and compare the written ASL labels to the English sentences.