Can you please sign slower?

by Jessica

I love your website, and the fact that you're teaching ASL for FREE!!

But sometimes I have some trouble following everything that you're doing because it's a little fast. Everything else is awesome!

Answer:

Hi Jessica,

Thank you so much for your kind comments about my site! I'm so glad that you're able to benefit from it!

I do have a few reasons for signing faster in the videos, though. One reason is because it doesn't really matter at that point. I don't expect you to be able to follow everything that I'm saying. That's when I like you to focus on what you're looking for in what I'm signing--whether it be a number or a fingerspelled word, etc. Because even when you're a very skilled signer, you won't be able to pick up everything someone is signing to you. Most of the time, you understand what they're saying based on context, handshapes, movements, etc. and not on each individual sign. I try to teach that a bit early because when I finally figured that out, I was so used to understanding each individual sign that it was difficult to learn how to decipher the signs I didn't know.

And, signing faster gives some students the ability to learn advanced signing early on if they want to. A lot of students watch the videos over and over and over until they understand it, and it gets easier and easier as they move on. I think that's a huge advantage compared to in-person classes because students really can learn at their own pace. But, of course, like I said, understanding everything in the videos is not absolutely necessary for learning ASL. The signing speed also helps people who have signed before to brush up on their signing a bit faster.

So, all in all, it's not absolutely necessary for you to understand everything in the videos, but being able to watch them over and over does give you the ability to do so if you want to :)

God bless,

Michelle Jay