Heya!
This will be my last blog post regarding this group that me and other teachers have taught in the past 9 weeks. To be honest with everyone, I believe that only 5 missionaries out of 15 will not be fluent in sign language after their mission. It's sad to think about that, but I seriously hope that they'll prove me wrong. The reason why I believe that is because their first 9 weeks, they have shown a little motivation in learning the language and are not very acceptable of critiques from teachers. To become fluent and sign LIKE a native ASL signer, one must love the language and seek improvement everyday.
I have included two videos to help you recognize the difference between two group of signers. The first one shows a non-native signer signing a song. The second one is from Dack Virnig who's a talented ASL storyteller from Fremont, California.
You can see that he's signing, but to me, he's not clear and shows that he's not native. I can tell his love for ASL and that he'll be amazing in the near future. Now, here's Dack's story. He has many stories on his YouTube channel and you can check it out here.
I know you all can recognize the HUGE differences between those two videos. We all want our students to be able to sign like Dack Virnig and many other ASL storytellers someday. Native ASL signers have the conceptual approach in their head and it comes natively when they express their language. Non-native signers have to think of the conceptual approach they're going to make before signing. There are many ways to learn ASL, but my belief is the immersion method and being able to express yourself. What good is the language if you're not able to express yourself in that language? We all should strive to achieve that if we're learning another language, such as ASL.
It was great writing this blog and sharing my insights with everyone! I know a lot of you teach ASL, interpret and all that who have received formal training in the language and I respect all of you for what you do. I have not taken any classes regarding to ASL except one class at BYU, ASL 301 - Deaf Culture. I feel that if I have the desire to learn more about ASL, I'll be able to appreciate my own language much more.
Thanks everyone! So long!
Austin
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
9 weeks OVER! Final Report
Heya!
So, the missionaries that I've been teaching in the past 9 weeks are now officially gone! Only three remain because they got delayed, two of them are going to DC and one sister is going to Portland. The elders going to DC will leave on March 29th, while the sister is battling a foot injury and once it heals, she'll be able to leave. We will receive 7 new missionaries on Wednesday and I'm thrilled to start this process once again with them.
As I look back at the first week of their MTC training... I realized how much they have progressed in the language! Some days are incredibly frustrating, and some are really wonderful. I believe that everyone I have taught will improve their ASL and be fluent in the language in 2 years. For me, I always appreciate it when someone learns ASL and uses it for right reasons and to help the deaf community. I am truly thankful for the missionaries I have taught in the past 9 weeks. Not only I taught them, but by their willingness and determination to learn have taught me several lessons within my own life.
I figured that procrastination isn't the best thing to do, and the missionaries at the MTC always encourage me to finish my homework, studies, and such. They are truly a strong influence for me. Now, their language are not fluent, but they have learned the basics of how to communicate with people in ASL, especially to the people they will be teaching about Jesus Christ. It feels great knowing that my hard work has paid off and they have an ASL base to depart into the field of work and build their language from there.
I found a quite funny video collection of a deaf comedian named John Maucere, aka SuperDeafy. In these videos, he interacts with normal deaf people at deaf expos all over the nation. Check it out at this link - SUPERDEAFY
Thanks everyone for following this blog post! Next week's post will be about "from an ASL student to a native ASL signer" That should be interesting because I had one companion on my mission who became a native ASL signer even though he knew little once he entered the MTC. It is possible for anyone to achieve that through hard work.
So long guys and gals!
Austin
So, the missionaries that I've been teaching in the past 9 weeks are now officially gone! Only three remain because they got delayed, two of them are going to DC and one sister is going to Portland. The elders going to DC will leave on March 29th, while the sister is battling a foot injury and once it heals, she'll be able to leave. We will receive 7 new missionaries on Wednesday and I'm thrilled to start this process once again with them.
As I look back at the first week of their MTC training... I realized how much they have progressed in the language! Some days are incredibly frustrating, and some are really wonderful. I believe that everyone I have taught will improve their ASL and be fluent in the language in 2 years. For me, I always appreciate it when someone learns ASL and uses it for right reasons and to help the deaf community. I am truly thankful for the missionaries I have taught in the past 9 weeks. Not only I taught them, but by their willingness and determination to learn have taught me several lessons within my own life.
I figured that procrastination isn't the best thing to do, and the missionaries at the MTC always encourage me to finish my homework, studies, and such. They are truly a strong influence for me. Now, their language are not fluent, but they have learned the basics of how to communicate with people in ASL, especially to the people they will be teaching about Jesus Christ. It feels great knowing that my hard work has paid off and they have an ASL base to depart into the field of work and build their language from there.
I found a quite funny video collection of a deaf comedian named John Maucere, aka SuperDeafy. In these videos, he interacts with normal deaf people at deaf expos all over the nation. Check it out at this link - SUPERDEAFY
Thanks everyone for following this blog post! Next week's post will be about "from an ASL student to a native ASL signer" That should be interesting because I had one companion on my mission who became a native ASL signer even though he knew little once he entered the MTC. It is possible for anyone to achieve that through hard work.
So long guys and gals!
Austin
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Expressing Yourself in ASL
Hi all!
Right now in the MTC is a very critical time for the missionaries. They're about to leave in a week, and we've already had several leave early. Our focus is to help them prepare to be able to express themselves in ASL with deaf people. This district is definitely doing a good job at it, but several of the missionaries have not reached that point in their language yet. It is difficult for everyone to reach the point in their language learning to be able to express it naturally with native signers. To be honest with you, aside from several missionaries who are already fluent in ASL, only one elder is able to achieve this goal. The rest of the missionaries aren't as good but they're working hard towards that goal. It is essential for anyone to achieve the best as they can, and I truly believe that in two years (and 18 months) of their service, they will be able to express themselves in ASL anytime and anywhere.
Now, expressing yourself in ASL has some really confusing signs or gestures that you may not notice. I have included a video example from me and my friends after night-skiing at Brighton. Look at what we're signing and you will have no idea what we're saying. The point is that we're expressing something in ASL within our group of friends. It's pretty much an inside joke, really.
If the missionaries are able to come up with something similar to this to express a meaning or a description of something then they're making steps in expressing themselves naturally in ASL. For myself, it wasn't easy for me to finally understand how to express myself in English and it took me years and years to finally sharpen that skill. Here's a picture of a group of deaf people who are in part of an ASL poetry group. They express their poems in ASL, which is something I can't really do, haha.
This is a group named DeafJam.
There are various ways of expressing yourself in ASL, and there are ridiculous possibilities of how we can come up with a sign for something. This language has symbolic means and I love ASL so much for it.
I hope you all enjoyed this post!
Austin
Right now in the MTC is a very critical time for the missionaries. They're about to leave in a week, and we've already had several leave early. Our focus is to help them prepare to be able to express themselves in ASL with deaf people. This district is definitely doing a good job at it, but several of the missionaries have not reached that point in their language yet. It is difficult for everyone to reach the point in their language learning to be able to express it naturally with native signers. To be honest with you, aside from several missionaries who are already fluent in ASL, only one elder is able to achieve this goal. The rest of the missionaries aren't as good but they're working hard towards that goal. It is essential for anyone to achieve the best as they can, and I truly believe that in two years (and 18 months) of their service, they will be able to express themselves in ASL anytime and anywhere.
Now, expressing yourself in ASL has some really confusing signs or gestures that you may not notice. I have included a video example from me and my friends after night-skiing at Brighton. Look at what we're signing and you will have no idea what we're saying. The point is that we're expressing something in ASL within our group of friends. It's pretty much an inside joke, really.
If the missionaries are able to come up with something similar to this to express a meaning or a description of something then they're making steps in expressing themselves naturally in ASL. For myself, it wasn't easy for me to finally understand how to express myself in English and it took me years and years to finally sharpen that skill. Here's a picture of a group of deaf people who are in part of an ASL poetry group. They express their poems in ASL, which is something I can't really do, haha.
This is a group named DeafJam.
There are various ways of expressing yourself in ASL, and there are ridiculous possibilities of how we can come up with a sign for something. This language has symbolic means and I love ASL so much for it.
I hope you all enjoyed this post!
Austin
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Interpreting
Hello again!
First of all, I wanted to tell you that the previous blog about classifiers has its "iffies" because of a new thing named depicting verbs. so, that linguistic thing will be figured out since it's all new to me! Thanks everyone!
Now, this week's topic will be about interpreting. I'm pretty sure everyone is aware of how interpreting works just as i described it in my previous blog. For the deaf, we usually prefer interpreters who are understandable. Sometimes we face some interpreters that are NOT good, or those that are REALLY good. The deaf tend to fall into a habit of preference and they request for a specific interpreter just because they understand one better from another one.
Why is that? Let me share an ongoing story in the MTC right now. As of now, we have one deaf elder and sister. They require interpretation for all meetings and such, just like me. Unfortunately, the MTC isn't so great at providing quality interpreters at all times. They have the tendency to look for volunteers, which normally do not carry a certification to interpret, and end up trying to figure out the difference between the sign for chocolate and church. PATHETIC! So, the hard truth is that not everyone can interpret once they know ASL. Interpretation is a professional job and it requires a lot of work to be a good one. To express my frustration about interpreters at the MTC, they have not improved in the past 2 years.
If anyone has a meeting or a job interview with a deaf person, it is critical to get an interpreter so they can ensure the information will be exchanged from the deaf person to a hearing person and the other way around properly and professionally. Communication is a vital tool in cooperation. I strongly believe that interpreters should be talented and certified before they can officially interpret for anyone!
Of course, this doesn't mean you should back out completely of trying to help a deaf person place an order at mcdonalds. usually, it is polite to ask first if they need help, and if they allow you to do so, try your best! I feel touched when people come up to me and try to help me out with the communication issues I have sometimes during my day. To be honest, I can do it myself and most deaf people can, but if you offer them help and they accept... You're doing a good job! :D
Here's a video that shows a glimpse of a student in the intepretation program interpreting for a boot camp class. ENJOY!
It is not our goal to have the missionaries become professional interpreters after their missions. Our goal with them is to have them be fluent in ASL so they can interact and teach deaf people. Once they're fluent, they have the option of interpreting after their missions since it's a good job and pays a lot! It is not easy to become an interpreter, but once you succeed, it's worth it!
And here's a funny video of how interpreters are NOT supposed to act.
Have a great week!
Austin
First of all, I wanted to tell you that the previous blog about classifiers has its "iffies" because of a new thing named depicting verbs. so, that linguistic thing will be figured out since it's all new to me! Thanks everyone!
Now, this week's topic will be about interpreting. I'm pretty sure everyone is aware of how interpreting works just as i described it in my previous blog. For the deaf, we usually prefer interpreters who are understandable. Sometimes we face some interpreters that are NOT good, or those that are REALLY good. The deaf tend to fall into a habit of preference and they request for a specific interpreter just because they understand one better from another one.
Why is that? Let me share an ongoing story in the MTC right now. As of now, we have one deaf elder and sister. They require interpretation for all meetings and such, just like me. Unfortunately, the MTC isn't so great at providing quality interpreters at all times. They have the tendency to look for volunteers, which normally do not carry a certification to interpret, and end up trying to figure out the difference between the sign for chocolate and church. PATHETIC! So, the hard truth is that not everyone can interpret once they know ASL. Interpretation is a professional job and it requires a lot of work to be a good one. To express my frustration about interpreters at the MTC, they have not improved in the past 2 years.
If anyone has a meeting or a job interview with a deaf person, it is critical to get an interpreter so they can ensure the information will be exchanged from the deaf person to a hearing person and the other way around properly and professionally. Communication is a vital tool in cooperation. I strongly believe that interpreters should be talented and certified before they can officially interpret for anyone!
Of course, this doesn't mean you should back out completely of trying to help a deaf person place an order at mcdonalds. usually, it is polite to ask first if they need help, and if they allow you to do so, try your best! I feel touched when people come up to me and try to help me out with the communication issues I have sometimes during my day. To be honest, I can do it myself and most deaf people can, but if you offer them help and they accept... You're doing a good job! :D
Here's a video that shows a glimpse of a student in the intepretation program interpreting for a boot camp class. ENJOY!
It is not our goal to have the missionaries become professional interpreters after their missions. Our goal with them is to have them be fluent in ASL so they can interact and teach deaf people. Once they're fluent, they have the option of interpreting after their missions since it's a good job and pays a lot! It is not easy to become an interpreter, but once you succeed, it's worth it!
And here's a funny video of how interpreters are NOT supposed to act.
Have a great week!
Austin
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