Wednesday, January 28, 2004
The class was moved to a room on the first floor. I like the new class room much better than the first one. It is bigger and closer to the main entrance of the building.
Prior to class, we moved our desks in a circle to better view ourselves. The teacher asked us to sign words that used the 5-handshape. Each person did around five signs before we began our lesson- chapter ten.
The chapter dealt with modals and how they are structured as statements, questions and answers. Its odd how such verbs are structured in ASL. When asking questions, sign the modal at the beginning of the sentence. I must practice and review this grammar rule!
Next week we are going to review chapters 11 and 12. What is left of the book will be covered in this intermediate class.
vocabulary
thinking- moves in circles near forehead.
cry- move fingers only; not hands.
catch (as in “catch someone/something”) grasp index of left hand w/ right.
vocabulary- uses v-handshape.
Prior to class, we moved our desks in a circle to better view ourselves. The teacher asked us to sign words that used the 5-handshape. Each person did around five signs before we began our lesson- chapter ten.
The chapter dealt with modals and how they are structured as statements, questions and answers. Its odd how such verbs are structured in ASL. When asking questions, sign the modal at the beginning of the sentence. I must practice and review this grammar rule!
Next week we are going to review chapters 11 and 12. What is left of the book will be covered in this intermediate class.
vocabulary
thinking- moves in circles near forehead.
cry- move fingers only; not hands.
catch (as in “catch someone/something”) grasp index of left hand w/ right.
vocabulary- uses v-handshape.
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Last night the class was not all I had expected. The teacher was deaf and his instruction was good but odd. It's not everyday that I interact with a deaf person. His hands were moving fast and if I turned my eyes away for an second I felt I missed a vital point. It was visually tiring and I sense the same from my former ASL1 classmates. It will be an adjustment for all of us I feel having a deaf teacher.
The teacher reviewed the alphabet and numbers (1-10) and gave the class a brief history of the Deaf culture. He also spoke about the importance of idioms and we went over chapter nine in the book.
The first class was not too eventful and sadly next weeks class is cancelled because it’s a holiday. We did get two assignments: Find some signs that use the 5-handshape and create a sentence, in ASL grammar, from one of the signs in the chapter (9). I need more of a challenge!
I asked the teacher for information on local deaf gatherings and he only knew of one- a meeting in a church. I will not attend a church to be with the deaf. There must be public gatherings somewhere. I will call my local hospitals; I will look in the newspaper, and telephone this local sports bar that (from what I understand) has monthly deaf gatherings. I may also e-mail my formal ASL 1 instructor to find out if she knows of any deaf gatherings around town.
If I can't find any deaf folks to practice what I am learning, then all is for not. It is vital that I interact with the deaf as much as possible or I will never progress with American Sign Language.
The teacher reviewed the alphabet and numbers (1-10) and gave the class a brief history of the Deaf culture. He also spoke about the importance of idioms and we went over chapter nine in the book.
The first class was not too eventful and sadly next weeks class is cancelled because it’s a holiday. We did get two assignments: Find some signs that use the 5-handshape and create a sentence, in ASL grammar, from one of the signs in the chapter (9). I need more of a challenge!
I asked the teacher for information on local deaf gatherings and he only knew of one- a meeting in a church. I will not attend a church to be with the deaf. There must be public gatherings somewhere. I will call my local hospitals; I will look in the newspaper, and telephone this local sports bar that (from what I understand) has monthly deaf gatherings. I may also e-mail my formal ASL 1 instructor to find out if she knows of any deaf gatherings around town.
If I can't find any deaf folks to practice what I am learning, then all is for not. It is vital that I interact with the deaf as much as possible or I will never progress with American Sign Language.
