This here is a story which will inspire you to learn ASL online - Carlos Lopez of Littleton, Colorado, USA, was about to miss his young son’s birthday for the 2nd year. So, he felt he had to generate a tremendously one of a kind approach to convey his well wishes to the boy on this special occasion.
Carlos was at sea serving for his country in the United States Navy then, so he's got an acceptable reason behind being away from his family and home for a prolonged period. Considering that CJ is deaf, Carlos thought of integrating American Sign Language (ASL) throughout the boy’s taped video birthday message. With this, he requested the aid of his associates. Many then agreed to learn ASL phrases and communicate “Happy Birthday” and other positive thoughts to CJ by signing to him in the video clip.
Carlos was standing by himself in the video in the beginning, conveying his affection by signing birthday wishes to his family. The scene then moves to a montage of photos of Carlos, his wife, and their children enjoying themselves at Disneyland, in the woods, and in other fun places. After that, the scene changes to a shot of Carlos and a band of sailors signing their birthday message to CJ on the ship’s deck.
In another video footage inside Carlos’ home, the Lopez family is reacting happily to Carlos’ astonishingly thoughtful and creative gesture to his son. The kids are smiling broadly and gesturing happily, and his wife is also looking quite impressed.
The Importance of Learning Sign Language
The benefits of learning sign language are extensive. ASL is amongst the most frequently used languages in the United States today which is the fourth-most frequently studied second language at the country’s colleges and universities. In addition, at least 35 US states acknowledge ASL as being a modern language within their statewide public school systems curricula.
US and Canadian citizens who are either deaf or hard of hearing, mainly employ ASL. This particular group includes approximately 250,000-500,000 individuals in the United States and Canada. And a lot of them communicate with ASL as their principal language privately and in public.
In addition, ASL is used by the following groups in these modern times:
- the hearing children of parents that are deaf or hard of hearing;
- the hearing siblings and extended family members of the Deaf and Hard of hearing;
- hearing individuals who are getting to be deaf or hard of hearing and therefore are learning ASL from Deaf individuals; and
- a growing number of hearing individuals who are learning ASL as a subsequent language in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools.
Hence, having knowledge in ASL allows you to interact with a broad variety of hearing, Hard of hearing, and Deaf people. These include students in mainstream and deaf schools or universities as well as Deaf or Hard of hearing business people, health care workers, along with other community members. Moreover, conversing through ASL improves the quality of interactions for hearing individuals who have Deaf or Hard of hearing members of the family or close friends.
Other Advantages of Learning and Using ASL
Despite the fact that learning ASL demands a somewhat different process and skill set than learning a spoken language, it still provides a rich learning experience. Additionally, it leads to a tremendously useful and fulfilling capability to have.
With this in mind, listed below are some of the other advantages of learning sign language for hearing individuals, according to the experiences of countless ASL learners world-wide.
It provides the brain a beneficial workout.
Learning an oral language stimulates the brain and helps to keep it healthy. Getting to be familiar with sign language is no different. Particularly, learning ASL enhances your cognitive skills, creative thinking capacity, brain functions, memory, spatial awareness, and more. And just like riding a bike, you won't forget how to use it.
It allows you to be more diverse.
If you know sign language, you'll be able to reach and communicate with the multitude of individuals in the Deaf/HoH community. Expertise in signing also equips you to deal with any communication obstacles and broaden the scope of one's community.
It introduces you to the Deaf/Hoh culture and community.
When you learn a new oral language, you learn a great deal about the history, traditions, and individuals of the region where that language is spoken. And the same holds true for learning sign language considering that the Deaf culture and Deaf community possess a rich historical background and way of life.
It helps familiarize you with all the issue of deaf recognition.
Learning and ultizing sign language by natural means, connects you with the Deaf/Hoh population and gives you a deeper comprehension of the challenges they encounter. This situation, in turn, means that you will learn more about deaf recognition and possibly grow to be interested in working to raise deaf awareness inside your local community and beyond.
Learn ASL online to help make the experience simpler and much more effortless.
It is now incredibly easy to learn ASL online. The world wide web is awash with high-quality ASL courses and learning methods such as Start ASL to assist you to quickly and effectively become experienced in the language.
For that reason, if you feel motivated via the beautiful story of Carlos Lopez with the exceptional thoughtful use of ASL regarding his son, think about seeking methods to learn ASL online yourself. Doing so may be the best birthday present or holiday present you can actually give to a special someone!