What is the best free ASL program available?

ASL is unlike all other, spoken languages. It must be approached in a unique way.

First it is imperative to recognize that ASL is every bit a foreign language. It is not based on English. You do not simply Sign English words according to English word order (syntax) nor do you use English grammar. We do use many English words, but we tend to use them very differently than you do. (COW can be used to mean "not interested".)

Just generating a stream of Signed English nouns and verbs is not a language. That is gibberish. And there is a lot more to ASL than just making Signs. There are a number of indispensible techniques that must be used for Signs to make sense.

ASL is a very unique, complex foreign language that has its own syntax. It is essentially the opposite of English. ASL has its own semantics, slang, idioms, expressions, and so forth. There is no such thing as "English Sign Language".

Go to http://lifeprint.com/ . Dr. Bill, a brilliant Deaf man who has a PhD in linguistics and who teaches ASL at university, has free virtual classes that you can take-- in order. It is very important to start with the ASL basics and build according to a plan that introduces various aspects of the language and how it works-- to include ASL grammar and syntax. You should learn what a wise teacher has organized for you rather than what you want to know.

You can also take $5 modules with Rob at http://www.westwoodasl.com/ .

Both of these professors are Deaf and experienced, highly capable, credentialed, licensed teachers. You need to be guided through a programme rather than poking around in the dark on your own.

There are countless other "ASL" sites, but I cannot recommend any of them. (Including that very popular one in Texas.) What they teach is not really ASL and it is not what most Deaf adults really use. These sites have a strong Hearing affiliation-- which is largely corrupt and useless. You will only get misled, confused, and create bad habits that are hard to break. Why invest in Signs that you cannot use in the real world?

Most "Signing" on the web is nothing but rubbish. Start with the two sites above, get a lay of the land, then you can venture out-- when you can discern fact from fiction.

Read as many college ASL text books as you can find. (For now, avoid all "Sign" books available at retail. Again, most of them are from a fantasy world.) Study all that you can written by celebrated scholars such as William Stokoe and Tom Humphries-Carol Padden. (The latter is a husband-wife team. [She is Deaf.]) Focus on grammar and Deaf culture. Be sure to form proper handshapes, and place and move your Signs correctly. The slightest departures change meaning.

If you want to know about ASL, the language of Deaf people, consult Deaf people-- not Hearing.

Then, after you have learned some of the basics, go out and see if you can find some nice Deaf adults who will tolerate you. It isn't easy to break into Deaf circles, but it can be done if you approach it correctly-- on the down-low. (Never, ever expect for Deafs to be your free teachers! They meet to socialize with other Deafs-- not to work for you!)

I am Deaf, a native ASL Signer of thirty years, a nurse, a Sociologist, an ASL teacher and tutour, and an authour of various ASL media. I have lived and Signed all over the United States, so I am well-versed in regional Signing. It is my mission to dispel myths and urban legends regarding Deafs and ASL. See my other posts for more information.

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Contact a vicinity university that presents ASL categories and speak with the instructor. He/she is going to inform you what to do and the situation you will have to move to uncover a signing companion. Provide an evidence on your economic situtation to the trainer in addition as they could also be competent to present you an obsolete textbook to utilize. Other resources of advantage potentially a state university for the deaf, the department of Human offerings, State Vocational Rehabilition.