@Mayt 23 July 2021 edited

Learning sign language

When I was a child, **learning new things** is so **easy**. Everything that was taught, **easily** **sunk in**. Everything that's been instructed, **digested in**. That's just so easy. Maybe because my **brain** was so **spacious** that everything that entered is welcome. That time when I studied and explored **sign language**. I was in **Elementary grade** when I learned another language. It was so **easy** and I got **high grades** when it comes to **exams**. Well, not for all coz we started in a group of **50 people** in a class. And end up with just **20**. It happened so fast that they **give up** learning it coz they can't. It's just so **hard for them**. Not for me coz, I have my Mom and Dad and my older brother who's also in a class. In general, learning **sign language** is **not that easy**. Imagine learning a language that will **change** the way you **communicate**. From **speaking** to **signing**. From **talking** to being **silent**. From **opening your mouth** and utter a word to just **using your hand** and declare the message. That's **hard** indeed. But we graduated and get a **certificate** in that class. And until now, that language is still **useful** when it comes to communication. Why? Well, the **deaf** can be found **everywhere**. And one thing and easiest way to communicate to them and understand them is through **signing**. Others use **pictures** or **writing down words** just to express themselves. But still, the **natural way** is through **sign**. But, how did we learn it? And didn't forget to use it until now? Reasonably, one way to simply learn a new language is to **join a class**. In this way, you can easily adapt to the language coz you have other people to practice it. You can also see how you all **struggle from learning** and you can compare the hardest part of it **without giving up**. Also, you have them for **motivation**, so... It's easy for you to learn and comprehend. You will just **pay money** to learn. On my part, we pay **$0.40** for **every lesson**. It can **support the teacher** in her travel and food. But, today... Some try to **learn** on their **own** without having a teacher or joining a class. Well, it's somewhat **practical but** a **harder** way to learn. You can learn some words, use some **websites or apps** to help you more, and practice it by actually using it to the person who has the same language. Another way of effectively learning a new language is to **learn it step by step**. Don't learn from it once. Remember that our **brain cannot absorb everything** once. We need to feed it little by little. So 20 words can be learned in one day I think. And don't forget to **take down notes**, every new word that you learn. In sign language, we jot down the word and **draw how you sign** it. It's funny sometimes how your brain can be so creative, that you understand what you draw, but if other people try to recognize it, they can't. So that's how we learn every word in sign, we draw it on our way. As long as we signer understand and remember how to sign it after.  Not only sign is needed to be learned here. But the way we **construct one sentence** is also different. We understood in school that one sentence should be constructed with **proper grammar**. If not, we cannot be understood. But in sign language, everything changes. We need to **jumble the grammar** in a way deaf can understand. For example, instead of saying, ***"What is your name?"*** We rearrange it by, ***"You name what?"*** See? It's all different, isn't it? So, it's entirely hard to learn. But if you love what you do, you'll enjoy it sooner. Especially when you can already communicate and understand every sign that they dictate. Now, another thing that you can do to easily learn is, **do not to be afraid of practicing and using it** with a person who certainly knows the language. For example, on our part... We need to **talk to a deaf**. It's precisely hard at first especially when you're a newbie... But one thing that is good to them is that **they don't judge you**. They can teach you little by little. And they're so **patient** in teaching. If they know that you're learning, **they will appreciate you** coz you at least did an effort just to communicate with them. So it's **favorable** to them even though you're not that good at signing. This is also applicable to other languages that you're learning right now. Another thing that we need to learn in sign language is **facial expression**. I already stated this in one of my articles entitled **"My hidden talent"**. *(Just click the title if you haven't read it yet. But finish this first. 🤭)* Okay. So deaf cannot just rely on your hand that sign, but also on your **facial expressions**. They can easily understand your message if you know how to use the **proper expression**. For example, if you are asking **yes/no questions**... You need to **raise your eyebrows**. https://read.cash/@Mayt/my-hidden-talent-353b3f9f

It's like having a **rising intonation** when you are speaking. But if you are asking the **wh questions**, you need to **lower your eyebrows**.

This expression is typically **used for questions** using the signs: **Who, what, when, where, how, how many,** and **why**. Like the **lower intonation** when speaking. See... It's so **complicated learning a new language**. But also **enjoyable** if you already can communicate and understand how it functions.  Source: Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash https://unsplash.com/@patrickian4?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText https://unsplash.com/s/photos/sign-language?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText