American Sign Language & Its Place in Education Today

Language is something that connects people to one another. Today, we use language as a way to share thoughts, ideas, and information. Learning a language allows one to feel connected to a whole new group of ideas, people, and their culture. Additionally, one’s personal experience of culture will likely be enhanced once they have opened up to all the amazing possibilities another language offers. With the world today being more connected and unified than ever before, an ever-growing global economy, and an increase in acceptance regarding diversity and inclusivity, speaking a second language is a life skill that many strive to achieve every day across the globe. Not only is it a desirable quality that many jobs and employers search for, but speaking a second language has the ability to make life much easier for those who do. Having the courage to open your mind to new ideas and new challenges leads to personal growth. One may begin to see themselves and the world differently. You may also gain a new perspective regarding your own language, understanding and an appreciation for it even more. Ultimately, learning a second language is something to be proud of.

The best classes I ever took were American Sign Language (ASL) 1, 2, and 3 in high school. For three years, I was immersed in the language and deaf culture, and practiced my skills almost every day, in both classroom and real world settings. I enjoyed it so much because I was learning a rare skill, along with learning about the deaf community and deaf culture. Unlike other language courses, practicing the language in very real world settings was extremely beneficial. Because of this, I believe ASL courses should be offered more freely in universities.

Prior to my ASL classes, I took French for six years. Today, “je m’appelle Aarya” is the extent of my French skills. Unlike most other foreign language classes, taking ASL, especially through an instructor that is deaf or hard of hearing, allows you to really be immersed in the language and culture. This is because along with signing, instructors can also speak, so nearly all the lessons will be conducted at least partially in ASL, and the skills you’ll learn will likely be very applicable to your daily life and have a higher likelihood of sticking with you. From my experience, what’s taught in ASL classes are everyday vocabulary, proper culture and conventions when interacting with the deaf community, and helps include a lot of perspective on diversity and inclusivity in our lives.

Some may argue that ASL is not useful in one’s daily life, and taking a class such as Spanish is a better use of students’ time. According to the National Institute of Health, about 3.15 million Canadians are hard of hearing, and about 340000 Canadians are deaf. You will likely come across hard of hearing or deaf individuals a few times in your life, whether it be in line at Starbucks, or a stranger on the bus. As a deaf person, living in a hearing world comes with a wide variety of challenges that only make life more difficult. Whether you can act as a translator for a deaf person’s interaction with another hearing person, or just have a friendly conversation with them, I can almost guarantee it will make their life a lot easier, and you will likely be making this stranger very happy. Ultimately, learning a second language is a challenging task. One that requires a great deal of patience, persistence, and practice. But the pros definitely outweigh the cons in this situation, because once you’ve learned that language, you’ll thank yourself forever that you did.

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Sources:

• Woodcock, K., & Pole, J. D. (2007, December). Health profile of deaf Canadians: analysis of the Canada Community Health Survey. Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2231554/.