I recently signed up for another sign language class. I was fortunate to make a new friend at work who is also interested in learning sign language, so we both decided to take a beginner’s course this fall at Waukesha County Technical College.

Learning sign language takes a lot of practice and patience. Unfortunately, sometimes I run out of that patience. I had started another class last year at UW-Waukesha, but I ended up dropping that class because I got overwhelmed with learning a whole new language: after I had finally gotten the fingerspelling alphabet down, the teacher covered so much material that I found it difficult to keep up. I also found it a bit difficult to establish a bond with the other students because of my shyness at that time, so I didn’t have an “ASL Buddy” to practice with, either.

But, now that I have a friend to practice with, I have more motivation to learn; and we’ll probably enjoy it more too. This time around, I don’t plan to give up. Down the road, I’ll be sharing our experiences with learning sign language in a series of weekly blog posts.

Have you ever taken ASL classes, and did you have a friend to practice with? What were the advantages over doing it alone? How about other resources, like a tutor? Share your sign language stories and tips with us at this week’s Open Chat Night!