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  • Time Wasters in Sign Language Class

    I want to preface this by saying that I went into this class with prior knowledge. It's an NZSL class - New Zealand Sign Language - and I took an introductory class a few years ago, so the first class was nothing new to me. I knew the alphabet off by heart and could whip through it faster than the teacher (She's deaf, and English is her second language. NZSL is her first, and she had to pause a couple of times and think about what letter came next in sequence).

    ANYWAY. So I get there and I'm probably the best at the alphabet in the class, not because I'm like, super smart or anything, but because I already knew it. So that's what we're learning, and rather than be bored, I'm having a lot of fun with it because there was a cute guy (Lee) sitting next to me who was coming to it for the first time, and he pretty much picked me as his "go-to girl" for when he wanted to check a sign and the teacher was busy

    But even he picked it up super fast. NZSL is super intuitive as far as most of the letters go, even more so than ASL (And I taught myself the ASL alphabet too in my spare time. This is what I do, I like to learn. Sue me.) And he was, as I said, coming to it for the first time, pretty nervous, pretty unsure of himself...

    But he got STUCK IN to the practice exercises. She paired us off and had us spell out our names to each other, for example, and then had us go up to the board one by one and picked a person for each of us, they signed their name and we had to write it on the board. Really simple stuff. We were super gung ho, we had a couple of turns each because we were having a lot of fun with it, you know? We paid money for this class, and damned if we weren't going to get the most out of it we could!

    And then you come to these three other women. I don't know why they were there - I mean I assume they paid their money like everyone else, but what I don't know is why. Two of them refused to even try to learn it and try it without looking at the handout for every letter, despite how EASY it was. It's hard to explain via text without visual aids, but suffice it to say, Lee was whipping through the whole alphabet at my speed within ten minutes, you know? First time trying and he picked it up so quickly, like most everyone in the room. I get that not everyone picks things up so easily, but their refusal to put the handout down and even TRY without it as a crutch, really annoyed me. Like... what are you going to do when there's a test??

    And one woman, this is going to sound horrible but I hope she doesn't come back. She flat out refused to even participate in any of the group exercises designed to enforce the alphabet. Her excuse was "I don't know the alphabet yet, I want to learn it before I do anything." Well there were a dozen people in that room, and I was one of only two that knew it going in. She wasn't the only one who didn't know it - but she was the only one who refused to even try. Is she going to pull that every week? Refuse to participate in class, and then show up the next week and only use the signs we learned the week before or something?

    TL;DR: Why pay the money for this class and refuse to do any of the fun stuff? Why waste everyone's time by refusing to join in? The teacher is spending more time coaxing and cajoling you to have a go, than she is TEACHING us, and I for one am not okay with that!!

    Sorry to ramble guys, I just needed to get that off my chest.
    Now, I'd like to digress from my prepared remarks to discuss how I invented the terlet...

  • #2
    If you're the sort of person who doesn't mind making a scene, go ahead and say something out loud. Like asking the teacher not to bother coaxing and cajoling them, but to go ahead and teach the people who WANT to learn.

    Although it's possible that these are people who think they learn best by rote or something. Or who don't realise (deep down) that this is a LANGUAGE, and that conversational fluency is required.

    SO jealous. I want to learn Auslan. (I'm losing my hearing - gradually.) There's government sponsored courses for Auslan interpreters, but none - at the moment - for adult HoH people to learn it for themselves.
    Seshat's self-help guide:
    1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
    2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
    3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
    4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

    "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

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    • #3
      I really want to learn BSL. I know fingerspelling and I've been teaching myself other words, like 'who-what-why-where-when-and-how' and signs that would be useful to signal to Housemate across a supermarket. There are no classes round here.

      I suppose these people are simply wasting their money...
      "...Muhuh? *blink-blink* >_O *roll over* ZZZzzz......"

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      • #4
        Quoth SongsOfDragons View Post
        I suppose these people are simply wasting their money...
        I don't care if they waste their own money. I care that they're wasting MINE, by wasting class time with these shenanigans.
        Now, I'd like to digress from my prepared remarks to discuss how I invented the terlet...

        Comment


        • #5
          Reminds me of my archery class in college (best class EVER, getting to use deadly weapons at school!!)

          There was always a group of girls that wanted to talk instead of shoot, and wouldn't even try shooting until the teacher made them do it.
          "Eventually, everything that you have said becomes everything you will ever say." Eireann

          My pony dolls: http://equestriarags.tumblr.com

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          • #6
            I had to take a sign language class once. The teacher chose the worst possible way to teach it.

            She reasoned that since deaf people generally are nonverbal in their communications, she would teach the course completely nonverbally.

            Class consisted of her making a bunch of random gesticulations, which for all I knew meant anything from "hamburger" to "Give me the fish of your brother Raoul" to "sex with koalas" to "I am a member of a rival street gang. Please shoot me."

            Then she would write a word or phrase on the chalkboard and point to it, as if to give the meaning of the signs she just threw. Then she'd move on to the next bunch of random gestures.

            Needless to say, I was nowhere near fluent in sign language when the course ended.
            Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

            "I never said I wasn't a horrible person."--Me, almost daily

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            • #7
              Quoth Irving Patrick Freleigh View Post
              I had to take a sign language class once. The teacher chose the worst possible way to teach it.

              She reasoned that since deaf people generally are nonverbal in their communications, she would teach the course completely nonverbally.

              Class consisted of her making a bunch of random gesticulations, which for all I knew meant anything from "hamburger" to "Give me the fish of your brother Raoul" to "sex with koalas" to "I am a member of a rival street gang. Please shoot me."

              Then she would write a word or phrase on the chalkboard and point to it, as if to give the meaning of the signs she just threw. Then she'd move on to the next bunch of random gestures.

              Needless to say, I was nowhere near fluent in sign language when the course ended.
              I've taught ASL classes and there are always people like this and it always makes me wonder WHY they've signed up for the classes when they obviously aren't interested in learning.

              I agree that complete immersion from the get-go is a bad way to go about teaching, you need to reinforce what's being taught, and if its someone who has never been exposed to sign, this method of teaching is just going to make them more confused.

              HOWEVER, when I taught, when the course was over we would have a a "silent weekend getaway" where everybody was "voices off" for the weekend so to force them to actually use what they have learned (and by then everyone knew the alphabet at the very least) - it was always a ton of fun
              The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away.

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              • #8
                Quoth DeltaSierra View Post
                I've taught ASL classes and there are always people like this and it always makes me wonder WHY they've signed up for the classes when they obviously aren't interested in learning.

                I agree that complete immersion from the get-go is a bad way to go about teaching, you need to reinforce what's being taught, and if its someone who has never been exposed to sign, this method of teaching is just going to make them more confused.

                HOWEVER, when I taught, when the course was over we would have a a "silent weekend getaway" where everybody was "voices off" for the weekend so to force them to actually use what they have learned (and by then everyone knew the alphabet at the very least) - it was always a ton of fun
                Oh, I didn't take the class by choice. It was required as part of a pre-college preparatory program I was in (Upward Bound, for those of you in the States). It involved taking classes for six weeks in the summer and this was one of the subjects.
                Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

                "I never said I wasn't a horrible person."--Me, almost daily

                Comment


                • #9
                  Quoth Seshat View Post
                  SO jealous. I want to learn Auslan. (I'm losing my hearing - gradually.) There's government sponsored courses for Auslan interpreters, but none - at the moment - for adult HoH people to learn it for themselves.
                  I know this might be costly, but TAFE also provide courses in Auslan.
                  Otherwise, there's a DVD set out called Talking Hands, although they're about $90 a DVD. (last I checked) Alternately, check with your local university and see if they'll let you borrow out materials (mine allows members of the public to borrow) and they might have some stuff there.
                  The best professors are mad scientists! -Zoom

                  Now queen of USSR-Land...

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                  • #10
                    Quoth fireheart View Post
                    I know this might be costly, but TAFE also provide courses in Auslan.
                    Otherwise, there's a DVD set out called Talking Hands, although they're about $90 a DVD. (last I checked) Alternately, check with your local university and see if they'll let you borrow out materials (mine allows members of the public to borrow) and they might have some stuff there.
                    The TAFE courses near me are all for interpreters, and include material that's useful for interpreters but would be a waste of time/effort for me. (EG: dealing with clients, dealing with the hearing who don't know how to work with interpreters.) Centrelink would probably pay for me to take the course, but the extra classes would be excess strain: too much for me to handle.

                    I have a DVD aimed at teaching Auslan to children, which I'm using. My family knows some of the words now: when I'm having a stressy day, I find it easier to sign than speak.

                    I live near a TAFE which has an Auslan course: I might ask them about taking only the language aspects of the interpreter course.
                    Seshat's self-help guide:
                    1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
                    2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
                    3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
                    4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

                    "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Quoth Irving Patrick Freleigh View Post
                      I had to take a sign language class once. The teacher chose the worst possible way to teach it.

                      She reasoned that since deaf people generally are nonverbal in their communications, she would teach the course completely nonverbally.
                      I never could understant the logic of teaching a beginning language course totally in that language. Advanced ones, sure, but beginning?

                      I have to admit to less than admirable reasons for learning sign language. My best friend and I taught ourselves the alphabet from a book, in junior high school. Because we kept getting into trouble for talking during class, and we figured we could sign under our desks, as we sat next to each other. It actually did work, for a while anyway.....

                      Later, my sister learned it, and we used it a lot to talk about people. Until the day we sat in the library talking about the cute guy at the next table, who finally got up to leave, looked over at us, and signed goodbye.

                      Then in high school, I had a friend who was deaf. She lip read really well, so we didn't use sign language much. She did teach me a lot of new signs, as all I knew before that was the alphabet. Unfortunately, most of the ones I learned from her I can't use in polite company

                      Madness takes it's toll....
                      Please have exact change ready.

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                      • #12
                        Quoth Merriweather View Post
                        Unfortunately, most of the ones I learned from her I can't use in polite company
                        Like these? NSFW!
                        The High Priest is an Illusion!

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                        • #13
                          Quoth Merriweather View Post

                          I have to admit to less than admirable reasons for learning sign language. My best friend and I taught ourselves the alphabet from a book, in junior high school. Because we kept getting into trouble for talking during class, and we figured we could sign under our desks, as we sat next to each other. It actually did work, for a while anyway.....
                          My best friend in 6th grade and I had all the same classes so we would use sign language to talk to each other across the room. All we knew were AS finger letters but we could communicate. It was awesome and I don't know if any of our teachers ever caught on. :P
                          Driver Picks the Music, Shotgun Shuts His Cakehole.
                          Supernatural 9-13-05 to forever

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                          • #14
                            I know fingerspelling in Australian Sign Language, as well as the signs for "first aid", "how are you", "sister" and "ambulance". Part of it was for year 11 first aid class and the rest were ones I picked up over time. (one of the classes my high school offered for Year 11, was First Aid. It wasn't the full-on Senior First Aid Certificate, but it was close)

                            ETA: Also "thank you".
                            Last edited by fireheart; 02-12-2012, 07:47 PM.
                            The best professors are mad scientists! -Zoom

                            Now queen of USSR-Land...

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                            • #15
                              It's weird how people will sign up for something and then refuse to participate. I took a class in high school called "The Novel." Obviously, it involved a lot of reading and discussing of the books. It was an elective - you didn't have to take it, but it would count toward your grades if you did. There were several kids in the class who spent all their time complaining that they had to read too much.
                              When you start at zero, everything's progress.

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