Slow and Steady Progress

I’ve been a little distant with my blogging on my learning project. 😦 I have still been keeping up with it, just slacking in the blogging about it part. So far I have learned the ABC’s, numbers, common phrases, and some other commonly used words (like what, if, after, etc.) I think I have learned quite a lot through the various videos I have watched, but at times it becomes over whelming. I’ve never learned another language and now I know why, it’s hard! I can watch videos over and over again and nail the movements with them as they do it, but as soon as I get to trying it on my own I confuse all the hand movements together and end up having to re-watch the video anyways.

I know I promised a video a long time ago, and I did make one for you all! It’s an old video now, I can sign a little more complex things now. Emphasis on a little.. it’s a slow journey! P.S. don’t mind all of the birthday decorations in the background 🙂 Here’s the link so you can check me out- https://youtu.be/5L5woU2rhrc

I’ve started working on my final end project now… a song! I’m thinking of doing “Hello” by Adele. I was very surprised at how many different songs are already on Youtube translated to ASL, there are tons of them! I actually think this is more effective than trying to learn random words, because I think of it more as a sequence of movements rather than separate gestures. I’m really excited to keep working on it, and hopefully be able to memorize the whole song.

6 thoughts on “Slow and Steady Progress

  1. carmellekgerein says:

    Learning a new language is definitely difficult so I applaud you for learning sign language for your project! I’m not sure why but when I clicked on the Youtube link it wouldn’t work! That makes me sad because I was looking forward to seeing how you’ve progressed so far during your Learning Project! That’s a wonderful song and I think it would be perfect for your final project!! Great post, can’t wait to see what you learn next!

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  2. anilakanwal says:

    I had the same problem when I clicked the youtube link. It didn’t work.i thought may be my internet or YouTube has the problem. I agree with Carmel that it’s not easy to learn a new language. You have been doing great. I am looking forward to seeing your video when you will have fixed it and that song too. Good luck.

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  3. roxannwaelchli says:

    Hey Mackenzie! I am starting to teach my baby sign language. We have started with “all done” when we feed her. It is pretty funny because she laughs so hard every time we try to sign with her 🙂 Keep up the good work!

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  4. mackenziethompson8 says:

    That’s awesome Roxann! I think it’s a really cool skill to have. Even if I only can learn the basics 🙂 I realized I had the video set as private, so I updated that and it should work if you guys want to try watching again!

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  5. amypmartin says:

    Hey Mackenzie,

    Thanks for the update on your Learning Project — it looks like you’re making good progress! I have a few questions for you: First, what would you say has been the most challenging part about learning sign language so far? When I was learning French in high school, I found it difficult to put all of the individual words and phrases that I had learned together to form one complete sentence. Like you said, once I started doing it on my own and putting it all together, I got confused and would mix things up!

    Also, what kinds of resources have you been using to learn sign language? I found a list of ASL apps that may be helpful to you: http://ow.ly/RMcq30aDWB5 I know it’s late in the semester, but they might be worth checking out if you plan on pursuing ASL further.

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  6. mackenziethompson8 says:

    I think the hardest is remembering what movements go with what words. for example, pulling your pinky away from your face means ‘if’ and pulling your index finger away from your face means ‘for.’ So lots of those little words that come up so quickly in sentences gets me a little confused! As well, when learning French in high school I was able to relate the French words to English words I already knew, but with ASL it’s all hand movements so I really find it hard to remember what the different signs mean. But through learning the song, I’m able to remember the sequences and it’s actually going quite well! I will definitely check out those resources, thanks so much!

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