[Becky]

I'm taking American Sign Language this year, and so far I'm loving the class The thing I found interesting is that my teacher is Deaf! She wont alow us to speak at all in class, and because she is deaf she has a unique way of teaching us to sign. She will demonstrate a sign for a while, and we usually end up understanding it long before she writes it's meaning on the board.

has anyone else had experiance with learning to sign from someone who is Deaf?

[Elizabeth]

Yeah...I've always had Deaf teachers for sign language. In my opinion, it's the best way to learn. Plus, Deaf people are just fantastic.

[MtlMom]

My sign language teachers were deaf as well.

My brother is deaf. He knows sign language but he rarely uses it. He's very good at reading lips and talks pretty clearly.

[Katze]

My sister took classes at the Utah Deaf Center, and all of their teachers are deaf. She learned a lot from that class, but I don't quite understand how.

[bobthecockroach]

Originally Posted by MtlMom

My sign language teachers were deaf as well.

My brother is deaf. He knows sign language but he rarely uses it. He's very good at reading lips and talks pretty clearly.

You know sign language? Are you just freaking awesome in every way possible or what?

[Lightknight]

Originally Posted by Becky

I'm taking American Sign Language this year, and so far I'm loving the class The thing I found interesting is that my teacher is Deaf! She wont alow us to speak at all in class, and because she is deaf she has a unique way of teaching us to sign. She will demonstrate a sign for a while, and we usually end up understanding it long before she writes it's meaning on the board.

has anyone else had experiance with learning to sign from someone who is Deaf?

How does she prevent you from talking in class? I mean... yeah. That's like a blind man demanding I keep my eyes closed.

[bobthecockroach]

Well um... you can see when someone is talking.

[Becky]

yea.. she can tell.

[Lightknight]

Originally Posted by bobthecockroach

Well um... you can see when someone is talking.

Originally Posted by Becky

yea.. she can tell.

One hand in front of your mouth, it's like magic. She can't really observe every face at the same time and if she can't see your lips moving then she isn't as likely to catch it. Heck, you could even bend over to get something out of your backpack while saying something. Yawning even.

The possibilities are endless.

[Katze]

But talking is class wouldn't be as distracting, because you're supposed to be *watching* the teach, not listening to her.

[internalflames]

I'm in h.s. and taking ASL 2 for my foreign language and my teacher this year is deaf. Deaf ppl definitely can tell when you're talking. There's a reason why they're not called "Deaf and DUMB" anymore!

Has anyone here learned sign from 2 different dialects of ASL? My first teacher was from Missouri, my second from here in Colorado, and my current teacher is from Canada. A lot of the signs are totally different. But has anyone else experienced that?

(but deaf style)

[Skeeter]

Dude (possibly dudette), "dumb" means unable to speak. Someone who is deaf and dumb can neither hear nor speak.

[Becky]

yea.. and alot of Deaf people can speak just fine these days

[Lightknight]

It depends on when they went deaf. People who have never heard before eventually become able to mimic certain sounds, but are never really able to speak "just fine".

[SecretAgentRat]

All of my ASL teachers (I was previously in a program preparing me to be an ASL interpreter) have been deaf. I even had a deaf teacher for lecture classes about Deaf culture (that was rough).

You'd be suprised how many Deaf teachers will--unknown to their students--wear a hearing aide to catch people who talk in class. Since most Deaf people have a small percentage of residual hearing, they can still utilize a hearing aide if they feel the need.

And...the terms "deaf and dumb" or "deaf mute" are rather incorrect. The majority of Deaf people have the capability to speak, they only lack the aural reception in order to integrate speech into their lives. It's incredibly difficult to learn how something is supposed to sound when you have never heard the sound you are trying to achieve.

Gavin is right. Whether or not a Deaf person is pre- or post-lingually deaf has a huge effect on whether or not the person can speak. It's becoming less common for Deaf people to speak as awareness for ASL is growing. Oralism (the instruction of speaking and lip/speech reading) is a dying practice.