Free American Sign Language Classes

Best For Families: Sign It Asl

Sign It ASL

• No direct communication with instructors

• Lessons are only available online

Designed with homeschoolers in mind, Sign It! ASL is a self-paced, online sign language course and resource. Through a partnership with the Signing Time Foundation and the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management, Sign It! ASL is completely free for families in the United States with a child under 36 months old who has any degree of hearing loss.

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, between 2 and 3 babies out of every 1,000 are born with some degree of hearing loss most infants are identified as deaf or hard of hearing by six months old. This time is critical for communication and development. In contrast to spoken language, babies are able to use sign language as early as six months.

Sign It! ASL’s course consists of about 20 units, each of which includes vocabulary, stories, conversation practice, lessons on deaf culture, quizzes, and more. All lessons are taught by deaf actors, advocates, and performers.

Units of five are available to purchase with lifetime access for around $50 each, though all 20 units can be bought in a bundle for about $160.

How We Chose The Best Online Sign Language Classes

We looked at dozens of online sign language classes before deciding on the top seven. We chose these as the best online sign language classes based on student reviews, pricing, accreditation organizations, and categories that they specialize in. We also considered learning styles and how progress is tracked.

Jose Luis Pelaez Inc / Getty Images

Gallaudet University: Online Asl Courses

Moving on to my next ASL class, or in this case, classes, is the full learning pathway taught by Gallaudet University. In total, there are 4 core ASL modules that can be taken one at a time before you move on to the next one.

ASL 1 is an introductory course that includes valuable information about deaf culture. The next module, ASL II will build upon the basics and introduce you to pronominalization, classifiers, spatial referencing, pluralization, and temporal and distributional aspects.

As you progress through ASL III, youll learn how to create narratives, dialogues, and short stories using ASL, which will require you to master more complex ASL vocabulary and grammatical features. And finally, ASL IV is their most advanced ASL class online and will expand on vocabulary and grammar so that students can describe settings, discuss objects, and more!

When it comes to the price, this course definitely is on the higher end, which each class costing around $300. But for those that are seeking university-grade teaching better than most online ASL community college courses, it may be worth the investment.

Strengths:

• High quality and comprehensive best online ASL course for people who want to become fluent in ASL
• Self-paced courses WITH weekly deadlines and a loose curriculum that must be followed
• Great way to connect with members of the deaf community

Also Check: Best Programming Language For Data Science

Best For School Credit: Start Asl

Start ASL

• Website is difficult to navigate

• Some course instructions are confusing

The founders of Start ASL created their ASL program as a curriculum-supported, sign language learning platform modeled after classrooms. It comes as no surprise that Start ASL, with hundreds of school partnerships, is an excellent online resource for learning ASL for academic credit.

The curriculum of Start ASL is designed to model a classroom setting as closely as possible, with conversation practice at its core. Each unit consists of vocabulary, video lessons and assignments, and reading material. Start ASL connects students with each other through an exclusive Facebook group, allowing the students to practice.

Access to Start ASL includes all three levels, each of which is equivalent to roughly one year of a high school language class or one semester of a college language course. Students move through these levels, which are further divided into units, progressively and at their own pace.

Start ASL offers two different subscriptions to best suit learners needs: Silver and Gold. Silver is the basic subscription, which includes course access, a certificate of completion, and written feedback on assignments. Gold features everything offered in Silver, along with video feedback and increased student support. Gold is required for students using Start ASL for academic credit.

Learn Sign Language With Free Courses Videos Games And More

• Emporia State University

• Online Sign Language Games

These free sign language classes use a variety of techniques to teach you sign language so you can communicate with a loved one or simply have fun learning to sign.

Included in these free sign language classes are videos, quizzes, puzzles, games, diagrams, and printables that will really help you learn how to sign or how to build on the sign language that you already know.

Some of these are huge courses with many units to teach you the complete sign language, and others are smaller that will just teach you the basics. Whatever class you choose, you’ll have a great time building up your skills.

Recommended Reading: Stephanie Miller Free Speech Tv

There Are Slang Signs In Asl The Same Way Spoken Languages Have Slang Words

The same as how spoken languages have slang words, sign languages have their own slang. ASL even has signs for words like emoji and selfie. Some people consider these signs to not be proper signs, just as how some people would argue that slang words arent proper language. If youre using sign language to have a casual conversation, you may want to try adding a few slang signs to your sign language vocabulary as well.

How Long Does It Take To Learn Sign Language

Everyone learns at a different pace, so it may take one person longer to learn sign language than others. It also depends on how much time you have to devote to learning sign language and how quickly you pick up new concepts and remember them. Some classes are self-paced, and others can take up to six weeks to complete. By the time youre finished with a class, you should have a better understanding of sign language but may not be completely fluent. In general, it can take several years of regular practice to become fluent in sign language.

Don’t Miss: Salary Of Speech Language Pathologist

Who Should Take These Free Asl Courses And What Youll Learn:

The ASL courses contains 15 lessons per section. The lessons consist of written assignments, video lessons, and text. Resources include practice cards and powerpoints. It is recommended that you complete one lesson per week.

A friend of mine shared this resource on her social media page and added:

As the mother of a deaf daughter I recommend this site to everyone who asks me how they can learn sign language. It is easy to follow, you can work at your own pace, and best of all, it is free!

These courses are especially for high school to college level, but consider them also for middle school students. You may be able to get a local junior or community college to give you credit for this course!

Ask Your Deaf Friends And Family Teach You

Asking a Deaf friend to teach you some sign language is a great way of making new Deaf friends! If you know friends or family use sign language already, asking them to teach you some signs will also remove some stresses from the struggle of oral/spoken conversation with them making the exchange beneficial for both of you.

Just make sure your friend or family member uses sign language before asking them, as not all people who have hearing loss know sign language.

Read Also: Wedding Speech Father Of Groom

What Is The Best Free Website To Learn Sign Language

The best website I would recommend for ASL learning is SignLanguage101.com. Honestly, this website has everything you can ask for in a free course, and even more. Dr. Byron Bridges, the instructor who is deaf from birth, will teach in a way that will have you questioning why they are giving away over 50 class videos for free.

Best For Vocabulary: Asldeafined

• Not much guidance for beginners

• Website has some technical problems

With a continuously expanding video dictionary of more than 15,000 words, ASLDeafined is an expansive, self-guided way to learn ASL vocabulary.

Before beginning lessons, ASLDeafined users must self-identify as deaf learners, a parent of a deaf or hard-of-hearing child, or a member of the general public. Within these groups, lessons and vocabulary are divided into categories to improve retention. Each user has a progress chart that details the changes in learning and retention, a particularly useful tool for parents using ASLDeafined for children.

The program also offers more than 300 themed lessons and activities designed to improve memorization, as well as ways to save notable or difficult words or signs for future study.

ASLDeafined is available online and through the companys app and offers a renewable, three-day free trial. An annual subscription is approximately $36, while the price is only $12 for educators. Subscriptions can be canceled at any point, and access will continue through the end of the subscription period.

You May Like: Eisenhower Military Industrial Complex Speech

Different Regions Have Their Own Unique Sign Variations

One of the most widely-used variations of sign language is ASL , but there are others, such as Australian, British, and New Zealand, as well as over 20 sign languages in Africa. Look into your own area and figure out which variation is used where you live, or where you think you would most likely be communicating with others.

Udemy: American Sign Language Asl Level 1

One great thing about this course is that each video is accompanied by English captions. Another great thing is that it is only 30 minutes long! Thats too short for you to actually become an expert at American sign language, but its a perfect intro to ASL that will inspire you to keep learning more!

This course is also packed full of quizzes and practice exercises, so its great for people who are looking for a more interactive course. As might be expected you will learn the ASL manual alphabet and numbers from 1 to 20.

Other important topics covered are basic fingerspelling yes/no questions and introductions gender signs colors, clothes & appearance ASL song: the rainbow colors verb directions: show, help, give & pay same and/or different and using your body properly while signing.

Strengths:

• This course includes a very helpful self-assessment and lots of quizzes to help you measure your progress
• Very low time commitment: 23 lectures, 30m
• Lifetime access to course materials
• Comes with a course completion certificate

Don’t Miss: What Language Was The Nt Written In

Sign Language Classes & Online Asl Courses

Whether you are completely new to sign language or have previously taken some courses in it, you will find an online ASL class that suits you on Signing Online. Beginning ASL talks about the importance of ASL in deaf culture and teaches how to start and end a conversation in ASL. In Basic ASL, you will get acquainted with the ASL vocabulary. In Intermediate ASL, you will learn how to order meals such as entrees and desserts at a restaurant and discusses buying items at malls and stores. The Advanced ASL aims to make you a well-rounded individual in terms of knowledge of ASL. This course covers school, the weather, sports, and games.

The courses come as a bundle of 10 lessons.

The classes culminate in final exams.

Signing Online hosts resources like a dictionary to support your learning.

You can opt to receive instructor support by paying a small fee.

Free Sign Language Classes At Aslprocc

This website has a large dictionary of signs, a set of conversational phrases, and a number of religious signs. They each have a video to explain how the sign is to be performed.

After you’ve manually gone through the lessons, you can take lots of quizzes and play a handful of games.

Also Check: Frank Speech Mike Lindell Website

Best For Beginners: Asl Meredith

ASL Meredith

• Self-guided course, so no personal advice

• Relatively expensive beginner course

For a complete ASL beginner, ASL Meredith is an online, self-paced course designed to teach the foundations of grammar, vocabulary, and conversation.

The creator of the beginner course, Meredith, is a certified ASL instructor with a Masters degree in Teaching ASL as a Foreign Language. Meredith, a hearing person, learned sign language from a childhood friend at an early age. She now teaches lessons in person, through her online portal, and on YouTube and Instagram.

ASL Merediths Foundations of ASL course was created to assist potential learners who didnt have financial or physical access to sign language courses. It consists of six modules, complete with video instruction, practice assignments, and quizzes designed to guide students through conversation and comprehension with increasing complexity.

The estimated completion time for the course is six weeks, but as it is self-guided, learners can take as little or as much time as they need. The beginner class costs around $179 and includes lifetime access, but ASL Meredith offers a payment plan of about $49 per month to be made over the course of four months.

Hire A Private Qualified Sign Language Tutor

If you want to learn sign language quickly, a private tutor could be the best way. Research local, qualified sign language tutors in your area who are willing to offer private tuition. Courses could be done in one-to-one sessions, or in small groups of your choice. You may find a private tutor more of a benefit if you find a large class environment is too difficult to learn in.

Recommended Reading: Free Text To Speech Apps

Take A Sign Language Class

If youre ever considering learning sign language, this is one of the best ways to do it! Often community centers, community colleges or other educational centers offer day or evening classes. Qualified sign language tutors can help you work toward sign language qualifications. Classes are also a great way to meet new people and see the signs face-to-face.

There are also online classes. Some of my HearingLikeMe writers have taken classes with ASL For You and have learned a lot through weekly Zoom classes.

Being in a class gives the opportunity to practice signing with different people. It is considered a good investment if the qualification leads to a job!

If youre interested, research for classes in your local area or contact your local education authority.

The American Sign Language Phrase Book

Once you know the basics, learning how to sign different phrases is the clear next step to communicating with other people in American Sign Language. With over 500 phrases, this book focuses on a range of topics, from travel to religion. The phrases in this book also range in difficulty as your signing improves, you can always try to give more detailed responses that are outlined in the book.

Recommended Reading: Speech Pathology Schooling How Long

Sign Language 101’s Free Sign Language Classes

Watch dozens of free video lessons from Dr. Byron W Bridges as you’re taught ABC’s, colors, pronouns, gestures, numbers, body language, common phrases, antonyms, verbs, directions, time, common phrases, and more.

ASL Level 1 are the only videos they offer for free. You’re given a deep look at signing as you progress from easier to harder lessons. After completing these videos, you should have a better grasp on the basics of sign language.

You can also watch these sign language videos and others on their YouTube channel.

About Oklahoma School For The Deaf

According to their website, the School for the Deaf was opened in Sulphur, Oklahoma in the fall of 1908. At first, the school was held in rented buildings that were in the business section of town. It was not until the fall of 1913 that the first building on the present site was completed.

Their mission is to provide a language-rich environment where everyone is empowered, encouraged, and able to grow.

You May Like: Worksheets On Parts Of Speech

Learn Online By Watching Videos

Like many things these days, you can learn easily online! There are plenty of resources, like YouTube or BSL Zone where you can watch videos with sign language. Any form of video is a great way to watch and you can replay it as many times as you like, in the comfort of your own home.

Read more: Easily learn sign language by studying these GIFs

Benefits Of Learning Sign Language Online

Although responsive interaction with family members is still the best way to teach you and your children how to sign, there are some benefits to learning ASL online:

• You can learn ASL at your own pace.
• Distance learning allows you to be flexible in both your schedule and location.
• Online learning is more cost-effective than traditional learning because of the reduced overhead costs

The online resources that are available to you are:

• Free Signing video lessons on YouTube
• Sign Language Apps in the app stores
• Sign Language websites
• Online ASL training courses by experts

Sign language is a visual language. It involves movement and gestures, and as such, it is learned the best by observing other people. Watching others sign will help you learn ASL in no time at all. The internet offers more opportunities than you can count to watch others communicate in ASL.

You May Like: Text To Speech Robotic Voice

Who Can Benefit From An Online Sign Language Class

Online sign language classes can benefit you if you, a friend, or a family member is experiencing any type of hearing loss. It can broaden your career options and increase your productivity and your communication skills. You can also benefit if youre a teacher, a tutor, or someone who enjoys learning languages. Finally, an online sign class can be beneficial if you want to become a translator or an interpreter.