The Benefits Of American Sign Language?

American Sign Language (ASL) is the only language spoken solely through body movements. It is used by Deaf people, hearing people, and people who have special needs. Sign Language is now offered as a foreign language class in some schools, however there are others who only see foreign languages as languages using speech. People should take the time to learn Sign so they can experience all the benefits, for themselves and for those in the Deaf community. “As of 2015, 360 million people worldwide are reported to have seriously disabling hearing loss. That is five percent of the world population” (Katie Rivito, “Why We Need to Teach ASL in Schools”). These are normal people living their lives to the fullest through their own unique language.

However, even though most schools offer sign language, why do a lot of students decide against taking it? This could either be due to the fact they have background in another language or they want to take the easy way out by learning the most popular language in high school. However, the more frustrating excuse is some colleges do not accept American Sign Language as a foreign language class. “The schools that are offering ASL as a language are growing over the years, but there are still some schools that won’t. This may be due to college requirements for foreign language education. Unfortunately, not all colleges accept ASL as a foreign language. Students who have taken ASL in high school will have to take another language in order to fulfill their requirements” (Rachel Andrews, Sign Language Interpreter). Most high schoolers take what they need to in order to be accepted into their desired college or university. The colleges and people who do not view Sign Language as a foreign language do not understand what Sign Language is, or how it can benefit both the Deaf and hearing

The hearing who commit to learning Sign, whether fluently or just the basics, are benefited in many ways. “Sign Language helps students learn basic conversation skill they will need for the future” (Kimberly Williamson, ASL teacher). Since American Sign Language is communicated through body language, signers must always be watching for facial expressions and tones set by the body. They must focus on the signer’s face and have direct eye contact while the person is signing. Looking at a signer’s face gives the interpreter or fellow signer the ability to see all of the movements. It also helps the signer know when the watcher is not paying