We want things on paper!

In the past, when we learned things, especially those of us who are a bit older, we learned from books. When we wanted to remember things, we wrote them down. For many of us, learning something new means: reading and writing. We want things on paper! Because things seem more real, on paper. And if we don’t remember something, we can look it up in our book or in our notes.

So don’t be surprised if we want to write down the signs that you teach us. The problem of course is that it is difficult to write down exactly how a sign is made. Not everyone can draw signs, so that you can see the handshape, the location, the movement. Some of us will try to use words to describe the sign: for instance: “A-hand moves from left to right” . But 1. This takes a long time, 2. When we are writing this down, we lose contact with you, the teacher, and 3. Our notes may not help us much later: A-hand, but oriented how? Moving where, how far?

Especially beginning signers will be most grateful if give us printed sheets with drawings of the signs that you want us to learn, or the link to an on-line sign dictionary, or a YouTube video of you, demonstrating the signs.

And don’t be upset if, in class, we are not looking at you, but are busy writing things down. Because it is very difficult for us to learn, by just watching. No reading and writing allowed, very difficult!

What might work:

• No tables for us, just chairs in the classroom. Maybe even: no pens and paper allowed!