The End

So it is December 6 and this project is due on December 7 which means this project is coming to an end well it basically ended already. My main goal for this project was to learn sign language as much as I can in the time I was given which I have to admit I failed. I started with not knowing any sign at all. I thought it will be fairly easy to learn sign language as long as I memorize it once I learn it. That was not the case because sign language is like any other language you want to learn, it takes time and practice. During this whole process I couldn't keep up with the sign and I didn't practice as much as I should have. However, I did practice enough to know more signs than I did in the beginning when I started in August. I am proud of everything that I learned so far like learning how to sign the alphabet, numbers, colors, and animals. I just wished that I practice more, but it's the end of this journey and there's nothing that I can do.

Meeting With Mentor

So I've been to all of the sign language meeting at school, and that was my main mentor session because I learn a lot from the meeting and I get a lot of help from the meeting. On December 3, I met with my mentor, Ms.Baug, outside of the meeting to show her my progress. So I showed her most of the stuff we learned in the meeting, and some of the stuff I learned on my own. She said that my signing is very good, but she said next time I should sign in front instead of to the side so that the person can really see it unless the sign is suppose to be at a certain spot. Other than that she said my signing is great which I am very happy about.

Still learning

I am still learning sign language little by little. I learned how to sign the alphabet, numbers, colors, and animals, and now I'm learning signs for family member. The signs for different family member are pretty easy, but it is hard to remember because its not as related to the saying. For example, many signs for animals have a characteristic of that animal, so its easy to remember. Also, I started learning different signs for foods which is very exciting because everyone loves food. Even though I am learning new signs, it is very hard to keep up with old signs.

Sign Language for different Family Members 

  

Sign Language for different Foods 

Sign Language Second Meeting

October 21 was the second sign language club meeting. We reviewed what we learned last meeting which was the alphabet and common sayings. Surprisingly, I remember a lot of it. For the second meeting we learned how to sign animals and colors. Signing animals was easy because some of the signs were very obvious, and others had very cute signs which made it easy to sign and remember. The colors were very easy and fun to sign too. Also, we started to combine what we learned from the first meeting with the second meeting and we formed super simple sentences. Learning sign language takes time and a lot of practice.

Keeping up with Sign Language

After the first sign language meeting, its difficult to learn sign language by myself because I'm not surrounded by people who can help me. Also, its very hard to keep up with signs that I learned already if I don't practice everyday. Sign language is very difficult to learn because it is not with just your hand movements, but it's also with your body language and facial expressions. Since I'm trying to learn simple signs for certain words, I don't really use any other expression. I will try to practice more and more everyday even if its just learning a couple of signs everyday.

Sign Language First Meeting

September 16 was the first sign language meeting, and I learned a lot that day. I learned how to sign the alphabet and numbers. I thought it was difficult at first because they were going at a very fast pace. After a little more practice, I was able to sign the alphabet and numbers in one meeting. I also learned how to sign, what's your name.Since I was able to learn so much in a little amount of time, I am excited to learn more.

Research Time

For my 20% Time project I wanted to learn sign language. I'm interested in sign language because I think it is a very cool way of communicating. My first step for this project was to basically research about sign language.
I want to know :
-What method would be easy to learn sign language?
     It is easier to learn by category of things than by random.
-Would it be easy to learn sign language by yourself?
     No, learning with another person will be more efficient.
-Is sign language just with hand movements?
     No, it's a combination of hand movements, facial expression, and body language.

Once I did my research I got a better understanding of sign language, and I think it will actually be difficult to learn. However, I am excited to start learning sign language.