American Sign Language is a beautiful language to learn,

and it comes with a rich, creative, and exciting community! If you are ready to start learning ASL, this post provides digital and in-person resources to help you begin your journey.

How to Start Learning American Sign Language

If you want to learn American Sign Language you can begin by practicing digitally with videos or apps, or you can look for classes at local colleges and universities. It can also be helpful to look for local ASL events near you that may provide free instruction or a way to connect with the ASL community as you begin to learn. Below we will talk about these different resources, how to find & use them, and what you can expect!

Online Resources

One of the best places to go for ASL instruction, especially if you’d like to learn at your own pace, is YouTube. There are a ton of channels where ASL is used for purposes like education, vlogging, and even art. My favorite educational ASL channel on YouTube is Bill Vicars. He has playlists that cover lessons from college level courses including ASL 1 – ASL 4 and will provide you with great lessons on basic ASL. You can also find a range of websites that include ASL resources, ASL Dictionaries, daily signs, and day-to-day ASL resources like lifeprint.com or handspeak.com.

Apps

Apps can be great for learning ASL, since they allow you to take on bite sized amounts of information in a flashcard format. Some of these apps also allow you to communicate with fellow learners, and provide a range of ways to test your knowledge! Using apps alongside videos is one of the best and fastest ways to learn American Sign Language at home! Some common ASL apps include Lingvano, ASL Bloom, and Rocket ASL!

College & University Courses

Many colleges and universities provide instruction for ASL, so if you are in school, you can usually take ASL to fulfill your language requirement. If you are not enrolled, some colleges and universities will allow members of the local community to sign up for courses as experiential learning classes or through similar professional development programs. This means you can take classes at the school without having to be enrolled! Explore your local universities websites to find out if you can begin taking courses.

Local Libraries & Meetup groups

You can often find free ASL classes, groups, or clubs at your local library! This can be a great way to start learning in a group setting for free. Check out your local libraries to see if there are any classes coming up! Meet up groups can also be a great way practice or to learn. Many meet up groups will have seasoned ASL users, so it will be good to attend these once you’ve had some basic practice, that way you can practice and engage with the community more authentically. But you can also find some meet up groups made up of students and beginners to suit your needs!

Conclusion

Learning ASL can be a lot of fun and the community that you’ll begin to cultivate makes it even more enjoyable. Take some time to explore the different options and decide which is best for you. Don’t forget that you can always mix these tools together! For example, you can follow Bill Vicars ASL 1- 4 lessons, attend a biweekly meeting at your local library, and use apps a few days each week. Work hard, and you’ll be signing in no time! Good luck. You can check out more of our language posts here.