Is It Difficult to Learn & Teach Sign Language Online?
There exists a general perception that learning sign language is hard.
However, contrary to the popular belief, if you have access to the right tools and methods, sign language is no more difficult to learn than another other language, especially for children. If you start with the right approach and methodology, you’re on the path to success.
If you don’t know where you are headed, how can you get there?
Let’s define your goals and objectives for learning sign language, identify the right tools, and set a flexible path, you’ll be learning sign in no time. Let’s start with the basic and these are important words!
Tips to Learn & Teach Sign Language Easily
If you have been trying hard to learn sign language, we have something useful for you.
We’ve built a list of top five tips to learn sign language easily.
1. Have Access to the Right Tools - No matter what you want to achieve, you must have access to the right tools.
There are many ways to learn sign language online. For instance, you can use YouTube videos, online recorded lessons, online live lessons, interactive games, blog posts and eBooks.
Here is an engaging and useful platform for teachers and parents looking forward to teaching sign language to kids. It’s easy to learn and simple to teach.
There are multiple resources available on the internet, however not all of them are good fit. Invest your time wisely.
Keep in mind that, some resources are for adults while some are crafted exclusively for children. You should go through the content carefully and see if it is suitable and easy enough for children to grasp.
Consider customizing your queries to something specific such as “sign language for children” to get better results.
2. Follow a Set Trajectory - A common reason why a lot of parents and teachers find sign language hard is that they don’t follow a set trajectory to learn the language.
It’s hard to learn everything at once. You should segment all that is to be learnt into achievable tasks and learn one thing at a time. Think about the words you use most often with infants and toddlers. Build your vocabulary using these words and signs.
And, you must follow the same defined approach while you are transferring the knowledge further. – sharing it with the children you’re teaching
It’s easy to get lost in a sea of resources available online. Stay focused!
3. Define Your Milestones - It is advisable that you define your milestones before jumping into the learning or teaching process.
Randomly watching YouTube videos or reading blog posts may help you get an overview of the language and certain words, but it won’t help you learn the language in its entirety.
Select your tools and follow the milestones approach. For instance, if you are a teacher, you could consider investing into an introductory classroom kit and set goals for yourself. Start with the basics that can easily be incorporated into your current teaching model.
4. Use Your Resources Strategically - There is an overwhelming number of resources available to learn sign language online.
However, it’s up to you to select the best ones out of those without shelling out tons of money.
A pro tip here is to always choose something that is engaging as well as informative as opposed to something that only helps you understand general concepts.
This becomes even more important if you are looking for resources for sign language for children.
Children will learn and benefit much more from sign language resources that teach while moving, playing games and having fun.
5. Practice, Practice and Practice! - Finally, it’s really important that you practice everything that you learn.
No matter if you are learning yourself, or teaching your child, practice is the key to perfection.
The more dedicated you’d be towards practicing whatever you have learned, the better you’ll become at sign language and the earlier you’ll build your signing vocabulary.
These are some quick tips to learn and teach sign language proficiently.
It’s not hard. Keep in mind that you must have the right approach towards learning. Have fun, build your vocabulary every day, practice the words you use most and add in others as needed. Don’t be shy and good luck!