Customer Reviews

American Sign Language: Learning System 2 DVD Set

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I bought this DVD because I wanted to learn the basics of ASL to help me decide if I wanted to get certified in it. I find the DVD very useful if you watch it in parts. It's divided into lessons - 5 parts, I believe - covering everything from items in your house, food, weather, time of day, and the letters. It's heavy in vocabulary.

There are 2 sets of hosts, technically: 1 set who speak directly to you and another, basically role playing to help you learn. The 1st set are pretty difficult to follow. They don't repeat things and you often have to skip back a couple times to watch it again. The role playing group explains everything slowly and repeats signs for easy learning. There is also a guy who explains basic concepts to you, like how to position your signs based on what gender you're speaking of and how high or low to hold your hands.

I'm pretty happy with this DVD. It's a good beginning course. After speaking with my aunt, who is proficient, however, I learned that this DVD isn't enough, even for a beginner. She recommends using this DVD series with a book about the Deaf Culture. Without something to help you truly understand what it's like to be deaf, the signs can become meaningless. I highly recommend the DVD set, but I will be purchasing a book as well.

I did not find the dvd's helpful. The two folks in the 1st video sign entirely too fast plus the back ground for the host and hostess was horrible and it was tough making out their signs. What 'is' of use in the video (both) I learned more easily from 'TALKING WITH YOUR HANDS, LISTENING WITH YOUR EYES'-Gabriel Grayson, also obtained via Amazon, and much more for your money. In Fact, skip the video's and buy 2 copies of the book because you will easily wear the book out if you are serious about learning sign on your own.
The 2nd video of this 2 set collection was a little better, clarifying the alphabet, but, save your money for maybe another video, or again, 2 of the Gabriel Grayson books.
I showed the 1st video to my deaf friend to get his opinion. He looked at me,laughed, and shook his head no. He said it was too fast for someone new and he didn't care for the presentation. I didn't bother to show him the 2nd video.

This is a good format for someone just learning sign language. I bought it to use with high school freshmen, and it was just a little boring for them. Most of the signs are presented with adequate time to practice them, but the alphabet was presented way too quickly. I had to stop several times and repeat it. It lacks entertainment value, but is factual and groups signs well.

I found that the Sign Language DVD was not easy to use. The DVD has two people signing to each other in multiple chapters. I thought it was difficult to follow some of the signs and sometimes very difficult to tell which sign went with which word. I felt myself constantly rewinding to see if I could figure it out.

Is ok- but speech/audio track is off. Hard for people who lip read to follow. Have to rewind many time to get time to practice signs.

No Subtitles, would not recomend, bought it so my deaf husband & I could learn sign language, It's useless to us without subtitles. Very Disapointing.

This DVD is a great tool for learning or refreshing your sign language. It is easy to follow and the signs are preformed in plain view.

I don't think there should be too big of costs, if any, too learn foriegn languages or other types like ASL. DVD's are not a great way to learn sign language in my opinion. Anyone is going to have to reverse, repeat, rewind and so forth to really learn. Don't do it on any of these DVD's. There is a fantastic website done by a professor of ASLU named Lifeprint.com that is easier to go directly where you want, Visual dictionary, video lessons and just 10x better !! There is no catch just all free.

I have an autistic child that we are trying to teach sign-language as well as the entire family learn. This video is not usere or family friendly the kids lose interest within minutes of it being on so they know the first sign that is displayed and that is it. The quality and age of the video is terrible.

This product is good only if you already have an understanding of sign language and are looking for a way to brush up. The signs are shown entirely too fast for someone who doesn't know any signs and the mock-scenarios only succeed in aggravating would be learners. Even the sections detailing the alphabet are done too fast to be learned effectively. The only useful part of this purchase is the DVD-ROM dictionary that comes with it. This allows the would-be learner to move at their own pace and repeat words, letters and signs at will. Overall not a good buy, and no, I will not be recommending this to anyone.