Most Helpful Customer Reviews
50 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I Judge This Book By Its Results, January 14, 2001
This review is from: Communicating in Sign: Creative Ways to Learn American Sign Language (ASL) (Flying Hands Book) (Paperback)
How-to books on ASL, like any other how-to book, must ultimately be judged on their practical results. Using that standard, Diane Chambers and her amazing book must receive the highest accolades. Our company recently decided to teach ASL to all employees because almost five percent of our workforce was deaf, and there was a noticeable communication gap between us. In a company of 200 employees we had only two who were fluent in ASL. Without them to translate and act as a buffer, the uneasiness we already felt through our communication gap changed into outright panic as we became reduced to passing written notes back and forth. Our deaf employees never took part in any company activies, perfering to associate with themselves. Our personnel director asked if anyone would be interested in learning ASL and practically the entire company expressed such an interest. As one of our ASL signers had ASL teaching experience, he volunteered to give the course. I suggested Diane Chambers' book and he used it as the text. Using one of our deaf employees to practice on, the class was held on company time for an hour a day. The chapters on ASL helped us to "speak" to them, and the chapter of deaf culture helped us to understand them. The quickest among us learned in a little over a week, the slower among us took three weeks. But all can, and do, make use of the ASL they learned and we have a much more happy, and more productive, office as a result. Many other books of ASL have nicer covers and nicer illustrations. This one has nicer results.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great book for first-time signers!, July 21, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Communicating in Sign: Creative Ways to Learn American Sign Language (ASL) (Flying Hands Book) (Paperback)
As a person who has been wanting to learn American Sign Language (ASL) for years, I had no idea where to start. Diane Chambers' book clearly gives the basics for anyone wanting to learn ASL. Not only do you learn simple signs, but you learn about deaf culture (I had no idea about "deaf names" versus hearing names). It helped open my eyes to what being deaf was like and gave me the help I needed to communicate with my deaf friends immediately after reading this book! My only criticism is that the book relies on explanations of some signs (instead of pictures). I would've liked to have seen more drawings of the signs. But I guess that's what a dictionary is for. :o)
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A primer on Deaf culture and language, May 27, 2002
This review is from: Communicating in Sign: Creative Ways to Learn American Sign Language (ASL) (Flying Hands Book) (Paperback)
Although I have only been trying to learn sign language for a few months, I was very relieved to find this book. I have learned a few other languages and have never seen the willingness to take short cuts that I've seen in so many sign language books. A German text would never assume that learning vocabulary but using English sentence structure is good enough, however, that is what most supposed "ASL" books do. This book is refreshing in that it explains that American Sign Language does NOT equal American English in form. Chambers even goes further in explaining the etiquette of certain social situations... that there are necessary cultural differences between Deaf and Hearing worlds and also gives suggestions on how to become less of a "tourist" in the Deaf community. Many of the exercises require a partner or group, but if you are learning alone, this in no way devalues the information here. You won't find what you are looking for here if you are only looking for a lexicon, but it is a valuable addition to a beginner's American Sign Language library. I feel much more comfortable in communicating after reading this book. My one disappointment was that the promised "further reading and resources" section at the end was not as comprehensive as I was expecting. I was hoping for more resources for beginners, including videos.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
