There are many wonderful languages to learn here at LFHS such as Mandarin, French, Spanish, and Latin – the possibilities are endless. But there’s one language that’s different than all the rest, but just as important. It’s called American Sign Language, or ASL, for short. If you’re not sure what that is, it’s the language that deaf or hard of hearing people use. Many people wouldn’t really have a second thought about trying to learn this language. I was this way at first too – I mean, no one close to me was deaf, so why would it matter? But sophomore year when I took my first semester of ASL, my thoughts changed completely.

At my old school, there were only two choices of languages: Spanish or ASL. After having taken Spanish my whole middle school career, I was growing a bit tired of it. It never really interested me, so I never really did well on the tests or homework. ASL was the only other option, so I thought, why not? I walked into it, not expecting to have a good time at all, but it soon became one of my favorite classes.

The reason why it was so special to me was not really clear until I did my first extra credit assignment. It was to go to a convention for deaf people in San Diego and watch the dancing performances and go see this popular deaf comedian. Going in I was very nervous, but when I signed to people who were new to learning sign language, they seemed so happy and grateful that someone was taking the time to learn it. I realized that everyday life and communication must be really hard for them since ASL isn’t as popular of a language as maybe Spanish or Chinese. But it’s just as important as any other spoken language.

There are many factors as to why sign language isn’t a more common choice in schools. It’s hard to find sign language teachers in the first place, let alone ones willing to teach high school students at different levels. Another reason why it’s uncommon is that it’s unknown how many students would be interested in taking the class. I mean, it’s not a class without students! Every person I’ve talked to has been really interested in sign language,] and always think it’s pretty interesting when I show them the signs I remember. But nothing really compares to seeing the smile on a deaf/hard-of-hearing person when you start to sign back to them whether it’s because you’re taking an order at a restaurant, helping them out with something, or just making conversation.

I hope one day sign language will be a more universally embraced and known language, and maybe even someday the language will have its own class in this school.