Big Island ASL Users

Dear Signing Circle, We are meeting Wednesday, August 5, at 1:45 p.m -3:00 at the Food Court at Parker Ranch Shopping Center in Waimea. Did you notice that many kids went back to school yesterday?  Hard to believe!  In the spirit of “Back to School”,  at Signing Circle, we are going to play a game called “What have you learned lately?”  To prepare for the game, think about your recent activities.  Have you visited a new place?  Tried a new sport? A new hobby?  A new recipe?  A new App?  A new video game?  Learned some new signs? We will have fun putting on our Sherlock Holmes hats and finding out. As always, our only rule is to try to keep our voices turned off during Signing Circle.  This motivates us to use ASL exclusively during our time together.  We can always use pen and paper, or finger spelling, and a great deal of pantomime when we hit a speed bump.  Funny misunderstandings are always a source of widespread giggles. Anyone interested in using ASL, learning ASL, and p

Dear Signing Circle, We are meeting Wednesday, July 1, at 1:45 p.m at the Food Court at Parker Ranch Shopping Center in Waimea. Happy Summer Time! Last month we were discussing Deaf Expo. In 2016, Deaf Expo will be July 6-8 in Las Vegas at the Paris hotel. Registration is Free! Has anyone gone to Deaf Expo before? Come share your experience at Signing Circle.   On another subject, some ASL teachers/tutors had a meeting online and shared the following: 1. Students should keep their eyes on the face of the signer because most meaning is conveyed from facial expression.  Learners should watch the hand movements in their peripheral vision. To develop our ASL facial expressions we can play the Near or Far game and the Yes/No Questions or Wh- Question game 2. Vague or incorrect handshapes and movements need ongoing attention.  Play the Handshape game often.   3. Students often confuse signs for related concepts such as late/later; yet/already.  Have learners work