Lounge for Deaf people and their allies

[always2late]

This past Thursday I took my first class in Sign Language...and I LOVE it!! Our professor posted her syllabus online and after reading it, I have to confess, I thought the class was going to be a bit daunting. My professor insists that we do not speak in class...at all. Except for the first 5 minutes of class, and on our 10 minute break halfway through class, we are not allowed to speak...not to the professor and not to each other. I thought this approach would make learning more difficult..but on the contrary, I am finding it SO much easier!! We are "forced" to learn in order to be able to communicate. Of course, our professor is not being unrealistic...if someone has a question in class that we haven't learned enough to be able to sign properly, we are able to write the question down. As the professor explained, she wants us to start to get used to having to use alternate forms of communication...and not to rely on our voices.