Reflection:
The American Sign Language courses I took at MNSU were all led by hard of hearing professors. The language barrier between the students trying to learn a new language and instructors who could not easily transition between the student’s comfortable language and the new foreign language proved to be an educational challenge. Unlike other foreign language classes I have taken in the past, my ASL instructors were completely limited to the language they were teaching us. This forced me to really expand my practice of ASL in the classroom. We engaged in informal conversation and asked questions all in our new language. This setting exposed me to the practical reality of encountering individuals only able to communicate through ASL. I quickly learned that there was no bilingual cushion on which to fall back. ASL is significantly more dependent on body language and facial expressions than any verbal language. This realization forced a cultural realization on me that people who communicate in different ways perceive the world very differently. Not only do individuals communicating with ASL not hear language, but they also do not hear music, traffic, or animals. Their world is very different than the world of a hearing person, and they love the peace and ambiguity of it. I almost learned more from engaging in conversation with my hard of hearing professors than from the curriculum itself. They shared stories that helped me understand what it was like to be in their shoes and encouraged me to practice my signing in a practical environment. These conversations helped me understand what visual and personal cues were significant to individuals associated with Deaf Culture. I value what I learned about the stigma of Deaf Culture, being seen as impaired because hard of hearing individuals communicate with a different language and will do my best to eliminate this stigma and help those in the Deaf Culture advocate for accessibilityin my personal and professional endeavors. This experience has allowed me to satisfy Level Four of Self-Awareness, Knowledge and Understanding, and Communication competencies.
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