Blog

Straight talk about learning ASL

Written by teachers, checked against how Deaf people actually sign. Every sign we mention links to a real video.

Start here · 8 min read

How Long Does It Take to Learn ASL? An Honest Timeline

What you can realistically sign after one week, one month, six months, and two years of ASL, and the daily habits that move you between those stages faster.

10 min read
The First 50 ASL Signs to Learn (and Why These 50)
A teacher-picked starter vocabulary: greetings, replies, pronouns, question words, and feelings that let you hold a real first conversation. Every sign on video.
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9 min read
ASL Grammar Is Not English: 7 Rules That Change Everything
Topic-comment order, time at the front, no 'is' or 'the', and eyebrows that ask the question. The grammar rules that make ASL its own language, with signed examples.
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6 min read
ASL vs BSL: Why American and British Sign Language Are Different Languages
They share almost no signs, use different alphabets, and come from different histories. What that means if you are choosing which to learn.
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8 min read
Learning Sign Language as an Adult: What Actually Works
Adults learn ASL differently than kids. Here is how to use that to your advantage: video-first practice, short daily sessions, receptive drills, and finding real signers.
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7 min read
Signing With Your Baby: First Signs, Timing, and What the Research Says
Milk, more, all done, eat, sleep. When to start, how to be consistent, and why real ASL signs beat made-up gestures.
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8 min read
Deaf Culture Etiquette: 12 Things Hearing Beginners Should Know
How to get someone's attention, why eye contact is not rude, what to do when you do not understand, and how to be a welcome guest in Deaf spaces.
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7 min read
Fingerspelling Tips: How to Spell Faster and Read Fingerspelling Better
Fingerspelling is where most beginners stall. The fixes: a steady hand position, mouthing the word not the letters, reading shapes not letters, and the drills that build speed.
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8 min read
Facial Expressions in ASL Are Grammar, Not Decoration
Eyebrows ask questions, a head shake negates, mouth shapes change size and intensity. The non-manual markers every beginner needs and how to practice them.
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8 min read
10 Common ASL Beginner Mistakes (and the Fix for Each)
Signing English word order, a blank face, signing too low, dropping eye contact, fingerspelling everything. Each mistake, why it happens, and the one habit that fixes it.
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7 min read
How to Practice ASL Without a Signing Partner
Receptive practice, mirror work, self-recording, narrating your day, and the apps and communities that give you real signing when nobody around you signs.
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6 min read
Is Sign Language Universal? No, and Here Is Why That Is a Good Thing
There are over 300 sign languages in the world. Where ASL comes from, how it relates to French Sign Language, and what International Sign actually is.
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Straight talk about learning ASL

How Long Does It Take to Learn ASL? An Honest Timeline

The First 50 ASL Signs to Learn (and Why These 50)

ASL Grammar Is Not English: 7 Rules That Change Everything

ASL vs BSL: Why American and British Sign Language Are Different Languages

Learning Sign Language as an Adult: What Actually Works

Signing With Your Baby: First Signs, Timing, and What the Research Says

Deaf Culture Etiquette: 12 Things Hearing Beginners Should Know

Fingerspelling Tips: How to Spell Faster and Read Fingerspelling Better

Facial Expressions in ASL Are Grammar, Not Decoration

10 Common ASL Beginner Mistakes (and the Fix for Each)

How to Practice ASL Without a Signing Partner

Is Sign Language Universal? No, and Here Is Why That Is a Good Thing