At Machteld Faas Xander, “Sharing Authentic Stories Makes our World a Better Place,” is more than just our motto or a saying that we throw around; it is our reason for being. We repeat and share this thought often because it is at the core of everything we do here at MFX.
Because of this background, we are deeply interested in communication and how individuals and brands tell their own unique stories. One key area of interest involves people in our region who are a part of different communities, as well as those that speak different languages, tell their stories.
One of our MFXers, Jessica, has recently started learning American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate and volunteer in the Deaf community. She has been sharing her experiences at our daily Stand-Up. We wanted to share her story because we think her personal efforts are making the world a better place!
Jessica’s Story: Learning American Sign Language
Previous to my recent experiences, I knew virtually no ASL. I could finger spell my name and awkwardly stumble through 70% of the alphabet but that was the extent of my signing ability. I had been exposed to some ASL but hadn’t serious considered learning the language myself.
Six months ago, my husband and I heard that a free ASL course was going to be held in Cambridge to help teach the Deaf about the Bible. We decided to put in an application to join the class.
Growing up, I had assumed that the Deaf would enjoy reading in English but was surprised to learn that this is not the case. Although some can read English, especially if they lost their hearing later in life, the majority find reading English difficult because it is not their primary language. ASL is not simply gestures or a visual form of English. ASL (and other sign languages) is its own language, with different grammar, expressions, and sentence structure from English.
I was also surprised to learn the complexity of ASL. Although the basics are easy to grasp, it is considered to be one of the most difficult language to master, along with Chinese and Arabic. Secularly, it is considered an eight-year-language, meaning that it takes eight years of study to become fluent. Honestly, I was intimated after hearing this.
In February, we were accepted into the course and classes started at the end of March. We were excited but nervous. The class is an extremely accelerated ASL course that lasts five months. Each Saturday, we have a two-hour class along with the other 26 students plus approximately 5-10 hours of homework per week. In addition to this, every week we attend two ASL meetings (with absolutely no English) that are two hours in length each, and volunteer with the Deaf community between 6–16 hours. The meetings and volunteer work also require preparation that can be lengthy.
I am now five weeks into the class and although it is difficult and sometimes overwhelming, I am thoroughly enjoying this unique experience and am completely committed to the program. I’ll keep everyone updated on how my new means of communication and story telling is progressing in the upcoming months.
As a related aside, after years of hard work, time, resources and energy sacrificed by willing volunteers, the Bible is now being made available in full ASL (along with 62 different sign languages) in video format and is available to all, free of charge, on the website: www.jw.org. People are being asked to share this information with friends and family who may know Deaf members of local communities to let them know that this provision is now available.