Product Description

Learning ASL—American Sign Language—becomes easy with the help of this heavily illustrated book. This edition has been updated to include information on new technological developments and their related vocabulary. A useful guide both for the deaf and for those who teach or otherwise work among deaf men and women, this book opens with a detailed presentation of the 10 key grammatical rules of ASL. Also emphasized is the use of “facial grammar” as an important supplement to manual signing. Most of this book’s contents are devoted to demonstrating and explaining signing. More than 800 line drawings clearly illustrate different words and then show how to combine them to convey statements. Here is easy access to the use of American Sign Language, a practical book for both the deaf and for those with normal hearing who have occasion to communicate with the deaf.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #49601 in Books
• Published on: 2006-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780764134289
• Condition: USED - GOOD
• Notes:
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From the Inside Flap
(back cover)
ALL THE ESSENTIALS IN ONE CLEAR VOLUME

by David A. Stewart, Ed. D.,
Elizabeth Stewart,
and Jessalyn Little, M. Ed.

Customer Reviews

An easy and informative guide to learning ASL.
Finally, a book that looks at ASL completely!! 'American Sign Language the Easy Way' is a must for the beginner ASL user. It provides comprehensive information about the signs themselves, the grammar of ASL, the importance of facial expression and the culture that surrounds native users. The conversational dialogues illustrated in the book give students useful and real-life scenarios of signs exchanged when interacting with other ASL users. When learning any oral language, grammar plays an important role. This is also true for ASL, a manual mode of communication that has its own unique set of grammatical rules that must be learned to converse effectively. Other books in ASL do not stress the importance of the grammar and facial expression. The Easy Way illustrates a wide variety of signs and the context for their use. I recommend this book to everyone who is interested in learning ALL about American Sign Language, its form and culture.

This book is ideal for both teaching and self taught methods
American Sign Language The Easy Way is an explorative introduction to deaf language and culture. This book combines basic ASL grammar and language rules with conversational signs. Whether one is in a classroom or at home, ASL The Easy Way is a reliable sourcebook. It appeals to both students and teachers. As a beginner ASL student, I have found this book to be very useful. There are many misconceptions about ASL and this book provided an excellent introductery summary to erase these thoughts. For example, David Stewart discusses the physical and cultural dimensions of ASL. Stewart strongly states that "Learning ASL is not simply about learning another language. It is about access...ASL gives us access to Deaf culture"(p.5). Both chapter three and seven are essential to the understanding of ASL. Although short, Chapter 3: The Deaf Community, describes the complexity of deaf culture. Stewart distinguishes between nondeaf and deaf communities. He describes the "five important differences as: American Sign Language; Socialization; Organizations and Clubs; Schools for the deaf; and Deaf pride."(p101-102). As a speaking person learning ASL, these are five differences I did not think of until reading this book. In Chapter seven, Stewart discusses technology and adaptations to a speaking world. He focuses on tele- communition technology, alerting devices and sign language interpreting. Living with a deaf mother, I am well aware of the TTY, close captioning and interpreters. However, I was surprised at the alerting devices, such as lights flashing or vibration. I am embarrassed to say that my mother lives in a hearing home, one that does not have alert devices. I hope to convince my family that we should add such devices to better aid my mother, especially when she is alone. The vivid illustrations of signs in combination with grammar rules allows a beginner to learn ASL in two fold. I reccommend this book for anyone interested in learning ASL and for those who need a reliable classroom source book. Dr. David Stewart has done an excellent job within the limitations of Barron's 'the easy way'.

Ideal For Self-study or For in the Classroom. Super Book!!
Whether one is study by themselves, or one wishes to use this book as a beginning ASL text for classroom use, Dr. Stewert's book will have you well on your way to learning this beautiful language.

As a hearing impaired person, it is important to me to learn sign language as it is used in the deaf community. This book differs from other mass-marketed ASL books in that there are extensive explainations on ASL Grammar, facial expressions, and the culture of the Deaf Community. This book is chock-full useful vocabulary that is clearly illustrated and used in both English-gloss, and in ASL grammar to aid in learning.

People often see me practicing my ASL at school or at work and they express a desire "to learn sign language." My response to them is always the same: (1) Buy this book along with Martin LA Sternberg's ASL Dictionary (along with the one on CD ROM if you can), and (2) Stay away from courses and popular "Sign Language" courses and books that use the "pidgeon sign."

Why settle for learning this wonderful language the wrong way when you can have the best ASL text on the market?

Feel free to email me with more questions. I highly recommend this book, and like I said, I tell everyone I meet who expresses a desire to learn ASL to buy it!