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You could have several reasons for wanting to learn the American Sign Language (ASL). Maybe you want learn to communicate with family members or friends who may be deaf, or perhaps you have a special-needs child, or you just want your hearing children to develop their English skills, since ASL's grammar is closely related to the way young children speak. Myself, I was taught some basic signs many years ago in grade school, and I have always just wanted to advance what I had once been taught.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I asked several homeschooling friends if they had recommendations for a good, solid course on the language. Several told me they had been interested in this too, but were unable to find much more than a few "picture" style books which did not convey ASL as it would be used in real life situations. Fortunately one friend pointed me to this course, which she highly recommended. I soon saw why.

 

The Rocket Sign Language Website The program I have reviewed is Rocket American Sign Language™ which is produced by a company named Rocket Language Ltd. The company has an outstanding reputation for producing high quality language learning courses which include French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese and Chinese, and Amercian Sign Language.

 

There are 5 components in this learning course: The MegaSpelling software game, the MegaSign software game, Dictionary software, The Sign Language Learning Guide, and the Rocket Language members only forum.

 

You can move through this course at your own pace. The design of this course is very effective and makes learning the language easy and interesting.

 

Fun, Quick Learning

 

The program includes several modules that make learning quick and easy for any age student. The first software application is what they call Mega Spelling™.

 

With the MegaSpelling software you can learn to recognize the alphabet, 200 common names, and 100 of the most common words in a short period of time. You can play and replay the videos of each sign at half speed and I found that to be very helpful until I gained in confidence.

 

The software will show you signs and you give your answer. Your performance is then scored and you will then have indication as to how well you are doing along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The MegaSign software will teach you over 1,500 words and phrases. This component of the course covers everything that you need to know to communicate with the deaf. You will learn to introduce yourself, ask for assistance and much more.

 

The information in this software is taught in organized topics. This way you can learn all the words and phrases associated within one topic together.

 

The Rocket Language company studies have shown that this is the quickest and easiest way to learn. The software also has a speed control built into it. This way you can slow it down to a pace that your students are comfortable with.

 

The third component of the course is the Dictionary software. The dictionary allows you to look up a word and watch the video (with audio) to learn the sign for that word.

 

All you have to do is type in a word that you wish to view the sign for. When you click the play button the sign video will play and you will hear the spoken word.

 

I found this extremely helpful in recalling words I have already learned, but needed to refresh in my memory.

 

 The fourth component of this course is the learning guide. This is about 30 pages of supplementary information. Some of the pages incorporate embedded videos which make learning the procedures much easier.

 

The guide also discusses the history of how the ASL was developed, as well as proper etiquette within the deaf community. This guide is incredible and really gave me an understanding of the ASL that I wasn't expecting to learn.

 

For beginners through Advanced

 

Another very cool aspect of the Rocket ASL™ program was that is isn't just an introductory course. The publisher has wisely designed it with the assumption that the student has no background in the language when starting -- but it continues to an advanced level as well. I felt like this increased the value of the program because I wouldn't have to go out and buy a more advanced course as I progressed.

 

There is no age or grade level recommendation, as the course was designed for use by both children and adults. Any student from pre-school through adult can learn words and signs at their own pace.

 

Possibly the most impressive part of this course is the members only forum where you can ask questions and communicate with other students and the Rocket Language online instructors. To me, this forum made the cost of this course a real bargain. If you happen to get stuck on something, you find lots of help in the forum.

 

Discount Version Available

 

My closing comment involves the pricing of this course. It is priced in the hundred dollar range which means it is still priced lower than most of the other courses on the market. However they offer a downloadable option which means they don't have to ship out CD's, software and printed material. They offer a $50 dollar discount if you choose the download option (which is what I did). I was then able to watch on my computer.

 

To top it all off, the folks at Rocket offer the course with a 60 day, no questions asked, money back guarantee. When I consider the quality of the course work, the software, the forum, the guarantee, and the bargain price, I can only give the Rocket ASL™ program a very high rating of 5 stars. If you are wanting to learn American Sign Language, I think you will have a real hard time beating the quality of this program.  Good luck with your new learning experience!