Learning American Sign Language: Levels I & II--Beginning & Intermediate

by Carol A. Padden Tom L. Humphries, Carol Padden

This book is designed to help learners successfully interact with American Sign Language (ASL) users. Written by two leading authorities in the field, the 24 lessons in this book cover Beginning and Intermediate or Level I and II courses of study. Lessons are structured around language needed for common life situations, and examples are presented in the form of dialogues coupled with grammar and vocabulary instruction. Information is also included about the culture of Deaf people in the United States. The book is supported by a videotape and an instructor's manual.

Learners will discover that the text:

Contains lessons designed around the conversational language needed for common life situations. Illustrates hundreds of sentences and vocabulary with over 2,000 high quality colorized drawings that aid in study and memory. Contains over 100 grammar and cultural notes, 72 exercises, and charts of the American Manual Alphabet (Finger spelling) and ASL number system. Teaches the rules of ASL in a natural order that is predictable and compatible with everyday language of native users of American Sign Language. Incorporates information about the cultural lives of Deaf people in the United States. Is supported by a video demonstrating all the conversations and important structures in the text. Order the NEW Video!

Video to Accompany American Sign Language, 2/e
Order No. 0-205-27554-0

American Sign Language students will find themselves captivated and entertained by this state-of-the-art Video that presents all 72 dialogues and each key structure from the text in a clear and natural way. Four internationally known Deaf actors animate the dialogues bringing life to the illustrations in the text allowing students to preview and review instructional materials at home to enhance their classroom learning.

About the authors:

Tom Humphries is Associate Director of the Teacher Education Program and also teaches in the Department of Communication at the University of California, San Diego. He is currently coordinating a program to train teachers of deaf children using a bilingual approach. Prior to this he taught at Gallaudet University in the Department of English for several years and later served as an Associate Dean for the San Diego Community College District where he coordinated the development of an ASL program and an interpreter-training program. He holds a Ph.D. in Cross Cultural Communication and Language Learning. Dr. Humphries is co-author with Carol Padden of Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture and several other books and articles related to ASL and the culture of Deaf people.

Carol Padden is a Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California, San Diego where she teachers courses on language, culture and media. She is a graduate of Georgetown University and received a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of California, San Diego. Her recent research includes studies of reading development in young deaf children and she has written extensively about the cultural lives of Deaf people in the United States. She received a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, in addition to numerous other awards and grants for her work. In addition to the books she has co-authored with Tom Humphries, she has published several other books and articles on American Sign Language structure. Humphries & Padden (Learning American Sign Language, 2e). SMP 2004 Page 1 of 1

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Textbooks, School, Language, Academic, Education

357 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 1992

Reviews

[mohamed nouari]

Get your copy of Learning American Sign Language 2nd edition the ebook and DVD's

[Anthony Crouse]

Adore this book! Solid foundation of signs, though a few are outdated for my area. Understandably tricky to grasp signs from a book, but the internet and real people offer great resources to enhance your skills. I got my copy from: Learning American Sign Language: Beginning and Intermediate, Levels 1-2 2nd Edition

[Arnaldo Torres-Hernandez]

It's definitely a good book to learn sign language only if you have a professor that can explain to you each signs, grammar, etc. Also, watching videos might help. I would recommend an update, since there are some images that are not clear. This is a lot better than the Puerto Rican sign language book available in Puerto Rico. I know that both languages are not the same, but my comparison is about the format of the book.

[Ntjwtmc370]

Very incredible book. I got my copy from this Learning American Sign Language 2nd Edition

[Lief Youngs]

The lessons and vocabulary are great. Sometimes the pictures for the vocabulary are hard to understand. Is a great supplement to use while taking a class.

[LARRY]

As posted in [http://www.amazon.com]:

As an ASL instructor, I found myself not really liking this ASL book. I'm constantly comparing it to Vista/Signing Naturally, not that it's a perfect book either.

First of all, it is difficult to learn 3-D signs from a book. However, you can get an accompanying DVD/VHS. However, it is not much help. The signs/models in the video are too fast for beginners to learn and pick up. This is the biggest complaint from my students.

Another thing, there isn't much cultural tidbits for beginning students. There are more grammar tidbits. Therefore, you'll get the feeling that the linguistic aspect of this book is more important than anything else. Sure, we all want you to sign correctly. However, I want my students to have equal knowledge of the Deaf culture/community.

There are about 3 exercises in each unit. There's barely any activities included to make learning fun. This book focuses on rote learning rather than meaningful learning. For me, rote learning isn't quite effective for students to learn signs.

If your teacher/class require this book, I suggest you bombard your teacher with questions about signs, grammar and culture.

[Ashley the Magnificent™]

I am not a big fan of the way the lessons in this book are laid out. I prefer to know what I'm learning BEFORE being taught how to do it. I have seen the texts other ASL classes use and they seem more logical in their progression. This book is also guilty of "using" signs in practice sentences it doesn't teach in the lessons. However, I now know ASL, so I guess it wasn't all bad.

That said, the spiral binding of this book SUCKS. Strike that, it REALLY REALLY SUCKS!!! Yeah, it lies flat... in pieces. This book was in shambles after ASL 1. By the end of ASL 2 most the pages were falling out. Very annoying. Fortunately, ASL 3 uses a different book so I can put this one out of it's misery.

If they come out with a non-spiral-bound version, OR use sturdier materials, I would generously bestow another star.

[Rain Misoa]

I just realized that I have had this book on my reading shelf for years and I never wrote anything about it. I really like this textbook. It really helps you to learn different signs. One complaint is that if you don't have a visual CD showing you how to do some of the signs, you'd be confused as to the right motions.

To read my full review, click here.

[Tamra]

This is the text for Beginning ASL 1, 2, and 3 at Cincinnati State (CS). I don't have a problem with the book, but I don't love it, either. I'm not a straight-up beginner (even though I'm in beginning classes), so I keep wanting the book to cover more vocab and give more examples.

Also, the book isn't taught as-is at CS. They modify how they teach the grammar.

I feel mostly neutral about this book, which makes it 2.5 out of 5 stars.

[Rebekah Lewis]

I love this book. Great foundation of signs - though some are a little outdated or not used in my area. Sometimes it's hard to understand a sign from a book, but there are plenty of resources on the internet, or live people, that can help you sharpen your skills.

As with any language book, the text itself will not make you fluent, but it will definitely help set you up to communicate effectively.

[Bruce Dinsman]

Good basic book for learning American Sign Language. I would recommend this book for anyone who interacts with the public in any capacity. The deaf community would greatly appreciate your effort. My daughter is now an ASL interpreter (recent assignments including hospital, court, GHURA, prison). My wife has taken several courses and I am trying to learn because my wife frequently loses her voice and has to communicate by a sign.

[Bookich Store]

My daughter used this for both her ASL classes in college. She still refers back to it occasionally.
She used it for 1 ASL and 2 ASL.

Buy the ebook and DVDs now:

Learning American Sign Language 2nd edition ebook and DVD's

[Jessica (JT)]

This was a required textbook for an ASL course I took in college. I loved learning sign language and this book helped a lot in that process. This is one of the few textbooks I kept and it is one of the few that I pull out occasionally to look over again.

[Elizabeth]

not helpful. then again, learning ASL from a small picture is almost never helpful.

[Sarah]

A good book for learning some basics in ASL. My edition though, doesn't have the DVD.

[Heather]

Shouldn't be used to teach ASL.
The signs are old and out dated.

[Zack]

A little outdated but with a good teacher to supplement, a great guide for beginners.

[Michele Lynn Fitzpatrick]

Sign language deaf
Michele Fitzpatrick

[Lauren]

Very helpful learning ASL.