DR.BILL VICARS
American Sign Language University is resource site for ASL students and teachers. Here you will find information and resources to help you learn ASL and improve your signing.
ASL Lessons: |1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|20|21|22|23|24|25|26|27|28|29|30| Dr. Bill's ASL Fingerspelling Practice App is now available for your iPhone or iPad: "Check it out" ● Dr. Bill's American Sign Language (ASL) iBook! https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/american-sign-language/id667140172 ● Subscribe to "ASL.tc" and get over 75 ASL study tools for your Android Smartphone. Visit http://asl.tc for more info.
A mother (christy1246@______) writes:
  Christy,Hello :) The main series of lessons in the ASL University Curriculum are based on research I did into what are the most common concepts used in everyday communication. I compiled lists of concepts from concordance research based on a language database (corpus) of hundreds of thousands of language samples. Then I took the concepts that appeared the most frequently and translated those concepts into their equivalent ASL counterparts and included them in the lessons moving from most frequently used to less frequently used. Thus, going through the lessons sequentially starting with lesson 1 allows you to reach communicative competence in sign language very quickly--and it is based on second language acquisition research (mixed with a couple decades of real world ASL teaching experience). Cordially, - Dr. Bill
p.s. Another very real and important part of the Lifeprint ASL curriculum project is that of being able to use the "magic" of the internet to provide a high quality sign language curriculum to those who need it the most but are often least able to afford it. (See the Guyana link below.)
p.p.s. That cartoon sums up my philosophy regarding curriculum. Students shouldn't have to pay outrageous amounts of money just to learn sign language. -Dr. Bill
Hello ASL Heroes!
I'm glad you are here! You can learn ASL! You've picked a great topic to be studying. Signing is useful skill that can open up for you a new world of relationships and understanding. I've been teaching American Sign Language for over 20 years and I am passionate about it. I'm Deaf/hh, my wife is d/Deaf, I hold a doctorate in Deaf Education / Deaf Studies. My day job is being a full-time tenured ASL Instructor at California State University (Sacramento). What you are learning here is important. Knowing sign language will enable you to meet and interact with a whole new group of people. It will also allow you to communicate with your baby many months earlier than the typical non-signing parent! Learning to sign even improves your brain! (Acquiring a second language is linked to neurological development and helps keep your mind alert and strong as you age.) It is my goal to deliver a convenient, enjoyable, learning experience that goes beyond the basics and empowers you via a scientifically engineered approach and modern methodologies that save you time & effort while providing maximum results. I designed this communication-focused curriculum for my own in-person college ASL classes and put it online to make it easy for my students to access. I decided to open the material up to the world for free since there are many parents of Deaf children who NEED to learn how to sign but may live too far from a traditional classroom. Now people have the opportunity to study from almost anywhere via mobile learning, but I started this approach many years ago -- way before it became the new normal. You can self-study for free (or take it as an actual course for $483, see here for more details). Many college students use this site as an easy way to support what they are learning in their local ASL classes.
ASL is a visual gestural language. That means it is a language that is expressed through the hands and face and is perceived through the eyes. It isn't just waving your hands in the air. If you furrow your eyebrows, tilt your head, glance in a certain direction, lean your body a certain way, puff your cheek, or any number of other "inflections" --you are adding or changing meaning in ASL. A "visual gestural" language carries just as much information as any spoken language. There is much more to learning American Sign Language than just memorizing signs. ASL has its own grammar, culture, history, terminology and other unique characteristics. It takes time and effort to become a "skilled signer." But you have to start somewhere if you are going to get anywhere--so dive in and enjoy.
Cordially. - Dr. Bill
A mother (christy1246@______) writes:
Christy,Hello :) The main series of lessons in the ASL University Curriculum are based on research I did into what are the most common concepts used in everyday communication. I compiled lists of concepts from concordance research based on a language database (corpus) of hundreds of thousands of language samples. Then I took the concepts that appeared the most frequently and translated those concepts into their equivalent ASL counterparts and included them in the lessons moving from most frequently used to less frequently used. Thus, going through the lessons sequentially starting with lesson 1 allows you to reach communicative competence in sign language very quickly--and it is based on second language acquisition research (mixed with a couple decades of real world ASL teaching experience). Cordially, - Dr. Bill
p.s. Another very real and important part of the Lifeprint ASL curriculum project is that of being able to use the "magic" of the internet to provide a high quality sign language curriculum to those who need it the most but are often least able to afford it. (See the Guyana link below.)
p.p.s. That cartoon sums up my philosophy regarding curriculum. Students shouldn't have to pay outrageous amounts of money just to learn sign language. -Dr. Bill
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You are welcome and encouraged to link to Lifeprint! Just paste this code into your html:
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 |  "Safari Bill" (a.k.a. Dr. Bill) at the David Rose School in Georgetown, Guyana "ASL Safari: Guyana" Train the Trainer workshop! |  |
Need to practice your receptive fingerspelling? You'll probably love Dr. Bill's fingerspelling practice site: http://ASL.ms
Frequently Requested:
● How to say "I love you" in sign language, see: The ILY sign
● How to say "hello" in sign language, see: Hello
● Sign language for babies, see: Baby Sign Language
● Learn about the history of ASL, see: Sign Language History
● A list of sign language phrases, see: Sign Language Phrases
● Religious / Christian sign language: Religion
● Dr. Bill's sign language Dictionary, see: ASL Dictionary
● How to say "Thank you" in sign language, see: Thank You● Being developed: Advanced Signs
● The "official" ASLU Facebook group is at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Lifeprint.ASLU/
Ha! There you go!
I always enjoy doing what I can to support the ASL club. Grin.
Best wishes,
- Dr. Bill
Note: The "official" ASLU Facebook group is at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Lifeprint.ASLU/
ASL University (™) was established January 8, 1997 (Lifeprint.com) Copyright © 1997 - 2015 William Vicars, Ed.D.
Permission to use this material | Product Support | Acknowledgements | Privacy Policy | Donations Appreciated THANK YOU :)
Permission to use this material | Product Support | Acknowledgements | Privacy Policy | Donations Appreciated THANK YOU :)
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