Where to learn American Sign Language on Long Island

Rochelle Sanchez said she was just 13 when she became fascinated by sign language after seeing it portrayed in the TV series “Little House on the Prairie.”

“They had an episode with a deaf child, and I just thought the way it [sign language] was communicated was just beautiful. . . . I loved everything about it,” the Oceanside resident recalled. “I said, ‘I’m going to learn that someday.’ ”

The special education teacher, now 57, has made good on her promise. After briefly enrolling in an introductory American Sign Language course in her 20s, she resumed studies in 2023.

Since then, Sanchez has completed three courses in ASL and said she is now considered an advanced beginner.

“Sign language was always on my bucket list,” she said, adding that she is grateful she is able to sign with a deaf family who attends her synagogue. “When I finally started learning it, it was like sitting down with your best friend. . . . It was where I was meant to be.”

While beginners may want to save time and money by turning to online resources to learn sign language, Elizabeth Castellvi, who teaches a non-credit American Sign Language course at Hofstra University in Hempstead, said in-person classes help casual learners build fluency faster.

In addition to learning the alphabet and numbers, sign language classes cover handshapes, grammar and non-manual markers, including eye gazes and body posture, which are critical to meaning, Castellvi said.

“It’s important to know ASL is a foreign language,” she said. “It should get the same regard as if you are trying to learn French, Spanish or Italian.”

She emphasized the importance of regularly engaging with the deaf community to practice. “Like with learning any other foreign language, if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it,” she noted.

If you can’t practice signing with a deaf relative or friend, Castellvi said, local Facebook groups list gatherings that are open to the public. There are also a variety of YouTube videos that teach sign language essentials. However, she cautioned that some signers on social media platforms are not native ASL users — people who grew up using American Sign Language — and may not be reliable instructors.