Windham Public Library offering American Sign Language classes

Tristan Petersen is leading a free sign language course at the
Windham Public Library. Classes meet at 6 p.m. on the last
Monday of every month at the library. SUBMITTED PHOTO  

By Masha Yurkevich

At some point, most of us have learned – or at least attempted to learn – a second language. We twist our tongues and sound out every syllable in attempt to utter a new word in a new language. On top of using sound and words to tell others something, we also often use our hands. These help us express how we feel, and we know that without them, our daily communication with people would be very different. But what about people who can’t use their mouth to communicate, or whose other senses make it difficult for them to use sound to get their message along? That’s where American sign language (ASL) comes in. 

ASL started in 1817, in Hartford, Connecticut, at the American School for the Deaf (ASD). The school was originally known as The American Asylum for the Education and Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and was founded by the Yale graduate and divinity student Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet. It was later renamed The American School for the Deaf, and it was the first American school dedicated entirely to the education of the deaf.

As technology and different forms of communication are evolving, sign language is becoming not as common. Luckily, Tristan Petersen has made sure  that does not happen. 

To keep sign language going, Petersen has begun to offer sign language courses at the Windham Public Library, free of charge. The class meets once a month on the last Monday of every month at the Windham Public Library. It starts at 6 p.m. and runs for an hour, sometimes lingering a little bit past the hour. The first class was held on May 23 and the second class on June 27. The next class will be on July 25.

Leading this class is Tristan Petersen who started learning at the age 18 when he went to the Rochester Institute of Technology, which has a college called NTID, short for National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Because of this college at RIT, he says he was able to meet many deaf people and learn ASL from his deaf friends.

“Although it is very hard to tell with me, I am actually more deaf than I can hear, and verbal communication has always been a struggle for me,” said Petersen. “When I went to RIT, I was immersed in an entirely new culture and language I had never experienced before - and it helped me realize I was missing a big chunk of “human connection.”

Petersen has taken the reigns in establishing the class and teaching it every month.

“Because of my deafness, and experience in deaf culture, I am able to provide much more than just the basics of sign language - I can provide reasoning and rationale behind signs, I can provide insight on variations on signs, and so much more that you just won’t learn from a YouTube video or a book,” he said.

The class meets at the meeting room in the Windham Public Library which is quite large, a rough estimate would be that the room could fit about 50 people, so there is plenty of room to join. There is no age restriction, and everyone is welcome to attend.

“We typically sit around a circular table so everyone can see everyone else, and we practice signs at the pace of the class,” said Petersen.

According to Petersen, the class is absolutely free and he said that he can’t point to any one specific experience or inspiration behind his motivation to offer the class other than he wanted to give back to the community, and this is his contribution to the community.

The only requirement to join the class is to have an interest in learning sign language at all, whether that is from being late deafened, hard of hearing, have a deaf family member, or just out of pure interest.

Petersen said that the class will continue as long as people are interested.

“Even if one person shows up, I’m happy to teach them!” said Petersen.

He says that if someone is interested but feel like they would be overwhelmed, that’s completely natural and exactly how he felt when he first started learning sign language 20-plus years ago.

“Like any language or skill in life, it takes time to pick up, so please don’t feel like you have to arrive knowing anything at all. Just an eagerness to learn, it doesn’t matter from what level you are starting, or if you don’t know a single sign. We are all there to learn and have fun.” <

FMI, please visit http://www.windham.lib.me.us/  <