Terrible app and website
Im HoH with a severe chronic illness that prevents me from attending scheduled and in person courses. I was looking forward to this app.
The structure is great and all the teachers are Deaf but the app is useless and the website crashes through the lessons almost constantly. I discontinued my service because it’s a high cost for something that won’t let me get more than 20% through a video.
The structure is great and all the teachers are Deaf but the app is useless and the website crashes through the lessons almost constantly. I discontinued my service because it’s a high cost for something that won’t let me get more than 20% through a video.
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Very hard to follow
First, this is a lousy app. I haven’t paid for the additional content because it was so hard to use the free lesson that was included. The instructor is constantly signing long sentences and how on earth do I know what she’s saying?!?! It was easier to follow when she signed actual vocabulary parts of the lesson, but even there, the screen shows a large slide presentation with a handful of words on each slide, while the instructor is in a small box in the upper right corner. This is an app on my PHONE - she’s approximately an inch wide! I could barely see what she was doing.
Also when the video ended, it took to regular YouTube video suggestions, not to the next video in the course. No clue how I was supposed to get there.
Second, the slides in the intro lesson at least were inconsistently glossed. In other words, there are times when word order is completely different in ASL than in English, but the sentence is written on the slide in English, but signed with ASL grammar - which is appropriate, but there is a reason ASL gloss exists.
Third, I think I fundamentally disagree with the program’s premise that it’s important to learn ASL from someone who is deaf - at least in the beginning. I am a native English speaker but successfully taught intro Spanish, and while I definitely recommend students seek a native speaker of any language after a certain point, I think there is an advantage that non/native speakers have in teaching, in that they understand where their students are coming from better. Most importantly, find what works for you - if learning from a hearing instructor is what gets your foot in the door, don’t feel guilty about that! And this alone wouldn’t stop me from finding value in this app if it were better designed.
Also when the video ended, it took to regular YouTube video suggestions, not to the next video in the course. No clue how I was supposed to get there.
Second, the slides in the intro lesson at least were inconsistently glossed. In other words, there are times when word order is completely different in ASL than in English, but the sentence is written on the slide in English, but signed with ASL grammar - which is appropriate, but there is a reason ASL gloss exists.
Third, I think I fundamentally disagree with the program’s premise that it’s important to learn ASL from someone who is deaf - at least in the beginning. I am a native English speaker but successfully taught intro Spanish, and while I definitely recommend students seek a native speaker of any language after a certain point, I think there is an advantage that non/native speakers have in teaching, in that they understand where their students are coming from better. Most importantly, find what works for you - if learning from a hearing instructor is what gets your foot in the door, don’t feel guilty about that! And this alone wouldn’t stop me from finding value in this app if it were better designed.
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Experience
Not a free app and it is a monthly subscription.
No “try before you buy option” or if there is you have to create an account before finding it.
No “try before you buy option” or if there is you have to create an account before finding it.
