Hello all. Im interested in learning sign language, but I cant seem to find any centres near my house except for the YMCA. If you know any class conducted around KL/Selangor than is reachable by public transit / bus, please let me know. Thanks.

Any forumers fluent in this language?

Hmm you don't really need a class to learn sign language, but you'll need a friend who is as interested and committed as you to practice with. Sign language is kinda similar to English in terms of basic grammar. Of course there are difference which aren't too hard to pick up.

You can pick up a book or two and a dictionary from Amazon. Start by making up simple conversations and try to communicate with your friend slowly is sign language. If you don't know the standardized sign for a word, just be as expressive as possible and hope your friend gets the meaning. People who converse in sign language do it often.

If I am not mistaken Malaysia sign language is a variant of America Sign Language. So do buy ASL books. And if I am not mistaken only deaf people are allowed to learn sign language in Malaysia. I heard this from a friend who learned ASL with me in US.

To motivate you abit, check out this girl's youtube videos...

http://www.youtube.com/user/allyballybabe

Do note how good her facial expressions are when she 'sings' the songs. Notice how it adds so much depth to her hand gestures. This reveals mistake made by a lot of people who are not mute or deaf that learn sign language. They only make very bland signs with their hands which is very hard to understand actually.

For us who have voice and can hear, the meaning of what is said depends alot of the tone, pitch, volume and speed of what is said. Such inflections adds a second layer of meaning to the sentence. For example "I am mad." could mean either "I am angry" or "I am crazy" depending on how it's said.

Similarly sign language relies on such inflections too. However, being a visual form of communication it relies on things we can see. So facial expressions, how fast you perform a gesture, body movement and such plays an important role.

Hope this helps and enjoy learning sign language.

This post has been edited by mumeichan: Jul 22 2009, 10:13 AM

Why not you just go to YMCA??Its actually quite convenient to PJ/KL ppl,you just need to travel by LRT/KTM/Monorail to LRT KL sentral,then walk about 10 mins outside that station.

Thanks, mumeichan, your info helps a lot! My best friend and I used to scour the internet and pick up bits of ASL, but it does not help us in communication. And the vidoelink was really cool! She used her facial expression well in aiding her gesture, something I never did with my friend. Again, thanks.

The YMCA website was not updated, so I didnt know the schedule for this year classes. Last years's, it was from Sept till Dec. Im already in Uni by that time. Besides, to participate in the YMCA programs, membership is needed. I cant sign up for personal reasons, eventhough like you said, the location is really convenient for KLnians..

Thanks for dropping by. Please inform me if you have any further info.

hi. just want to check if u have found a class other than YMCA ?
I'm interested in learning it too. (: Thanks.

Hi, if you are interest in learning sign language or One/many-to-One, in-home tutoring, pls fee free to email me as angela2012my@gmail.com.

I am deaf tutor.

This post has been edited by hueychuin2016: Dec 16 2016, 03:07 PM

Thanks for dropping by. Please inform me if you have any further info.

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I've been to the sign language class in YMCA KL.
Yes, need to register for membership before can sign up or class.
Class consists of Level 1, 2 and 3 - mind you, there is exam for each level, which I didn't know until I went for their Level 1 sign language class. I was looking for sign language class to learn for additional knowledge and learn for fun, not to sign up for class where there's exam and that it's meant for those who will be sign language interpreters.
Level 1 emphasize a lot on visual, gesture and communication (VGC). I learn that the deaf always look at the facial expression and they have very expressive gestures when using sign language. So it's important to show what you are trying to "say" through your facial expression and gesture. Signing while looking like a robot (no gesture or facial expression) mean they will not understand the message you are trying to convey to them.
Level 2 is where starting to learn on sentence structure. How a sentence is created and how to sign them.
Never been to Level 3 but this is where one is serious about being interpreter for sign language.

Yes, Malaysian Sign Language / Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (BIM) adopted a lot of it from the American Sign Language (ASL) - it is pretty similar and easily understood for most sign used.

Books wise, they recommend the vocabulary book and you can buy at Malaysian Federation of Deaf (MDF) at Puchong (google it for direction to get there). Title of the books are Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (Jilid 1) and Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (Jilid 2) - useful to learn how to sign certain words. You can check out how the book looks like here: http://nrlly.blogspot.com/2016/11/bahasa-i...sia-bim-or.html
I bought it for RM30 each (price as of year 2018)

Hope this helps.

It is a good experience to learn the sign language and may come in handy especially with people working in environment where they will most likely meet a deaf person and need to communicate with them.

This is latest update of Malaysia sign language this coming soon and in future

If you would like learn malaysia sign language, pleasedon't forget to show your support by liking, sharing, and subscribing to our channel. Your encouragement fuels our commitment to providing more sign language tips and tutorials


https://www.youtube.com/@AngelaSignExpression

it is very useful learning resource. Hope you like it

Thanks

This is latest update of Malaysia sign language this coming soon and in future

If you would like learn malaysia sign language, pleasedon't forget to show your support by liking, sharing, and subscribing to our channel. Your encouragement fuels our commitment to providing more sign language tips and tutorials

https://www.youtube.com/@AngelaSignExpression

it is very useful learning resource. Hope you like it

Thanks