Free Signing
Many of us have experienced free writing before, especially in a classroom setting. Free writing gives you a chance to write whatever is on your mind for a designated period of time. The only rules are:
· There is no stopping to think
· Don’t correct mistakes· Write quickly
· Don’t stop writing until the time is up
You simply write quickly for several minutes straight. This helps you become comfortable with writing and if practiced enough it will always be something you can do “second nature” and not have to think about. During the third week in ASL 201 we practiced this technique. After we understood what it was about, Carl had us start Free Signing.
It is safe to say free signing caught us all with our guards down. Although we did not sign for as long as people usually write for, it gave us a chance to sign without worrying about fixing mistakes, thinking of better signs, or pausing for anything. During a session of free signing you just keep signing no matter what. If you cannot think of anything, you just keep repeating a sign until something new comes to you, or finger spell a sign you don’t know. This exercise was intimidating at first, but I can see that it is helping me with many things like:
· Remembering forgotten signs
· Becoming more fluent· Practice finger spelling
· Getting comfortable signing in front of groups
· Letting the signs come to me so I do not think…I just do
