15 Common Mistakes When Studying American Sign Language (And How to Fix Them) | LearnByTeaching.ai
Learning American Sign Language is not simply learning to translate English into hand gestures. ASL is a fully independent language with its own grammar, syntax, and cultural context. Here are 15 mistakes that trip up ASL students, along with practical fixes to accelerate your fluency.
Signing in English Word Order
The most pervasive mistake is treating ASL as 'English on the hands.' ASL uses topic-comment structure, not subject-verb-object order. Signing English word-for-word produces sentences that are grammatically incorrect in ASL.
Signing 'I am going to the store' word by word instead of using ASL structure: STORE I GO (topic-comment, with the location established first).
How to fix it
Study ASL sentence structure explicitly. Practice converting English sentences to ASL gloss before signing them. Watch native signers and note how they order information — the topic (what you're talking about) comes first, then the comment (what you're saying about it).
Ignoring Non-Manual Markers
Non-manual markers — facial expressions, head tilts, eyebrow raises, and body shifts — are grammatical in ASL, not optional emotional additions. Without them, your sentences are incomplete or ambiguous.
Signing a yes/no question without raising your eyebrows and tilting your head forward. A Deaf viewer would not recognize it as a question — it would read as a flat statement.
How to fix it
Practice non-manual markers separately before combining them with signs. Record yourself and check that your eyebrows are raised for yes/no questions, furrowed for wh-questions, and that you use appropriate mouth morphemes. Think of facial grammar as equivalent to vocal tone in spoken languages.
Neglecting Receptive Skills
Students spend most of their practice time signing (expressive skills) and far less time watching and understanding others (receptive skills). This creates a dangerous imbalance where you can produce but not comprehend.
Being able to sign a self-introduction fluently but unable to understand a Deaf person's response because they sign at natural speed with variations you haven't encountered.
How to fix it
Dedicate at least half your practice time to receptive work. Watch ASL content on YouTube without captions. Start with slower educational content, then progress to native-speed vlogs. Resist the urge to pause and replay — train your brain to process continuous signing.
Learning Signs in Isolation
Memorizing individual signs from vocabulary lists without learning them in sentence context. Many ASL signs change meaning based on context, movement, and spatial placement.
Learning the sign for 'chair' in isolation but not knowing that in context, a classifier handshape representing a person sitting down can convey the same concept more naturally.
How to fix it
Always learn new signs within sentences or dialogues. When you learn a new sign, immediately practice using it in three different sentences. This builds the contextual understanding that isolated vocabulary drills miss.
Avoiding Classifiers
Classifiers are handshapes that represent categories of objects and are used to show movement, location, and action. They have no English equivalent, so students avoid them, but they are essential to fluent ASL.
Signing 'The car drove past the house' using individual signs for each word instead of using a vehicle classifier (3-handshape) moving past a flat surface classifier representing the house.
How to fix it
Practice classifiers through storytelling. Describe physical scenes — a car driving, a person walking, objects on a table — using classifiers rather than individual signs. Start with the five most common classifier handshapes and build from there.
Not Using Signing Space Effectively
ASL uses the three-dimensional space in front of the signer to establish referents, show relationships, and indicate verb directionality. Beginners keep all signs in a flat plane directly in front of them.
Talking about two people without establishing them on different sides of your signing space, then being unable to use directional verbs to show who did what to whom.
How to fix it
Practice establishing referents by pointing to specific locations in your signing space. Once a person or thing is 'placed,' consistently refer back to that location. Practice directional verbs like GIVE, TELL, and ASK by moving them between established locations.
Studying Only from Books or Apps
ASL is a three-dimensional, spatial, and visual language. Learning from two-dimensional resources (textbooks, flashcard apps) strips away the very features that make ASL unique. No app can replace interaction with a live signer.
Studying only from a vocabulary app and then being unable to understand a Deaf signer because real signing involves spatial grammar, speed variation, and non-manual markers that static images cannot convey.
How to fix it
Use books and apps as supplements, not primary learning tools. Take a class with a Deaf instructor. Attend ASL social events, Deaf community gatherings, or online video chat sessions. Live interaction is where real ASL fluency develops.
Ignoring Deaf Culture
ASL is inseparable from Deaf culture. Students who treat ASL as purely a linguistic system miss the cultural norms, values, and history that shape how the language is used in real interactions.
Not understanding why Deaf people value directness and detailed visual descriptions in conversation, or being unaware of the historical oppression of sign language in education (oralism) and why it matters to the Deaf community.
How to fix it
Study Deaf culture alongside ASL grammar. Read about Deaf history, attend Deaf community events respectfully, and follow Deaf creators online. Understanding the culture makes you a more sensitive and effective communicator.
Mouthing Every English Word While Signing
Beginners often mouth the full English word for every sign. In ASL, mouth morphemes are specific and grammatical — they are not English lip movements. Mouthing English words signals that you are signing English, not ASL.
Mouthing 'not yet' while signing NOT-YET, when the correct ASL mouth morpheme is an open mouth with the tongue slightly out.
How to fix it
Learn the specific ASL mouth morphemes that accompany signs. Common ones include 'pah' for finally, 'cha' for large, and 'mm' for smooth/easy. Practice signing without any English mouthing, then selectively add correct ASL mouth morphemes.
Sloppy Fingerspelling
Fingerspelling too slowly, bouncing each letter, or forming unclear handshapes. In real conversation, fingerspelling is fluid and fast, and unclear letter formation breaks comprehension.
Bouncing your hand for each letter of a name so it looks like five separate signs instead of one smooth fingerspelled word, making it unreadable to a Deaf viewer.
How to fix it
Practice fingerspelling as a smooth, continuous movement rather than discrete letters. Focus on hand position and clarity, not speed — speed comes with practice. Drill common fingerspelled words (names, lexicalized fingerspelling like #JOB, #BACK) daily.
Not Recording Yourself Signing
Unlike spoken language where you hear yourself, you cannot see yourself sign without a mirror or camera. Many students never review their own production, so errors in handshape, movement, and facial grammar persist uncorrected.
Consistently producing a sign with the wrong palm orientation for weeks because no one corrected you and you never watched yourself sign.
How to fix it
Record yourself signing sentences and short narratives at least twice per week. Compare your production side-by-side with native signer models. Focus on handshape accuracy, non-manual markers, and spatial consistency.
Confusing Similar Signs
Many ASL signs differ by only one parameter — handshape, location, movement, or palm orientation. Students who don't pay attention to minimal pairs produce the wrong sign without realizing it.
Confusing the signs for MOTHER and FATHER (both use an open-5 handshape but at chin vs. forehead), or APPLE and ONION (same handshape and movement but different locations).
How to fix it
Study minimal pairs explicitly. When you learn a new sign, identify which signs it could be confused with and note the distinguishing parameter. Quiz yourself on these pairs regularly.
Practicing Only Vocabulary, Not Conversation
Spending all study time on individual sign drills without practicing connected discourse. Real ASL involves transitions, role shifting, spatial referencing, and conversational turn-taking that vocabulary lists don't cover.
Knowing 500 individual signs but being unable to tell a simple story or hold a two-minute conversation because you've never practiced stringing signs into coherent narratives.
How to fix it
Practice retelling stories, describing your day, and having dialogues (even with yourself on camera). Focus on smooth transitions, role shifting for different characters, and maintaining spatial consistency throughout.
Giving Up on Understanding and Asking to Switch to Writing
When communication gets difficult, hearing students often ask to switch to writing notes back and forth. While sometimes necessary, doing this too quickly undermines your language development and can be perceived as dismissive.
Immediately pulling out your phone to type when a Deaf person signs something you don't fully understand, instead of asking them to repeat, slow down, or sign it differently.
How to fix it
Build strategies for repair: learn signs for AGAIN, SLOW, SPELL-THAT, and HOW-SIGN. Stay in the visual mode as long as possible. Struggling through comprehension gaps is where real language growth happens.
Treating ASL Class Like a Lecture Course
Sitting passively and taking notes during ASL class instead of actively signing, watching, and interacting. ASL acquisition requires physical practice and visual engagement, not note-taking.
Spending class time writing down English glosses of signs in a notebook instead of watching the instructor and practicing signing with classmates.
How to fix it
Keep your hands free during class and your eyes on the instructor and classmates. Save note-taking for after class. Use class time for maximum visual input and physical practice — these are irreplaceable.
Quick Self-Check
- Can I sign a five-sentence narrative using ASL word order (not English order) with correct non-manual markers?
- Can I watch a two-minute ASL video at natural speed and summarize the main points?
- Do I use classifiers when describing physical scenes, or do I default to individual signs for every word?
- Can I fingerspell my full name smoothly in under three seconds?
- Can I explain three aspects of Deaf culture and how they influence ASL use?
Pro Tips
- ✓Follow Deaf content creators on social media for daily exposure to natural ASL — this builds receptive skills passively.
- ✓Practice signing in front of a mirror to build awareness of your non-manual markers and spatial use without needing a camera.
- ✓Learn the most common 20 classifiers before trying to memorize more vocabulary — classifiers give you more communicative power per unit of study time.
- ✓When learning a new sign, practice it in a sentence with a question form, a negative form, and a statement form to internalize ASL grammar simultaneously.
- ✓Attend Deaf community events with the mindset of a respectful learner, not a researcher — genuine connection accelerates language acquisition far beyond any classroom exercise.