One day, after Tyler and Morgyn Morris decided to visit the temple grounds, a deaf interpreter approached them from Morgyn’s ward. The interpreter shared how there was a need for ASL interpreters in the area. Tyler Morris, a sophomore from California studying psychology, along with another student, Libby Templeton, a sophomore from Washington studying history education, decided to teach an ASL class that would be open to the community.
“The closest hard-of-hearing or deaf ward is in Honolulu, which is really far,” said Morgyn Morris, a senior from Michigan studying business. “Realizing there is a need, we wanted to begin a community and make it more available here on the North Shore. We want more people to know ASL, and we also want more people to be aware of the deaf and hard-hearing members.”
Tyler and Libby Templeton decided to teach an ASL class in the Laie Stake Center, which is open to anyone who wanted to come. As it grew in popularity, they created a Facebook that reached out to the North Shore community.
The Laie community has a large presence in the ASL class, usually filling the majority of the seats. Morgyn Morris said the attendance tends to fluctuate and students come when they can. “We try to gauge where they are at, and teach based on what they need. Usually they just ask us questions. It’s not like we have a formal curriculum.”
The thing Tyler loves most about the class is how the students are trying to go and reach out to the deaf community. He said because “students come when they can, the class is tailored to each individual class setting. It’s really nice because someone will show up and say, ‘I tried to talk to somebody just this last week, and I didn’t know how to say this. How do you say it? So I can go back and talk to him, next time.’”
One of the members, who had been attending for a couple months, is Megan Hughes. She said, ”I come with my whole family, we love it. We attend Laie 1st Ward, and a lot of people who are hearing impaired come to our ward because there are ASL interpreters in our meetings. We just really want to have a connection with the people in our ward, that we feel like we can’t really communicate with. This class has given us the tools we need to communicate with members of our ward.
“This class has taught us how to give a simple testimony, give a prayer, or bless the food. My kids would do that. They will say, ‘I’ll bless the food.’ then, they will sign it. It’s so simple, but it opens up another world.”
The coolest thing Dominic Samora, a junior from Washington studying peace building, said sign language introduces you into a “whole new world... I want to continue to learn and practice my sign language. There is a huge culture that comes with the language. Signing is all about expressing yourself visually. In my opinion, this is the best part. Have fun using over the top expression.
“I just got back from Africa where I taught math at a deaf school. I was able to spend four months with deaf kids interacting with them. They told me about their lives and their experiences. Most had hearing parents who don’t know sign language, so they love helping people learn sign no matter what skill. The people you will meet while signing are amazing. All the deaf people get super excited and are very appreciative, even if all you know to say is ‘Hi, my name is,’ and ‘How are you?’”
Sign language across the world, according to Tyler Morris, is different. He continued, “Just like there are different languages across the world, people around the world have different ways they sign to each other. The ASL we teach is American Sign Language. It is predominantly used in the US, Canada, and some parts of the Philippines. If you go to England, they have BSL, which is British Sign Language. ASL requires one hand to do the alphabet and BSL requires two.
“You have Chinese and Japanese Sign Language. In ASL there are only 26 letters in the alphabet, in Chinese or Japanese, there’s over 30 or 40, and each one has an individual character sign. So, it is different everywhere, however, there is an international Sign Language. Only certain interpreters learn that skill. It’s mostly for press conferences with the United Nations. It’s a universal sign language. Besides that, it’s a pretty local-to-local basis.”
Hughes smiled and shared th she is happy with how the class has blessed her family. They go every week, and they are excited to continue learning. “We’ve learned words, but more than anything, it’s empowered my kids and myself to think we can communicate. It has given us confidence. We don’t always know what they are signing back to us, but we at least feel like we have a connection to those people.
“Everybody should come to this class, especially if you have any interaction with someone who is hearing impaired, which we all will.”
Samora gave counsel to those struggling to learn. “If you’re struggling to learn sign language, change up your learning style. Instead of learning in a classroom, another way is to try to learn a song. I love doing this personally. It’s hard, but you can take it one step at a time. First, learn the song, then the signs, and then have fun with it. Singing is all about expression.”
Anyone feels discouraged when they feel like they are not measuring up, said Tyler Morris. “When they start comparing themselves to other people, everyone feels a little discouraged. The thing with learning ASL, and virtually any other language, is you’ve got to go at your own pace. You can’t get upset if you’re taking a little bit longer. You’ll get to know it just as good as the other guys. Don’t get discouraged, don’t worry, take your time.
ASL classes are offered to anyone who is interested every Sunday in the Laie Stake Center at 4:00pm. They can also be reached through Facebook: North Shore ASL Community or their Instagram: North Shore ASL
Writer: Dani Castro