"Beautiful" and "fascinating" is how students of the town Recreation Department sign language class at Flood Middle School, which began last month, describe the diverse hand motions that form the basis of the universal language of signs.

The class, which costs $35, excluding the book fee, meets from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. every Tuesday for seven weeks. The instructor is Susan Catale, who has been the sign language teacher since the program started five years ago.

"It's fascinating to do a language with your hands," said one of the students, Janet Jennings of Stratford.

"It's just a beautiful language," added Carol Van Duyne, also of Stratford. "The movements are so fluid once you know what you are doing."

Students' reasons for learning sign language vary, from a genuine desire to learn the language to more practical ones.

Jennings, who has a small hearing deficit, said learning sign language seemed like the appropriate thing to do since her hearing will probably get worse some day.

"I've a big family, so I don't get to do many things for myself," she said. "This is something I wanted to do. This year I said, 'I'm gonna go — come hell or high water.' "

In addition to her personal needs, Jennings said she found learning the basics of sign language helpful to her relationship with her son who has Down's syndrome.

Her son also has a hearing deficit and learned sign language when he was younger. But to encourage him later to learn how to speak, doctors did not allow him to use sign language to express himself.

Today, her son can speak, but when he gets frustrated, some of the sign language gestures he learned come back to him.

For Stratford resident Michael Arnold and his wife, Tiara, the reasons for taking the class are a bit different.

Arnold said he and his wife decided to join the class to be able to communicate better with a long-time friend who lost his hearing in a childhood accident. Though their friend can read lips, they know that he is more comfortable using sign language.

Another student, Carol Van Duyne of Stratford, said that although she has no personal need to learn sign language, she has always appreciated the skill and wanted to learn it.
She added that her daughter, who has a deaf college roommate, is also learning sign language at college to improve her ability to communicate with her friend.

Learning this new language made up of basic, as well as complicated hand motions, also has its challenges.

"As our instructor says, 'We just have to practice until it becomes natural,' " Van Duyne said. "Right now, the motions still feel a bit stiff — they are not fluid."

Jennings added, "When you are in class, you just breeze through it. It is a lot harder to do it at home. Having the time to practice and making sure you're doing the motions correctly."

For Michael Arnold, who is left-handed, learning the language from the basic sign language book, which is written for right-handed people, is tricky.

"I have to learn everything backwards — flip it. I rather see Susan do the signs in class. It makes it easier for me to learn," he said.

Arnold also said a lot of sign language is common sense, such as the gestures for eating or drinking. Keeping all the information together, however, can be difficult — especially when it comes to the He added that once the alphabet is mastered, everything comes easier because one is able to spell words out.

The students in the basic sign language class said their sense of accomplishment is priceless. "It really makes me feel good that I can do something like this," Jennings said. "I was surprised the class was so small, but it's a lot of fun to learn in a class where everyone gets along so well — it's homey."

Department's next sign language class begins April 4. Signups will be from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through March 31 at the recreation office at Short Beach Park, 1 Dorne Drive,, or online at the town's Web site at www.townofstratford.com.

By Ariane Rasmussen
http://www.connpost.com/news/ci_3571403