I see this come up a lot.
People learn signs. They attend classes, pick up vocabulary, and can recognize what’s being said. On paper, it looks like progress. But when it comes time to actually use it, something shifts.
They hesitate. They second guess. They freeze.
It’s easy to think that means they didn’t learn enough, but that’s usually not the case.
The issue is that knowing signs isn’t the same as knowing how to communicate.
In a classroom, things are structured. You know the topic, you have time to think, and you’re expecting the interaction. Real situations don’t work like that. Someone walks in, signs something you didn’t expect, and now you’re trying to process, respond, and keep the interaction going all at once.
That’s where confidence drops.
Not because people don’t know anything, but because they haven’t had the chance to use what they know in a way that feels real.
Communication isn’t perfect. It involves missing things, asking again, adjusting, and trying a different way. That’s normal. But if learning doesn’t include that part, people walk away thinking they’re not ready.
So they stop trying.
What actually builds confidence isn’t more vocabulary. It’s practice in context. It’s learning how to recover when something isn’t understood and how to keep the interaction moving instead of shutting it down.
When people get that kind of experience, something shifts. They stop focusing on getting everything right and start focusing on being understood.
And that’s when communication starts to happen.
If you’ve learned ASL before and still feel unsure using it, it doesn’t mean you didn’t learn enough. It usually means you didn’t get the chance to use it in a way that connects to real situations.
That’s something we can change.
If you’re looking at ASL training for your team and want people to actually feel confident using what they learn, I’m always open to a conversation about how to build that into your environment.
