LOS ALAMITOS, CA– With a massive spike in popularity, Los Alamitos High School students have the opportunity to learn American Sign Language. Currently, 290 Los Al students are enrolled in ASL levels one to four.

“ASL is an important language to learn because… it creates more accessibility all over”  ASL teacher Ms. Lauren Troutman. Unlike the English language which uses vocal tones and listening to communicate, ASL uses facial expressions as 30% of the grammar with the rest being body and hand movement. 

The 3.5 percent out of 11.5 million Americans that are hearing impaired struggle to comprehend vocal languages. Although they manage to communicate through lip reading or technology such as hearing aids, ASL is designed for accessibility in proper discussion between people of various languages.  

“I was really interested in learning to communicate with him! I also watched a lot of videos that used ASL, especially songs and I fell in love with the language.” senior Kesley Rost said after deciding to take ASL to better communicate with a deaf neighbor. She describes ASL as “expressive” and “rewarding”. Kesley is currently in ASL 4 and finds ASL like no other language on campus.

Unlike most used languages, American Sign Language doesn’t have a written language. Since ASL only uses hand movement and facial expressions, ASL is perfect for those who don’t enjoy or aren’t the greatest in the area of reading and writing.

ASL teacher Ms. Troutman describes ASL as unique in the way that it is sometimes seen as a piano. In order to make music, pianos use one note after another. Each note makes a higher or deeper noise. Altogether the piano creates beautiful sounds.  In comparison, ASL uses different gestures to construct sentences.

Spotlighting a class not spoken through words highlights the beauty of silent communication. Learning ASL enhances the beauty of accessibility throughout our school in hopes to spark awareness and create a comfortable environment for everyone.