If there is one area of learning ASL that trips people up more than any other, it’s fingerspelling.

Fingerspelling in ASL is the use of the manual alphabet to spell out words letter by letter.  It’s used for proper names, cities, brands and other words that may not have a standard ASL sign or when the signer wants to emphasize the spelling of a word.  

If you are an ASL student, you know it’s not easy. The fact is, it can take some time for fingerspelling to feel like it’s “flowing” from the signer.

But what many people don’t know is that you probably already have the skills you need to fingerspell better, but you just never applied them to ASL.

As an ASL teacher I’m often asked, “How can I improve my fingerspelling?” So, I wanted to share my best tips, from a Deaf perspective.

Why is Fingerspelling Hard for ASL Students?

As with ASL, mastering fingerspelling comes with commitment to the fundamentals as well as a lot of practice with Deaf signers in an immersive environment. Assuming one already does these, fingerspelling can still be a tricky skill to feel comfortable with. 

Fingerspelling is a Motor Skill

So right off the bat, it’ll test some innate abilities. Motor skills determine ability in sports, handwriting, etc. Some of us may be more challenged initially, but it’s ok.

Like the other skills that were once new to us, it takes practice. Consider some other examples:

It’s like learning to type on a touch-screen keyboard

Like many others around 2008-2010, I was weaning myself off my blackberry phone with its QWERTY keyboard and onto the touch-screen keyboard of my first iPhone.

If you remember, back then it was common to see the apologetic “please excuse any mistakes, sent from my iPhone” following an email message. Nowadays, we don’t see that much.  Granted, some hearing folks my age and older primarily use voice dictation instead of typing. 

But (barring any physical limitations) many of us Deaf people type fairly comfortably on them, believe it or not. Because over time, we’ve stopped focusing on the mechanics of it, going harder to get the exact letter. Instead we go lighter, maneuver autocorrect. It flows.

For what it’s worth, I do think teenagers might have a learning curve of their own if they had to type on our old Flintstone phones! Ha-ha.

It’s Like Driving 

If you’re like me, I had to think way, WAY back to remember Driver’s Ed, but I do remember one of the first things they said about driving: you have to look out to the horizon.

If you look at the nose of your car, you won’t drive in a straight line. But if you look up and out at the horizon (or a few car lengths ahead), it’ll take you straight to where you’re going. A smoother ride.

That’s what we want from fingerspelling: a smooth, straight ride.

Common Challenges with Fingerspelling

Truthfully, there can be a lot of reasons people say they struggle initially with fingerspelling when they are learning ASL, but they are as individual as there are people on earth.  Some common reasons people cite are:

• Hand or finger dexterity/flexibility
• Age while learning a second language (science says brains under 18 will absorb language more easily, folks)
• Lack of hand-eye coordination
• Poor spelling skills
• Learning disabilities

The good news is, you can be a good fingerspeller regardless of these reasons.  

A good fingerspeller is a clear fingerspeller. Not fast. Clear.

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How to Improve Your Fingerspelling in ASL

Fingerspelling is really a “holistic” practice. Like all communication, it’s reciprocal.  That is, it works two ways.  So, both should be practiced in order to increase fluency.

If you are looking for ways to improve your receptive fingerspelling, (as in reading others’), you can read about these too.

But if you’re here to see how you can improve your output, that is: your expressive fingerspelling, here are my best tips:

Practice the ASL Alphabet Until It Feels Automatic

This is the basic thing. Really commit to learning the ASL ABCs back and forth. There’s a reason L1 (first-language) learners have songs to accompany them when they first learn the ABCs as children.

Are you signing it in your head now? Do that in ASL!

Fingerspell Every Letter Clearly

Now test yourself.  Make flashcards.  Nail ‘em.

Check Your Hand Positioning

When you are fingerspelling, 

• your hand should be positioned roughly about a foot in front of your shoulder.  It shouldn’t really move from that spot. 
• your palm should generally be facing toward the person you are signing except for the letters: G, H, the swoop of the J, P, and Q.
• check your position in the mirror!

Think About the Whole Word, Not Individual Letters

What you focus on is what you convey. So, if you only think about the letters you are fingerspelling, that’s what comes across. This is fine if the emphasis is intentional, like in “ASL” — you see that it’s not a word but an abbreviation (for American Sign Language).

But if you are fingerspelling “AMERICAN”, you want it to look like this word, not on its letters (A-M-E-R-I-C-A-N).

So rather than focusing on the individual letters, think about the whole word you are fingerspelling. 

Fingerspell The Way You Write

Referencing the above idea of thinking of the whole word or name, think about how you would write it. If you are like me and stop to analyze spelling or to focus on the iteration of letters, it will mess me up. 

Thinking about fingerspelling as writing helps it flow better because it forces you to ‘zoom out’ rather than over focus on individual letters. It keeps the movement flowing naturally.

Don’t Talk and Fingerspell at the Same Time

Simultaneous Communication, or SimCom is the act of talking while signing in ASL and it doesn’t work well for communication clarity. It is especially not recommended while fingerspelling. Think of it this way:

If speaking in English and signing in ASL at the same time is hard, then speaking in English and fingerspelling whatever you are speaking is like trying to do this while eating an enchilada.. out of your hat.  And riding a unicycle–ok, ok.

Point is, focus on one language at a time.

Practice Fingerspelling Everywhere

Fingerspelling really is that portable–you can practice it anywhere and use whatever you see in your environment as a word or name to fingerspell. 

Practice Fingerspelling in a Mirror

Practicing fingerspelling in a mirror helps to check positioning and clarity.

I mean, do you understand you? That’s how you know.

You give good feedback!

Clear Fingerspelling is More Important Than Fast Fingerspelling

A lot of ASL students lament that they can’t fingerspell fast. 

I hereby hope to alleviate anyone else’s concerns about this with my response.

[steps onto milk crate, raises bullhorn to lips]:

Fast should not be your goal. 

We ASL teachers and Deaf people alike do not care about how fast you fingerspell. We care how clear your fingerspelling is and how watchable your ASL is. 

So, for those in the back: CLARITY, yes. SPEED, no.

[hops down]

It’s weird to me that people think they should aim to fingerspell faster. I mean, I get it because some Deaf or native signers seem to fingerspell fast. But I will tell you that if they are also not clear, people will be asking them to repeat themselves. 

So, if someone mentions they tend to fingerspell fast, just treat them like you would someone who admits they have a habit of talking too fast. Because it’ll be something they need to work on if people are misunderstanding them. If you were learning French, would your aim be to speak it faster?  Non. 

Chalk it up to human differences.  Some people talk or sign fast and others are more slow and deliberate. So what.

Just work on being clear. Everyone will love you for it.

 

Final Thoughts on Improving Your Fingerspelling

Fingerspelling can be challenging for ASL students because it requires separate skills to coordinate.  The tendency is to focus too much on individual skills which can hinder or stop the flow. The trick is to practice authentically, trusting the skills you have developed which allows the coordination to surface naturally over time. 

Time and consistency is the answer. Just like when you’re learning to drive. Look up and out at the horizon.  You’ll get where you’re supposed to go. Just keep going.

 

Common Questions

How long does it take to get good at fingerspelling?

As long as you are clear, that is good! For a higher skill set, assuming you’re taking regular ASL classes and practicing with other people, I would say about a year or two. The key really is practice with others, above all, which will help you to make adjustments for clarity–which is THE most important thing.

Should fingerspelling be fast?

Fingerspelling should be naturally paced, which is relative to the individual. For some people that is fast, and for others it is slow.  So your goal should be clarity, not speed.

How can I practice ASL fingerspelling by myself?

In a mirror! Do you understand you?  It’s a great way to check.  Otherwise, you should practice with other people as much as possible. Zoom classes with Deaf instructors or FaceTime-ing are great options for distance practice!

What’s the difference between expressive and receptive fingerspelling?

Expressive fingerspelling refers to YOUR OUTPUT, or what YOU sign.

Receptive fingerspelling refers to WHAT YOU TAKE IN, or are understanding when you are reading SOMEONE ELSE’S fingerspelling.  

This article was about expressive fingerspelling. In the next, I share tips for receptive fingerspelling – you can read it here.