Catharsis and the Benefits of Freesigning

 

Having taught American Sign Language (ASL) for many years, I’ve discovered the benefits of freesigning—a loose application of Peter Elbow’s freewriting—that are not apparent to many ASL students.  In fact, some students are so intimated by nonsense ASL babbling that they openly react, “I don’t know enough signs.”  But freesigning does help—whether you exercise it with someone or yourself!

 

All of my ASL students are required to do at least one three-minute freesigning exercise in the beginning of my classes.  It is a non-stop babbling with a lot of repeated signs.  I walk around the classroom to cheer them up, to remind them to continue signing, to suggest signing spaces, to do whatever I think benefits their newly acquired skills in ASL.  After each exercise, I’d offer some constructive praises and feedbacks.

There is a word that captures how this nonsense ASL babbling helps—catharsis.  Freesigning leads to a catharsis, which means a feeling of relief.  The “charged” feelings within ASL students become less demanding of remembering signs and more comfortable with “self-chattering.”  There is a branch of psychology that supports the notion that behavior can be changed by changing the way we think. 

Freesigning is “self-chattering”—a strategy to help develop a different way of thinking.  The student is encouraged to take an inventory of signs that pop into his or her mind through the exercise of freesigning.  After all, ASL is another way of thinking.

ASL students doing freesigning exercises are able to identify specific signs from the exercise more quickly than when they are signing in the more monotone cadence characteristic of textbook or dictionary signs.  Research published in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology suggests that self-chattering (talking to yourself) may actually help develop cognitive skills faster.  It is from my professional experience that ASL students acquire ASL about 25% faster when they do freesigning exercises.

;-)