Tell me about your job. How did you get into this line of work?
I am an American Sign Language Master Tutor/Mentor and Evaluator for ASL VRS interpreters. I’m currently studying Language Hunter’s Techniques as we invent a lot of helpful techniques that enables learning any foreign languages quickly.
By fate, I got into ASL Tutoring through a Deaf ASL teacher who noticed my potentials to teach. He made a huge impression in my life, planting a seed which paved my way to where I am today. After he died of aids, I vowed to become the best ASL teacher for individuals struggling to learn ASL – as with learning challenges I have, I truly understand what it’s like to be ignored in an overcrowded classroom. So, for years I’ve mentored numerous ASL teachers and attended many ASLTA workshops which gave me some clues to better my career. The rest I invented methods to jump start students to quickly grasp what was needed to learn.
What is the best part of your job?
I love seeing students who have failed in their ASL course and in one term, come back with a grade A average and seeing their faces lit up with joy. The same goes for any students who were shunned by other ASL teachers swearing they had no hope and I was able to help them understand ASL and become fluent over time.
What are some of the challenges of your job?
I guess the most challenging aspect of my tutoring job is technical issues. I’m still learning how to problem solve technical issues such as faulty connections with Skype, web-cam or a videophone, things along that nature. My second challenge is finding more ASL students to teach one on one.
What was it like growing up deaf/hard of hearing?
It was a very difficult childhood dealing with constant audism– oppression from hearing family, hearing teachers, hearing friends, hearing doctors, the entire hearing non-community. The older I got, the higher hearing people’s unrealistic expectations became increasingly burdensome. Thankfully one of my favorite teacher who truly understood my issue persuaded my family to let me go to Model Secondary School
for the Deaf. It was then I learned to accept my Deafness with pride and embraced ASL Culture.
What advice would you give a deaf/HH person who is looking for a career like yours?
My advice is to learn all you can learn about American Sign Language – literally taking all of the ASL classes, ASL linguistics and workshops – even if you’re fluent already to understand how students learn. Always be brave to experiment with various methods that is not traditional – we’re here to serve hard working students who wish to master ASL. Accept the fact that there’s always room for improvement with your teaching ability. Learn from a master ASL tutor/mentor who has a high success rate of fluent ASLstudents to save you time, energy, and errors. Be patient and polite with your ASL students and have fun in your sessions.
WWW.ASLmasterTutor.com
Email: ASLmasterTutor@gmail.com