The Complete Idiot's Guide to Conversational Sign Language Illustrated Paperback – September 7, 2004

I only just received this today and immediately opened the book and thumbed through the chapters, I also browsed the introduction and watched the intro on the DVD and reviewed a few other signs. That said I have not had time to get into the meat of it BUT what I have seen so far has been praise-worthy. A very good intro and some good info about different sign language 'languages' I learnt a few things thT I did not previously know (not signs other related info) which was quite interesting. Good explanation on what is conversational sign language and how it differs from say 'signed english language'. The DVD has a visual for the signs from the book (important to know), you are taught by both a deaf and hearing person (mother and daughter)which I also found good.More than 600 signs... Let's face it most people buying this are 'hearing' people who have an interest in communicating with the 'hearing impaired'. From what I have seen this book will help with basic communication and those seeking further vocab now have a base to build on.Also information on common misconceptions, interesting facts and also special tips on improving your signing. I will update the review as I explore the package more. But so far 'two thumbs up' (or 5 stars).

I love this book. I could not ask for anything more in a basic instructional book. Both ladies are very easy to understand, not going to fast or slow. I highly recommend this book for beginners. It also has great stories and experiences from other people as well as the authors helping to understand the deaf culture. My favorite is the signing Santa. I also took the advice of the authors and ordered other books that lend to the experience. I am fifty-three years old and enjoying the experience of learning this language.I ask only one thing: Write a second level book! And if need be a third level. I want more but can't find anything else as good as this one.

Having taken 2 semesters of ASL, I must admit that I was disappointed to see a vocabulary list that I knew 95% of...but this book is definitely an excellent source for those with no or very little prior ASL knowledge. NOTE: THIS IS NOT ASL. The book is Pidgin Signed English (now called Contact Signing) which is easier to learn if your first language is English. That is, the grammar of ASL is absent in the presence of English word order. But the way the book is laid out, it's easy to learn! There's little bits of cultural information, how to engage and end a conversation, "do"s and "don't"s, and more! I like the little anecdotes, too.Pros: Easy to follow, comes with a DVD to reinforce and clarify signs, decent amount of information for a beginnerCons: NOT ASL (ASL "words" but not the grammar) and not terribly helpful for those with moderate exposure to sign languageOverall, it's a handy cultural tool that helps you learn a little language :)

This is the best book I have found on the topic. The book includes a wonderful DVD illustrating commonly used signs. I am a hearing person who will teach beginning sign to a group which has no knowledge of sign language. I, myself, need the book to prepare myself to teach. I learned sign many years ago, but am really rusty, and this book will help me to catch up. I would heartily recommend the book to anyone who is interested in learning sign language. The group and I will be learning (re-learning) together.The Complete Idiot's Guide to Conversational Sign Language Illustrated (The Complete Idiot's Guide)

With this book (DVD included), you, a hearing person, will understand and feel how the life is for the Deaf in every scene of the day-to-day life and how interact with them. This is the best part for me. Of course, you will also learn 'contact signing', a day to day signing language just in the middle of ASL and American Signed. I loved the book!. Thanks girls (the authors, mother and daughter), you did a very good job!.

One of the best, if not THE BEST ASL primers on the market! Great and appropriate illustrations AND explanations!

Very useful

My wife works at a doctors office where they have a couple of deaf patients. She has always wanted to learn sign. She couldn't put the book down. After two days she was signing non-stop. Originally she only wanted to buy the DVD instruction but I encouraged her to use this book too. Now it is the other way around. She goes to this book first and uses the DVDs as a backup. I also got her some ASL flash cards that work well for practice.