Others say...

"Sign Language DVD Difficult To Use"
I found that the Sign Language DVD was not easy to use. The DVD has two people signing to each other in multiple chapters. I thought it was difficult to follow some of the signs and sometimes very difficult to tell which sign went with which word. I felt myself constantly rewinding to see if I could figure it out.

"Good for beginners"
This is a good format for someone just learning sign language. I bought it to use with high school freshmen, and it was just a little boring for them. Most of the signs are presented with adequate time to practice them, but the alphabet was presented way too quickly. I had to stop several times and repeat it. It lacks entertainment value, but is factual and groups signs well.

"Pretty good"
I bought this DVD because I wanted to learn the basics of ASL to help me decide if I wanted to get certified in it. I find the DVD very useful if you watch it in parts. It's divided into lessons - 5 parts, I believe - covering everything from items in your house, food, weather, time of day, and the letters. It's heavy in vocabulary.

There are 2 sets of hosts, technically: 1 set who speak directly to you and another, basically role playing to help you learn. The 1st set are pretty difficult to follow. They don't repeat things and you often have to skip back a couple times to watch it again. The role playing group explains everything slowly and repeats signs for easy learning. There is also a guy who explains basic concepts to you, like how to position your signs based on what gender you're speaking of and how high or low to hold your hands.

I'm pretty happy with this DVD. It's a good beginning course. After speaking with my aunt, who is proficient, however, I learned that this DVD isn't enough, even for a beginner. She recommends using this DVD series with a book about the Deaf Culture. Without something to help you truly understand what it's like to be deaf, the signs can become meaningless. I highly recommend the DVD set, but I will be purchasing a book as well.