learn sign language title

Learn Sign Language with Our Complete 3-Level Course

So you’re ready to learn sign language…

And it couldn’t be easier to start! If you want to learn sign language, then you’ve come to the right place.

The Start ASL team has created a complete 3-Level ASL course curriculum that will get you signing right away! No more scouring the internet only to learn a few signs at a time – Start ASL has the complete course you’ve been looking for.

Join over 6,000 fellow students and start signing today!


Why Do We Have So Much Available For Free?

We often get asked this question.

The truth is, we offer all of this for two reasons. Firstly, we honestly enjoy helping people and we want to share our passion with you. But we also know that if you’re serious about wanting to learn sign language, you’ll want to try our official Start ASL Online Course – the most advanced and fun step-by-step online ASL learning available.

But maybe you want to start learning right now, for free. You can use the table below to learn sign language with our free lessons.


Start ASL Free Lessons

Or choose the unit you are currently working on below:

Classes
Units
ASL 1
Workbook | Intro | Unit 1 | Unit 2 | Unit 3 | Unit 4 | Unit 5 | Unit 6 | Unit 7 | Unit 8 | Unit 9 | Unit 10 | Unit 11 | Unit 12 | Unit 13 | Unit 14
ASL 2
Workbook | Intro | Unit 1 | Unit 2 | Unit 3 | Unit 4 | Unit 5 | Unit 6 | Unit 7 | Unit 8 | Unit 9 | Unit 10 | Unit 11 | Unit 12
ASL 3
Workbook | Intro | Unit 1 | Unit 2 | Unit 3 | Unit 4 | Unit 5 | Unit 6 | Unit 7 | Unit 8 | Unit 9 | Unit 10 | Unit 11
Fingerspelling
Unit 1 | Unit 2 | Unit 3 | Unit 4 | Unit 5 | Unit 6 | (These lessons are included in the above classes)

Do You Really Want To Learn Sign Language?

Yes, our free lessons are wonderful, but serious ASL students who want to immerse themselves completely in American Sign Language will love our official Start ASL Online Course – guaranteed! Our complete online course will teach you how to sign comfortably and correctly in true ASL. The course was created by ASL professionals with the goal of teaching students fluent ASL, and helping you to understand and fully integrate into the Deaf community. We’re passionate about our courses, and we’re looking for passionate ASL students who really want to learn sign language. Get Started Today!

We think you’ll love our online classroom!


Are You Enjoying The Class? Share Your Experience In The Comments Below!

Many new ASL students are very interested to know about your Start ASL class experience. Have you been able to successfully learn sign language? What is your favorite part of the class? Are you learning everything you want to? Do you have any useful tips? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Here’s a helpful page by a fellow student:

Learning Beyond The Sign – Understanding the past, helps us to embrace the present. Finally an online class, that teaches you that learning ASL means more than knowing how to bend your fingers…

71 replies
Newer Comments »
  1. Raina
    Raina says:

    thank you, it was great learning ASL since I always wanted to learn it and I never knew where to go to lear. this was very easy from home and at my own time. thank you.

    Reply
  2. Nicole Morel
    Nicole Morel says:

    I am loving this so much, i am learning a lot, the way the lessons are organized is ideal to break the ice to the student start practicing and creating conversations right away!

    I feel so happy, would love to have a certificate for the free lessons.

    Reply
  3. thomas
    thomas says:

    this site is garbage, i am a 7th grader trying to learn but all it does is assume we know everything, it just makes us write and teaches us barely anything. 0-5 stars. u suck

    Reply
  4. RY
    RY says:

    Hey there!
    These classes are amazing! I would totally recommend these to anybody who is interested in ASL! The classes are easy to understand and access, fun, and best of all FREE! I’m only on the second Unit and have learned so much already! Thank you so much ASL teachers!

    Reply
  5. Elisabeth Y.
    Elisabeth Y. says:

    Hello there!
    I have wanted to learn sign language for a few years now and I was self-taught for a while, so I already knew
    how to sign minorly, but that was before I quit.
    I wanted to learn ASL in Highschool, and I am so glad that a mom recommended this online course when they did. I love it! I’ve learned a lot in the short period I’ve been using it, and already know how to introduce myself and have
    (at least somewhat) a conversation in sign language. Thank you so much for this! God Bless!

    Reply
  6. Ruth Y.
    Ruth Y. says:

    Hello there!
    I have wanted to learn sign language for a few years now and I was self-taught for a while, so I already knew
    how to sign minorly, but that was before I quit.
    I wanted to learn ASL in Highschool, and I am so glad that a mom recommended this online course when they did. I love it! I’ve learned a lot in the short period I’ve been using it, and already know how to introduce myself and have
    (at least somewhat) a conversation in sign language. Thank you so much for this! God Bless!

    Reply
  7. Yuri Mejorado
    Yuri Mejorado says:

    This a pretty good program. I have learned so much with all the information listed on every unit. My favorite instructor on the videos is Ms. Deborah. I love how she signs!!! The other instructors are way to fast when signing some times. I have to repeat the videos several time to see what fingers or what hand shape they are using. Sometimes I have to look for the ASL signing on Youtube to understand how to sign some of he words.

    Reply
    • Lillie
      Lillie says:

      Hi there! When I run into that issue I change the video speed and slow it down as much as possible at first to see their hands better or face expressions. Then you can go back to normal speed and see it in regular time and understand it better.

      Reply
  8. Conor Crockett
    Conor Crockett says:

    The thing that I like most about the program is that they go more in depth about ASL grammar and Deaf culture. When I took the Online Course, Whenever I did the video assignments in class or do activities like Discussion Mondays, Grammar Wednesdays, and Fingerspelling Fridays I receive Invaluable feedback from instructors and that they really helped me improve my signing skills. And the fellow members of Start ASL Online Student Community were very welcoming and friendly. My goal is that one day when me and my family set up a family business, I want to provide services for Deaf customers. I’m glad to have taken this class. Thank You Start ASL!

    Reply
  9. Krista Rogers
    Krista Rogers says:

    I am severely hearing impaired in both ears and my hearing is declining (in the last six years my hearing loss went from mild-moderate to severe) so I am making an extra effort to learn ASL. Many of my family members are interested as well so I will definitely recommend that they take these free lessons. It’s only a matter of years until my hearing worsens to a point where hearing aids are no longer helpful, so ASL could wind up being a vital part of communication for me.

    I am enjoying the lessons; they are simple and straightforward, easy for beginners, and for those who know just a few signs. Anyone can take these lessons: hearing, hard of hearing, or deaf!

    Reply
    • Toni Fleenor
      Toni Fleenor says:

      This is great feedback. I too am hard of hearing. Deaf in one ear and declining hearing in the other due to spinal menigitis at age 4. (I am 34 now) Thank you for noting that, I think it’s important for others like us to know this is an option and a great tool to use. :)

      Reply
  10. Sue Kidd
    Sue Kidd says:

    This site is terrific! I appreciate so much the lessons, the help when I have a question and the ability to go back and review, and review and review….which I do A LOT because my old brain is definitely being stretched!!! The resources that are listed are great as well. Thank you so much for sharing so much information!!

    Reply
  11. Andrea
    Andrea says:

    Thank you so much for creating a free resource to kickstart my ASL journey! Being able to learn off a website makes it super convenient for me to learn, and I don’t know what I would do without all the video tutorials. I couldn’t imagine trying to learn such a dynamic and expressive language out of a book, and I can test my commitment with the free trial before committing to the more advanced courses.

    Reply
  12. Rebekah
    Rebekah says:

    Good Afternoon,

    Do I have to pay for anything to make an account or to get the answer key to the free lessons?
    The directions for finding the answer key to the free workbooks/lessons tell you to log in first. When I try to create an account it is telling me I have to sign up for one of the payment plans.

    Hope to hear from you soon so I can continue my journey with StartASL.

    Thank you,
    Rebekah

    Reply
  13. sfsanta
    sfsanta says:

    I am enjoying this way of learning because I can go back and review as much as I feel I need to so that I can become more competent. I am having difficulty with the practice videos because I have tried multiple times to access the answer checker but have not been able to get at it. I am also seeking a live person who will have the time to spend with me to review what I have learned in a live setting. Our community does not have a ASL Santa and I want to make this opportunity available to the deaf community that I live in. Thanks for the great leassons.

    Reply
  14. Vawn
    Vawn says:

    Thank you for this free course. I’ve been using different signs for years and found this course very helpful in using the new signs. e.g. hungry

    Reply
  15. Elise
    Elise says:

    Awesome program!!! I’ve been wanting to learn ASL for a while now and this course helped me out a ton (for free!) :) This class is great!

    Reply
  16. Emily
    Emily says:

    I’m loving these classes so far and am enjoying learning ASL! I’m doing this for school and well, I’m guilty of wanting to learn this since I was in 5th grade. I never could find anywhere to learn it from! Thank you for this program!

    Reply
  17. LFuchs65
    LFuchs65 says:

    I believe i will love this class. Im a CNA and im my moms caregiver right now. My mom is pretty much deaf. We have trouble communicating. Im hoping this will help us. I can use it in my work too. Thanks for your free courses.

    Reply
  18. Madison Elizabeth Snyder
    Madison Elizabeth Snyder says:

    This is fun and surprisingly easy! I love that some of these lessons are free to start you off with sign language. I am thinking of starting to pay monthly to learn sign language on here.

    Reply
  19. Leilani Woods
    Leilani Woods says:

    I’ve finally found what I’ve been looking for! I’ve learned so much from these classes and my sign language receptive skills have definitely improved. Thank you so much!!!!

    Reply
  20. Marlene Dixon
    Marlene Dixon says:

    I am hard of hearing and should have learned sign language years ago. I start a sign language class in 2013 in college, but I had a hard time learning the concepts. My instructor did not have the patience to assist me because I was making too many mistakes, so he told me to leave the class, and I had to drop the course. I was looking online for a lesson where I could learn on my own and come across this program. This ASL program is perfect for me my only problem is I need to sign in the class on often, My goal is to to be fluent in the language great program!

    Reply
  21. Lynne Hartman
    Lynne Hartman says:

    I am enjoying these classes very much. I have wanted to learn ASL for several years but have not found any classes available in my area. I feel like I am making good progress with this class as well as some other resources I am using. Thank you for offering all of these lessons and helping people to learn this beautiful language.

    Reply
  22. April Wiseman
    April Wiseman says:

    I took this class online at school as an elective, and it was super helpful and fun. A couple other girls took the class with me, and we can all communicate with each other now to some degree, which is super cool. One girl also used ASL as a part of her senior project and educated our school about its importance as a language. Thank you so much for making this experience possible!

    Reply
  23. Jennifer Tibke
    Jennifer Tibke says:

    This is so great! I’ve been struggling with increasing hearing loss throughout my life. I wear hearing aides in both ears, although they help some, they don’t make any for my type of hearing loss. My hearing loss is progressing in a steady rate, my hearing doc has told me I will probably lose almost if not all of my hearing in about 10 years. So I need to learn this and so far you guys gave made it easier and fun to learn it!

    Reply
    • John Garnett
      John Garnett says:

      Hi, there was reading comments on the site. I noticed your about hearing. Have you heard of Cochlear Implant. I was in the same situation as you, and my Audiologist referred me to Cochlear since they did not make a hearing aid powerful enough to use. I now have both ear with Cochlear. And with Cochlear I have around 80% hearing back now. Something to check if you have not done so. Have a good day

      Reply
  24. Bethany Zacek
    Bethany Zacek says:

    Growing up in church I would watch some of the older girls doing Sign Language during worship, and always found it fascinating. After a few years of watching I had picked up a few signs. Two of the girls then began a class to teach some of us kids. I was about 10 at the time and picked it up rather quickly. Unfortunately they had to stop doing the class. I am now 15, and a freshman in high school. I continue to sign during church and in the fall of 2016 I joined the church worship team to do ASL. In doing that I learned many more signs and used ASL at least twice a week. Just about 2 months ago I discovered StartASL and started the free courses. I just finished ASL 1 and couldn’t be happier. Signing in church is great, but I had almost zero conversational ASL skills. I know know many more signs, understand the grammar a bit more, and am confident that I could hold at least a brief conversation with a deaf person. Thank you so much for creating this course! And I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to learn ASL. I am home schooled, and count ASL as a language course. The important thing is that each unit only takes about 30 minutes to do!

    Reply
  25. George Johnston
    George Johnston says:

    My wife and I are currently in the process of getting custody of my son (who is deaf) he was kept from me for so many years and I am now being able to have the chance to build a relationship with him and be the father he truly deserves and needs in his life. I want to be able to communicate with him and learn from him and teach him as he grows I never want him to ever feel like he has been ignored because we can not communicate with each other. It’s sad to say that but that has been the case for him the last 12 years and he deserves way more out of life then he has been given this far. I’m grateful to have found this site and it has already got me started in communicating better with my son. So far other than youtube, this has been the best way for my family and I to learn.

    Reply
  26. Alex Harris
    Alex Harris says:

    Hello all. This site is great! I have always wanted to learn sign language. I can remember sitting in my room as a kid and learning the alphabet using my encyclopedia Britannica. : ) I have been on this site the past few weeks as a guest and just officially signed up. My own shyness and not knowing how to not be awkward trying to communicate with someone hearing impaired has affected me on numerous occasions. That being said I do recognize I shouldn’t let that stop me but I am here to change it. Personal goal, I don’t expect it to be easy, and I can’t wait to learn!

    Reply
  27. Sue
    Sue says:

    I am enjoying this course and I’m amazed that I’m picking this up so quickly. I do have trouble with the different numbers but I’m working on it. I having trouble understanding the stories yet too. They are signing much too fast for me to get everything but I’ll get there. Thanks for putting this together.

    Reply
  28. John Scott
    John Scott says:

    I have tried learning ASL 3 times prior to using the start ASL program over the last 6 years because I have grown up hard of hearing after a recent visit to my audiologist my hearing is getting worse and now desperatly struggle to learn ASL should the worse come upon me this is the best program I have found by far for learning even though i still struggle to understand how to make sentence structure but I am getting there thank you Start ASL.

    Reply
  29. rusty ferrel
    rusty ferrel says:

    I just started learning ASL; I thought it made sense in my list of learning languages, since the Deaf communities in the cities I have lived in are large, and to exclude people in my life because we don’t speak the same language makes little sense to me, so here I am. I am using this class as support as I take a college class which is kicking my butt majorly. I just need to figure out how to find the checker…

    Reply
  30. Ashley Becker
    Ashley Becker says:

    I’m just a freshman in high school, and growing up I made a lot of deaf friends. This really helped me create an easier way to communicate!!!

    Reply
  31. Alyssa Derricott
    Alyssa Derricott says:

    I have been in love with American Sign Language for about 10 years now and I feel very strongly about learning it. I have been exposed to some ASL at former religious services and I started to learn some signs there and absolutely loved it. I have since moved away and long to learn more. Also as an educator I feel like it would be extremely beneficial to learn the language more.

    Reply
  32. Aquilino Peña Castillo
    Aquilino Peña Castillo says:

    I value knowledge a lot, think sign language is a very interesting topic and now I met a friend who is hard of hearing who is teaching me sign. I am here because I want to learn more and more how to sign ( I am having some problems with the ASL structure).

    Reply
  33. tsheko
    tsheko says:

    it wasn’t an easy journey though am greatful for having given an opportunity to learn hand speaking for free.i m currently in a position to communicate with the deaf without that much limitation. ASL1 classes made me to get this far and kept me on track for continuity leaning

    Reply
  34. Angie
    Angie says:

    I am so very greatful to have found your class. I can fingerspell and know some other signs. I know just enough to get through a conversation however it is sometimes difficult. I wanted to become more fluent and know more so I’m not “just getting through”. I will become very helpful since we have several deaf clients where I work. So a coworker and I am going to go through this course together so we can really communicate with our clients. Thanks so much!!

    Reply
  35. Mo Ellison
    Mo Ellison says:

    I’d like to learn ASL to enhance my skills and prepare me for a career in sign language interpretation. I figured this Start ASL course would be a good starter as I am waiting to officially become a resident in my state (I just moved here) so that I can go to the school near me that offers the degree! So excited for what’s in store!

    Reply
  36. Ashley Rosborough
    Ashley Rosborough says:

    This website is so much help!! One of my best friends is deaf, which is what originally lead me to this site. I’ve started teaching some of my other friends how to sign and they have seemed to be enjoying it! I love how I can work at my own pace and all of the information laid out on this sheet! I’ve signed up for the news letters and love hearing from you guys! Thank you so much for making this and showing so many incredible people that they can have hope, and inspire others to make a change in this world!

    Reply
  37. Courtney
    Courtney says:

    Thank you for this resource! I’m bilingual in Spanish/English but my son doesn’t have much interest in Spanish. I’ve always been interested in ASL so we have decided to learn together. He is 10 years old. He is really excited!

    Reply
  38. :D
    :D says:

    I started learning the alphabet last year and I went to a new school and there were many deaf kids. I always had an interest in ASL, but never actually tried learning, this is the best website yet to learn ASL! 6/5 stars!

    Reply
  39. Emoni House
    Emoni House says:

    My older sister is deaf, so I already know Sign Language, but there is some stuff I do not know. I am so happy that this unit alone has helped me some!

    Reply
  40. M. Laura
    M. Laura says:

    Thank you for your work, I love this website. I’m Hungarian and now for me this is the only way to learn ASL. I’m glad to you! :)

    Reply
  41. Shiraa
    Shiraa says:

    This is so awesome! I love the fact that you offer the basics for free, but still have the more advanced options available for those who would like to further their learnings. I’ve been thinking about learning ASL for a while, but was one of those people who never actually did anything about it until now. I hope this website will help me in that endeavour! (it’s already been pretty useful, which is awesome) And I love the fact that you’ve got different people signing, because it enables me to see the subtle difference, and thus get a better understanding of what the general sign is supposed to look like.
    We totally should’ve learned asl in class, or at least as an elective… Thanks to this awesome site I might actually get to learn it at last though!

    Reply
  42. Angela Brown
    Angela Brown says:

    I love these classes. I will be a independent certified instructor for teaching sign language and i thank you guys for the extra lessons and videos! Better than the classrooms!

    Reply
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