The goal for my Personal Project is to research and learn about American Sign Language(ASL), then teach others some signs to learn through a video. This could be challenging for me as the video will be 10 to 20 minutes long, meaning that I will have to learn and teach a diverse range of signs to people. I chose to learn ASL for my personal project because I understand that many deaf people around the world cannot communicate with people who have good hearing, and I wanted to change that. I first decided to learn American Sign Language after reading the manga “A Silent Voice”, a story in which a girl is bullied for her impaired hearing. Although I do not personally know any people who have impaired hearing, I want to learn ASL to communicate with any I may meet in the future. The reason I chose American Sign Language over any others is that English is one of the most common languages, and I have lived in the Americas for many years.

My goal is a SMART goal for many reasons. First of all, it is specific because I have a particular goal I want to achieve: a video. This is measurable because it will be 10 to 20 minutes long. The goal is attainable and realistic because there is a lot of material online to help learn ASL, and finally, it is timely because I will be managing my time wisely. I will spend a few months learning, and spend one or two months to create the video itself, including filming, editing, and recording my voice.

The Global Context I chose that I thought related closest to my goal was Scientific and Technical Innovation. This is because I plan to use technology, in this case through a video, to help the deaf and hard of hearing community be able to communicate with other people better. Since technology can have a great impact on society through influence, I believe that my Personal Project relates closest to this Global Context.

Before starting my Personal Project, I needed prior knowledge about the topic, both personal and academic. Before this, I had already watched a video that taught basic ASL signs to beginners, and from there I learned how to sign “yes” and “no”. MYP subjects helped me through skills and knowledge because I gained the ability of Language Acquisition. This may be helpful because it may aid me in developing insights into the features, processes and craft of American Sign Language.