Everyday American Sign Language
Learn practical American Sign Language to hold real everyday conversations. Build a core vocabulary of signs, master spatial grammar, and communicate with clarity and confidence.
Like Duolingo, but for Everyday American Sign Language. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
24 levels across 4 sections, about 48 minutes end to end, roughly 10 days at five minutes a day. It moves through First Interactions and Immediate Signs, Navigating Conversations, Daily Life and the Clock, and Visual Grammar and Deaf Etiquette. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Everyday American Sign Language
- The standard sign for 'hello' looks like a salute moving outward from the forehead
- A casual wave is used in sign language for both entering and leaving an interaction
- 'Thank you' begins with fingertips touching the chin and moves outward toward the other person
- 'You're welcome' moves inward toward the signer with an open, welcoming scoop
- 'Please' uses a flat hand flat on the chest moving in a clockwise circular motion
- The sign stays centered on the chest rather than moving outward toward the other person
- Sign language uses direct index-finger pointing for personal pronouns
- Pointing to yourself means 'I' or 'me', while pointing to your conversational partner means 'you'
- Pointing off to the side establishes reference for a third party ('he/she/they')
- Signing 'yes' uses a fist that nods like a head, accompanied by an actual head nod
- Signing 'no' snaps the index and middle fingers shut against the thumb, paired with a head shake
- Facial and head movements must synchronize with the handshape to make the affirmation or denial clear
- Fingerspelling takes place in a compact zone near the dominant shoulder
- Holding the hand directly in front of the mouth blocks facial expressions and lip movements
- Reaching far out toward the viewer strains the arm and moves out of standard sightlines
- A steady hand position allows the viewer's eyes to focus without chasing a bouncing target
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Everyday American Sign Language the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
When can you use a casual wave in sign language?
Get it right to open this lesson and 23 more in the app.
Where Everyday American Sign Language takes you
- 1
First Interactions and Immediate Signs
- Greetings and Everyday Politeness
- Fingerspelling and Introductions
- 2
Navigating Conversations
- Asking Questions and Repairing Gaps
- Talking About People and Relationships
- 3
Daily Life and the Clock
- Daily Routines and Common Activities
- Numbers, Time, and Scheduling
- 4
Visual Grammar and Deaf Etiquette
- Classifiers and Directional Movement
- Deaf Community Norms and Communication
4 sections · 8 units · 24 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Everyday American Sign Language is taught in the The Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Everyday American Sign Language today.
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