I have learned that ASL references written by Elaine Costello are good references to have. It explains well the signs with some of the mnemonics or basis of the sign. Of course, this dictionary is nice and small so it literally fits in pockets... well, men's pockets or large winter jacket pockets. The smaller number of words can sometimes lead to struggling for synonyms but it helped me look up signs so I could put together short, simple sentences to communicate with a Deaf colleague (e.g. "I made coffee if you want some," "leaving for meeting," etc.). It helped with social bonding, as making efforts to speak someone's language shows consideration, and it gave me tools to express the consideration I already had.

I have learned that ASL references written by Elaine Costello are good references to have. It explains well the signs with some of the mnemonics or basis of the sign. Of course, this dictionary is nice and small so it literally fits in pockets... well, men's pockets or large winter jacket pockets. The smaller number of words can sometimes lead to struggling for synonyms but it helped me look up signs so I could put together short, simple sentences to communicate with a Deaf colleague (e.g. "I made coffee if you want some," "leaving for meeting," etc.). It helped with social bonding, as making efforts to speak someone's language shows consideration, and it gave me tools to express the consideration I already had.

This is a good book if you are just beginning to learn sign language, but after a semester, it was too elementary. This dictionary rarely ever includes the signs for the words I need to look up now. The ones it does have are basic and introductory, after your first year or immersion, it will be useless to you. ( )