ASL Bloom Review: Can It Help You Learn Sign Language?
Kelsey Wetherbee
Published on November 9, 2022
Effective and fun ASL app
The ASL Bloom app is an enjoyable way to learn American Sign Language. The interactive lessons use videos that show how to make the signs correctly. Spaced repetition ensures that you’ll remember what you learned. The focus is on helping you put words and phrases together to have a conversation, not just learn random vocabulary words. It’s best for beginners. Because it’s a new app, the content is still being developed. Intermediate learners will need to find another resource.
PROS
- Great for beginners to learn from zero
- Build up from words to phrases to sentences
- Learn about deaf culture and useful tips about ASL
CONS
- New app, still developing content
- Additional practice activities are basic
Table of Contents
ASL Bloom Overview ASL Bloom Price ASL Bloom Review: How It Can (or Can’t) Help You- Challenge #1: Beginning a New Language
- Challenge #2: Learning & Remembering New Words
- Challenge #3: Understanding & Communicating
- Challenge #4: Making Language Learning a Routine
- ASL Bloom vs Rocket Sign Language
- ASL Bloom vs italki
- ASL Bloom vs The ASL App
- ASL Bloom vs Lingvano
ASL Bloom Overview
SignLab is a Norwegian startup with the mission to bring sign language to the world. They began with NSL (Norwegian Sign Language) and have quickly introduced other languages. ASL Bloom is the app and computer platform for American Sign Language.
Shockingly, only 1 in 10 parents of deaf children know how to sign and more than 90% of children with severe hearing loss don’t attend school. These are eye-opening statistics that SignLab hopes to change. They are trying to make learning sign language affordable and available worldwide so family, friends, and educators can interact with and support the deaf community.
ASL Bloom is an effective app for beginner ASL learners. The lessons start with the basics and gradually combine words into phrases and sentences. The design makes it easy to learn, and the spaced repetition helps you review and remember new words. Each word and phrase has a video so you can see exactly how to sign the word and practice along. I’m an ASL beginner, and learning with ASL Bloom didn’t feel overwhelming. The lessons were entertaining and kept my attention.
ASL Bloom Price
The ASL Bloom pricing plan is straightforward. You have the option to pay yearly or quarterly. As of now, there isn’t a monthly payment option. The cost of an annual ASL Bloom Premium subscription is $98.99 per year ($8.25 per month). If you prefer to pay quarterly, you can pay $48.00 every three months ($16 per month). The Premium membership gives you access to all the lessons and features currently available, as well as any additional content that’s added in the future.