Bridge Interpreting is offering a beginning class for adults interested in learning American Sign Language. 

The eight weeks of classes will be held on Tuesday evenings in St. Joseph and Thursday evenings in Maryville. 

Interpreter Specialist with Bridge Interpreting Chris Kaster said the classes are a beginning course that introduce participants to Sign Language. 

“This will be scratching the surface of learning this language,” Kaster said. “To become an interpreter you have to go to a college level interpreter training program to learn the ethics, to learn the actual language in its complete whole. This is just to kind of pique people’s interest and get them started.” 

Kaster said she’s a big believer in being a lifelong learner. 

“When you’re bilingual, it really opens a lot of doors for you, it makes you have a different perspective on the world and we should all strive to be learning something new,” Kaster said. “So I encourage you to come down. I think you’ll enjoy it, I think you’ll learn something new, you’ll get to meet new individuals and you’ll be learning a new language.” 

Tuesday classes will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. September 20 through November 8 at MERIL, 4420 South 40th Street in St. Joseph. Thursday classes will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. September 22 through November 10 at MERIL, 2416-B South Main Street in Maryville. 

There is a $50 fee for the course which includes a book. To register online, click here. For more information, contact Chris Kaster at (816) 752-7490 or email [email protected].

Bridge Interpreting is part of Midland Empire Resources for Independent Living (MERIL).