American Sign Language, one step at a time
Practical lessons, free resources, and opportunities to practice. Build your ASL skills at your own pace—and use them to connect with people.
Learn. Practice. Keep growing.
Choose your learning path
Start where you are today. Each path connects you with lessons and practice you can use right away.
New to ASL?
Begin with the alphabet, useful signs, Deaf culture, and a short conversation. Follow a sequence of existing free lessons.
Start the beginner path →Building Your Skills
Strengthen fingerspelling, understand signed messages, and use a practical partner session plan. Choose one skill to work on.
Build your skills →Continuing Your ASL Journey
Choose a focused communication goal, practice with new signed material, and find resources for deeper study.
Choose your next goal →Language grows through connection
Put your ASL into practice
Learning signs is a beginning. Using them with other people helps you practice understanding, expressing ideas, and working through the moments when you get stuck.
Join other learners for free, self-directed conversation practice on Zoom. All experience levels are welcome.
Every Wednesday · 5 PM Pacific / 8 PM Eastern
Online via Zoom · Free
Community practice, at your pace—not an instructor-led class.
A husband-and-wife team of educators
Meet the People Behind ASL Basics
Making ASL learning approachable, meaningful, and accessible.
Hi! We’re Chris and Johnni Gorges. For more than 17 years, ASL has been an important part of our lives. Our desire to learn and connect—including through Johnni’s father, who is hard of hearing—grew into a lasting appreciation for ASL, Deaf culture, and the connections language makes possible.
We’re professional ASL interpreters and educators with more than 12 years of experience working with students of all ages. We created ASL Basics over eight years ago with one simple goal: to make learning ASL feel less intimidating and more achievable.
Learning ASL goes beyond memorizing signs. It means understanding a language, appreciating its culture and community, and building the confidence to communicate.
Whether you’re learning your first signs or building on what you know, we’re happy you’re here.
— Chris & Johnni
More about our story →
Chris Gorges, M.Ed.
Founder · Educator · ASL Interpreter
Chris holds a master’s degree in Education and enjoys finding practical, encouraging ways to help learners build language skills and confidence.
Johnni Gorges, B.A.
Co-Founder · Educator · ASL Interpreter
Johnni holds a bachelor’s degree in Education. Her professional experience and personal connection to hearing loss inspire her passion for ASL and meaningful communication.
“Chris Gorges provides an effective, nonjudgmental and supportive outlet for ASL students to practice and review their skills.”Trent Wade · Deaf ASL Instructor
Learn with us on YouTube
Watch. Practice. Keep signing.
Explore ASL lessons and receptive practice on Chris Gorges’s YouTube channel, home to ASL Basics videos. Learn useful signs, challenge your fingerspelling skills, and return to the lessons whenever you need a refresher.
Playlist / Receptive practice
Fingerspelling receptive practice
Build recognition with short practice videos for beginner, intermediate, and advanced learners. Pause, replay, and try again at your own pace.
Practice fingerspelling →
Playlist / Essential vocabulary
The first 100 signs you need to know
Start building a useful vocabulary with this lesson series covering signs for conversations, food, drinks, and everyday life.
Learn the first 100 signs →
Featured video / Fingerspelling
How to understand fast fingerspelling in ASL
Take a deeper look at understanding fingerspelled words and developing your receptive skills in this recorded session.
Watch the featured video →Choose your next step
Keep learning.
A lesson, a useful resource, or a fresh idea—find what helps you move forward.
Start learning ASL
Follow a clear path through useful signs, fingerspelling, grammar, and Deaf culture.
Find your first lesson →Browse free resources
Find dictionaries, practice tools, and trusted resources to support your learning.
Explore free resources →Explore the blog
Discover practical lessons and ideas for building your ASL skills and confidence.
Read the blog →
Keep growing with courses, recorded workshops, and practice in our member learning library.
Explore Beyond the Basics →A practical place to begin
6 Steps to Sign Language Fluency
Get our free guide and stay connected with learning resources from Chris. The existing signup also includes the Wednesday practice-session details.
Get the free guide →Sign up through our existing Kit form. You’ll also receive Christopher’s newsletter, and you can unsubscribe anytime.
Keep your next step small
Choose a lesson, practice it in context, and return to it later. The guide gives you a place to start; learning a language takes continued practice and connection.
Browse resources before signing up →
Keep learning. Keep signing. Keep connecting.