{"id":603167,"date":"2026-07-25T05:48:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T05:48:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/603167\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T05:48:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T05:48:34","slug":"disney-animator-launches-free-app-to-help-learn-asl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/603167\/","title":{"rendered":"Disney animator launches free app to help learn ASL"},"content":{"rendered":"

The app, called Small Talk ASL, features an animated Deaf character named Oscar who demonstrates signs, fingerspelling and facial expressions. Users can rotate the character to view signs from different angles and adjust playback speed while learning. Creator Josh Staub<\/a> said the app will remain free because he believes cost should never be a barrier to learning ASL.<\/p>\n

Staub said the idea for the app came after he began learning ASL while writing a story featuring a Deaf character and realized there were few engaging tools for beginners. He decided to repurpose the animated characters being created for his upcoming animated series, \u201cSmall Talk,\u201d<\/a> which is currently in development and centers on a family that includes Deaf characters.<\/p>\n

Unlike many ASL learning apps that rely on recorded videos, Oscar is fully animated, allowing users to rotate him, slow signs down and better observe facial expressions, which are fundamental to ASL and help convey grammar, tone and meaning.<\/p>\n

Staub said the app, developed through Jubilee Studios,\u00a0was created with a team of Deaf, hard-of-hearing and hearing animators, engineers and consultants and is intended to supplement\u00a0\u2014 not replace\u00a0\u2014 learning from Deaf ASL teachers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best way to learn ASL is from a Deaf teacher. Period,\u201d Staub said. \u201cInstead, think of Oscar as a Deaf friend. For some of you, Oscar is your first Deaf friend. Don\u2019t make him your last. Learn about Deaf culture. Seek opportunities to immerse yourself and communicate with the Deaf community. Make mistakes. Keep trying. The Deaf community is diverse and inviting and will embrace you as they have me. It might just change your life. It changed mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staub said additional features are planned for future updates, including more characters.<\/p>\n

\u201cOscar currently knows about 200 words (he is only in 3rd grade after all), but he\u2019s learning more every day. Soon, users will be able to communicate with other characters from the \u2018Small Talk\u2019 animated series, each with their own personality and level of ASL signing ability,\u201d Staub said in a LinkedIn post announcing the app.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The app, called Small Talk ASL, features an animated Deaf character named Oscar who demonstrates signs, fingerspelling and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":603168,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[257],"tags":[223150,18,19,17,223149,279,82,223148],"class_list":["post-603167","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mobile","tag-auddev","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-midshare","tag-mobile","tag-technology","tag-txshare"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116979047205667260","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603167","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=603167"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603167\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/603168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=603167"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=603167"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=603167"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}