Local sign language is a gem for telling stories
SOUTH African Sign Language (SASL) is an intricate, nuanced and visually expressive language.
It is suited for telling stories to children, as it engages the body, face and eye contact. Its emotive and expressive constituents capture the wonder of language into a three dimensional space.
It is important to note that SASL has no written form, it exists solely in a three dimensional space.
If you thought about language development for hearing children, you would note the resources they could engage with on a daily basis, both actively and passively: from TV, radio, guardians, strangers, teachers to books.
But the deaf child is limited, even more so when guardians or teachers are not proficient in SASL themselves.
This is where theatre can become an incredibly powerful learning tool. It provides an opportunity to create a magical realm, not only to ignite the imagination, but to present SASL to the deaf child.
This would be so they can engage with their mother tongue language in a new way.
Last year, I developed the theatre show What goes UP for Foundation
… Phase children at schools for the deaf.
I purposefully chose to weave the theatrical story through SASL as I had envisioned aligning it with educational outputs.
In a bid to empower the deaf child, I let myself be guided by them throughout the development process of the production. This let them define the story, rather than imposing one on them.
I held focused play sessions with them, checking in with them, presenting them with objects they liked and asked them to imagine how else to use them.
The results spoke for themselves and teachers were spellbound at how the children were mesmerised for the full 40-minute production.
And, it didn ’ t stop there. After the production, there were many signing hands asking us questions, wanting to know more about the characters in the play.
We had captured their imagination and aided them in acquiring SASL literacy unconsciously.
This is the power of storytelling and relaying the stories to the children in their mother tongue, empowering them in defining the story they want to see.
Jayne Batzofin is a theatre director and designer, and has been making accessible theatre for the deaf for the last seven years.
In 2014, she was selected to take part in Assitej ’ s Inspiring a Generation programme, where she spent three weeks in Denmark, learning from the leaders in theatre for children.
In 2015, From the Hip: Khulumakhale (FTH:K) hired Jayne to develop a brand new concept in developing theatre for Foundation Phase children to promote SASL literacy.
The show What goes UP toured
… to schools for the deaf in the Western Cape, Free State and KwaZulu-Natal, and performed at the Cape Town Fringe Festival 2015.