Building sign-language skills helps connections
A New Zealand Sign Language teacher hopes to one day see the language taught in all schools across the country.
Mike Alley is a teacher at Freyberg High School in Palmerston North, which offers sign language up to year 13, and as part of New Zealand Sign Language Week the school invited Stuff to visit.
New Zealand Sign Language is the language of the Deaf community and more than 24,000 New Zealanders use it every day.
Principal Peter Brooks said Freyberg was the only mainstream secondary school in New Zealand teaching sign language, which is something Alley would like to see everywhere, but there needed to be more people able to teach it.
‘‘Learning the language is a way to build up a skill and to be able to connect with people,’’ Alley said. ‘‘That’s the exciting part of it, knowing a different way of communication and being able to join in on sign language.
‘‘That makes a huge impact for the Deaf community to see their sign out there.’’
He was excited to be raising the level of sign language use.
He said it would benefit the Deaf community if more people knew the language. One example was if a deaf person went to hospital, it made it easier if they had someone they could communicate with in sign language.
Learning sign language had other benefits, including better memory, helping with brain growth and multitasking, and opening doors to careers like being an interpreter, he said.
All year 9 students took sign language at Freyberg, which Alley believed was a good taster before they got to senior level.
He hoped the school would one day be able to offer te reo Māori in sign language.
Before he started at Freyberg in 2019 he was a resource teacher of the deaf in Wellington going to different schools, and he enjoyed teaching one thing in one place.
Shirley Thompson, was previously a teacher aide but now runs Thompson New Zealand Sign Language Communication and does contract work for Alley.
She does work in schools or things like helping a deaf person in a shop.
‘‘Sign language is beautiful, I love it.’’
She said the students could make a huge difference in their careers if they learnt sign language.
Alley’s class of year 12 students, amix of deaf and hearing students, all believed learning sign language would help them in life and had added value to what they learnt at school.
Connor Dale, 16, wanted to become a teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing, while Taonga Hadfield, 16, said she wanted to be a sign-language teacher for young children.