Leading the charge in Invercargill is New Zealand sign language tutor and interpreter Jaime Randhawa whose Every Sign, language classes were attracting interest from different parts of the community.
Ms Randhawa recently attained her New Zealand sign language teaching certificate from Victoria University which qualified her to teach adults.
Since that achievement she has attained a new role at the Southern Institute of Technology teaching sign language to adults and educating children.
"After starting my Every Sign business, I wanted to be more creative.
"I’ve gained more qualifications including teaching children so I do one-on-one classes, work with families and I design curriculum around different groups," she said.
One of Ms Randhawa’s pupils was a 6-year-old girl who asked her parents if she could learn sign language so she could communicate with her classmate.
"I asked the little girl what her friend’s interest was and it was magic so I designed content around stuff like Harry Potter," she said.
Ms Randhawa’s role extended to teaching various groups including those from the legal and health professions and stressed that it was just as important to educate people on deaf culture as well.
"A lot of misappropriation of deaf culture goes on."
Ms Randhawa insisted people needed to understand the cultural aspects of the deaf community and likened the potential hurt that could come from making assumptions much like "misappropriating Maori practices".
An example of instructing people on deaf culture was using a "no voice approach" in teaching her classes.
Not all deaf or hard of hearing people read lips so Ms Randhawa created a space in her classes where the hearing and hearing impaired were on the same page.
"If Invercargill is going to be a more inclusive community then organisations like the council should provide interpreters to attend events like meetings or festivals," she said.
New Zealand Sign Language Week runs from Monday to Sunday, May 12.
New Zealand Sign Language became an official language in Aotearoa in 2006, alongside te reo Maori and English, and is one of only two native languages in the country.
About 4600 deaf people in New Zealand and 23,000 Kiwis regularly use New Zealand Sign Language, according to the 2018 NZ Census.
New Zealand Sign Language is accessible to all children regardless of hearing levels, and it plays a vital role in the lives of Kiwi families with deaf children and the wider deaf community.
- By Nina Tapu
