translated from Spanish: Teaching and learning sign language in pandemic times

Ten young students, a deaf teacher speaking in sign language and an interpreter acting as an intermediary. The class has already started and they are in dialogue with the teacher, he asks them questions in signs and they must answer in the same way. The interpreter makes sure they’re getting it right.
The teacher points with his index finger, then pulls the tip of the fingers of one hand together and approaches them to the cheek by moving them back and forth, approaches the thumb with the forefinger and takes the lobe of his ear, while having the other three fingers stretched out. Finally, stretch one hand with your palm facing the ceiling and place the other crosswise on it – a cross is formed with both palms up – then turn the hand above so that the palm is down.
The student who has to answer, lifts her thumb upwards. The interpreter asks what he asked. “How’s my grandmother or not?” said the young woman. “Yes,” the interpreter replies. He plays in sign language the teacher, who affirms with his head as he smiles and joins the fingers of his hand indicating that everything is ok.
This scene is part of a class in a course conducted by Lense Biobio, a Concepción company that conducts sign language advice and training. The covid-19 was a new challenge: they had to adapt their classes to the online format. They give the same information, but miss direct contact with their students, creating a community.
Chilean Sign Language
On 23 September, International Sign Language Day was conmemorized. The Chilean Sign Language (LSCh) has been recognized since 2010 as “the natural means of communication of the deaf community”. This means that, according to article 26 of Law 20422, it has formal recognition in Chile.
The right of access to information, communication and a level playing field are struggles maintained by the deaf community to this day. Although this legislation advanced in recognition, discrimination and marginalization remains dormant in Chilean society.
“Here in Chile, article 26 of the Disability Act 20.422 recognizes sign language as a natural means of communication of the deaf community, it is absurd and discriminatory: means of communication, no. It should be corrected in the official language of the deaf community, as respect, we have heritage, use of sign language and linguistics, everything. This is quite discriminatory, media is not,” says Alexis V. Estibill, academic director of Esilense and general secretary of the Association of the Deaf of Chile (ASOCH).
The Chilean Sign Language Study and Research Institution (Esilense) has been training in LSCh. Since 1991. They have noticed a change of mindset in the country, in the sense that in its beginnings the student listeners were only people related to the deaf community – family, friends or being educators. Today they train people from all areas and ages, children, young people and adults, it is a cross-cutting interest.
Above all, in the context of the pandemic, they have received several nurses who want to learn in order to better care for deaf patients, so that the treatment is the same as with the listeners. Valentina Garrido (23) studied nursing and in January took her first LSCh (level A1) course in person. The A2 was then completed online.
“I wanted to learn because I study nursing and found it very important for my profession that I was able to communicate with as many people as possible. I have always been reminded of sign language because I feel that the deaf community is unsurmpt in that regard, it is not considered a requirement for anyone to know sign language, even if it is considered a national language. The Chilean Sign Language is recognized in Chile, but it is still not a requirement for anyone to know,” he says.
In Lense Biobio they have also noticed the greatest interest of society in learning the language. They believe this goes hand in hand with making the situation of people with disabilities in the country more visible. “Inclusion is also an issue that is more talked about, which is more visible, so there are many more people who today know the importance of inclusion. Not only from the private and the state, but also people as individuals,” says José Lazcano, Chilean Sign Language interpreter and general manager of Lense Biobio.
It is becoming increasingly common to meet listeners concerned about moving forward indivinclusion. Young Chilean artist Clara Lufell also decided to learn LSCh. Now it’s a fundamental part of his music. On Instagram (@claracuchara) and on your Youtube channel you can see how you add sign interpretation within your songs.
“I approached the LSCh motivated by a performative and expressive interest, but I encountered a lot of injustices, inequalities and a lot of ignorance regarding the deaf community. Realizing my ignorance made me mobilize, investigate, meet deaf people, approach their culture, their language and their political demands. Now I feel like LSCh is a fundamental part of my songs and makes a lot more sense for me to publish them,” she says.
He believes that his music has reached more listeners than deaf people, but this is fine with him because he is learning and, at the same time, making deaf culture visible. You have been approached to ask for information and recommendations to learn sign language. More than promoting it for charity or to fulfill in society, he believes that the essential thing is to understand that it is a right for deaf people to access day-to-day information and participate in the community.
“I don’t think I’ve reached as many deaf people as listeners, perhaps because they’re not used to music being an accessible space for them. Accessibility is often thought to be managed if there are deaf people interested, but I think it is the other way around, if spaces are not accessible, deaf people will never be interested,” he says.
Adaptation in the pandemic
The coronavirus brought a whole new picture for teaching LSCh. The first few months were coordination and adaptation to this new format. This meant reviewing the different platforms and seeing the best option for deaf teachers to better see students. Always the most important thing is the visual.
Most courses consist of sending videos with content, and then, on the day of the virtual meeting, this knowledge is practiced and exemplified. Interpreters usually accompany the first classes, but then there are only students with the teacher. Assessments and tasks are usually done to verify learning.
“To do online training has been a bit difficult, especially for the first level who are new students, the former students who are in second or third grade already know it (…). What caught the attention of top-notch new students was that everyone expected to listen. On the first day we spoke only sign language, then the interpreter accompanied to the third class. In the fourth class it was all the way to the end with the deaf teacher. Everyone was scared there and some of them wrote to me that they didn’t understand anything and preferred to retire because there were no tools to explain everything,” says esilense’s academic director.
For Alexis this shows, to some extent, how hearing people make it difficult for deaf people to integrate into society. He claims that students then realized that they could learn, even though it may seem difficult at first: “And then, almost at the end, everyone noticed and apologized. Why is that?”
“Because imagine when a deaf person goes to a school or a public sector – municipality or civil registry – and needs to do paperwork. He speaks in sign language and the one he attends is frightened or does not understand, and does not want to attend. (…) They themselves close the doors to us, they put the barriers to us themselves. Everyone says deaf communities need to be rehabilitated to integrate into society. That is a myth, we are a minority and we are always prepared to integrate into society, the problem is that society is not prepared to receive us,” says Alexis V. Estibill.
Telecapacitation
However, the community has been able to adapt to new technologies and better get information in place. In addition, it is seen that students have dared more to perform the most advanced levels of LSCh, which in person was not seen, because they stopped going because of the greatest difficulty.
Despite losing physical contact and the possibility of getting to know each other better among colleagues, the information that is delivered is the same. Even for some, the recorded way allows you to review the contents and prevent them from being forgotten for lack of practice. The bodies are also decentralized, Santiago organizations are receiving students from all sectors of the country.
On the other hand, the platforms give the possibility to communicate by chat, in case you are very lost with the class. However, there are certain details that are lost from face-to-face communication: “I remember the first thing my A-teacher told us1 [presencial] was that in the classroom everyone has to speak in sign language, all the time, because if not, we were excluding him, deep down. That’s what we did, so when we had recess or rest, or talked about topics other than what you saw in the class content, you kept constantly learning. In the end I feel like I took that learning from the A1 course a lot that wasn’t considered in the content I had to learn in class,” says the nursing student.
Internet connection problems and recesses with the camera turned off are some of the obstacles that teaching is encountered in online format. “But I learned the same in both and recommend them, between waiting for it to open face-to-face, if there is time to learn now, you have to take advantage of it.”
Florence Stange (23) is doing her first LSCh course online. For many years he was interested in learning, he searched for words on YouTube, which he quickly forgot about because of the lack of practice. In his experience, even though he is initially afraid and embarrassed to make mistakes, it is important to note that all students are in the same position.
“Maybe there’s the chat, if you want to write something faster; or the first thing they teach you is the alphabet, then all you don’t know is spelling it. I really thought that I
it was going to cost a lot, but in the course they make it super easy for one to learn,” he says. “I think there’s a lot going on that scary thing about one because he doesn’t know anything, but that’s how it is to learn new things, you always have to accept that you’re going to be wrong.”
More than vocabulary – which he considers more instinctive in this case, since the same word can serve in several contexts – he finds it difficult to express himself enough by making signs. In LSCh expressiveness is important, so you have to move the body to communicate.
Keep moving forward
From the institutions they consider that there is still a long way to go for Chile to be a truly inclusive country, and where deaf culture is known and valued in society, allowing the full participation of these people. For them, the main problem that has been seen in covid-19 times, concerns access to information.
The Secretary-General of ASOCH states that it is necessary for the State to guarantee and secure the rights of deaf persons. It mentions a current example of discrimination: only some Educa Chile TV shows include interpretation of LSCh, even though they are supposed to be aimed at all children in the country. “They are prepared for all children in the country and deaf children are also citizens of this country,” he concludes.
In Esilense they will start in October a new online course of basic level for general public, for which it is still possible to register. Like them, there are several organizations that are giving the possibility to learn in classes by videoconference or others that are completely online, with the option to consult specific questions to tutors.

Original source in Spanish

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