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First Batch of Deaf Students Graduated from Asia Pacific Sign Linguistics Research and Training Higher Diploma Program
The first cohort of seven deaf students of the Asia Pacific Sign Linguistics Research and Training Program (the APSL Program) recently graduated from the Higher Diploma in Sign Linguistics and Sign Language Teaching of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUSCS).
Funded by The Nippon Foundation, a non-government organization based in Japan, the APSL Program was established in 2006 at the Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies (CSLDS) of CUHK. The APSL Program is the first regional training program that attempts to bridge research and training through offering a higher diploma, as well as foundational diplomas, in sign linguistics for deaf people, in order to support the development of research and teaching in sign linguistics in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition to offering in-depth academic training, the program also provides students an opportunity to study in a diverse, multi-cultural environment. The APSL Program’s curriculum includes a variety of courses related to sign linguistics, deaf studies, sign language teaching, deaf education and English. These courses prepare students for a future working as researchers or teachers at the university level. With this qualification, students may continue their studies in a university bachelor’s degree program. With the joint efforts of tertiary institutions, government bodies, and deaf organizations, the APSL Program was able to bring together the first cohort of deaf students from Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka to be trained in sign linguistics research and sign language teaching.
‘It’s so touching to see the first batch of Asian deaf students graduating from our training in sign linguistics and sign language teaching. I hope the APSL Program will continue to benefit more deaf people as well as universities in the region,’ said Prof. Gladys Tang, Director of APSL program and Director of the Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies, Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages, CUHK.
The program’s regional manager, Prof. James Woodward remarked, ‘Our graduating deaf students have worked diligently in their training and now will continue their efforts to document and preserve their sign languages. I wish to congratulate our students on their fine efforts and to thank them and their dedicated teachers for all their work. Finally, I wish to express our gratitude to The Nippon Foundation for its financial support leading to the success of the program.’
‘I’ve spent a total of six years completing the diploma and higher diploma courses under the APSL program. It was a challenging yet rewarding journey,’ said Kenny Chu, one of the APSL graduates. ‘I feel so excited that I’ve finally graduated! I would like to thank CUHK for giving us this valuable learning opportunity, and The Nippon Foundation for supporting our studies. I’m now planning to pursue further studies in CUHK so that I can teach sign language in tertiary institutes and promote communication between deaf and hearing people.’
After graduation, the first batch of APSL students have continued their work in deaf development at their home countries. Currently, the Indonesian graduates are working on a sign language research project in Indonesia. The Sri Lankan graduates will also begin work as sign language researchers in the near future. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong graduates are working as sign language teachers and teaching deaf children. Some graduates will further their studies at universities such as the University of Kelaniya, the University of Indonesia and CUHK.
Contributing to the deaf community
In addition to their coursework in the APSL Program, students concurrently undertake a work-study program in which they apply their linguistic research skills to the creation of sign language dictionaries for their native sign languages. So far, this work-study program has led to the creation of a number of high-quality dictionaries including dictionaries for Sri Lankan Sign Language, Jakarta Sign Language, Yogyakarta Sign Language and Hong Kong Sign Language. Signs recorded for these dictionaries have also been compiled in an online database called the Asian SignBank (http://www.cslds.org/asiansignbank/).
Towards the end of the program, the APSL students have had several opportunities to present their research at various academic conferences. The most recent of these academic conferences include New Ways of Analyzing Variation – Asia Pacific 2 as well as the International Symposium on Signed and Spoken Linguistics (2012) in Japan, the 11th Asia Pacific Congress on Deafness 2012 in Singapore, and the International Conference on Sign Linguistics and Deaf Education in Asia 2013 held in Hong Kong.
In the future, the APSL Program will continue to expand and accept new applicants, particularly for the foundational diploma level. While the program will focus on recruiting students from developing countries in Southeast Asia, future phases of the program will also give consideration to applicants from other countries if space allows. The next round of application will start in mid 2014.
Website of the APSL Program: http://www.cslds.org/apsl/
Website of the Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies: http://www.cslds.org/
Prof. Gladys Tang, Director of APSL Program (1st right, front row) and the first batch of graduates of Higher Diploma in Sign Linguistics and Sign Langrage Teaching, including Mr. Kenny Chu, Mr. Kodithuwakku Koralege Brayan Susantha, Ms. Laura Lesmana Wijaya (2nd to 4th right, front row), Mr. Adhi Kusumo Bharoto, Ms. Mataramba Kanatta Geshani Amila, Ms. Connie Lo, and Ms. Lisa Lo (back row from right).
A group photo of members and students of APSL program.
