Today is the start of our sign language in the Deaf communities around the world. We do not have the same sign language from the rest of the world BUT is the way many Deaf people communicate with their friends, colleagues and families.

Here is a video from our Parliament – Minister Sepuloni (Ministry for Disability Issues) of New Zealand. https://youtu.be/CxMWqxHiiGg

It was a surprise for everyone in the Deaf community about the planning for a 5 years – Language Planning Priority – Acquistion in New Zealand.

Here is the detail from ODI – https://www.odi.govt.nz/nzsl/nzsl-strategy-2018-2023/language-planning-priority-acquisition/

The purpose of acquisition planning is to ensure:

• deaf children and young people become fully proficient in NZSL
• the Deaf community and other members of able to fully learn and use NZSL in all domains of society. The remaining three language priorities: attitude, documentation and status play essential supporting roles to the achievement of NZSL acquisition society can learn NZSL.
• What success looks like in five years’ time

• Deaf children and young people who use NZSL are learning and acquiring NZSL at age-appropriate levels throughout their education through full immersion with signing peers and adult NZSL models.
• Families and whānau are able to learn NZSL throughout their child’s education, enabling them to communicate more easily with their deaf child.
• Professionals working in educational contexts with deaf children and young people who are NZSL users, are proficient in NZSL to an appropriate level, supporting deaf children and young people to acquire NZSL at age-appropriate levels.

National education NZSL planning

Planning how deaf children and young people acquire a language is central to any national language strategy. Due to the complexity of language acquisition for children and young people, countries with national language plans for minority languages tend to have two approaches – a national language strategy and a related national education language strategy.

New Zealand examples of such an approach are the national strategy for Te Reo Māori − Te Rautaki Reo Māori (2014) and the associated national education Te Reo strategy, Tau Mai Te Reo (year).

The Ministry of Education has had various plans and strategies for deaf education and during 2018 is developing an up-to-date NZSL pathway, with a view to developing a long-term strategy for NZSL in deaf education.

The Board will continue to work with the Ministry of Education as well as key Crown entities and other relevant stakeholders in early childhood education, schooling and tertiary education sectors to:

• support further developments and implementation of a national NZSL education sector plan
• ensure the alignment of such a plan with the Board’s Strategy.

As the Ministry of Education is the government agency responsible for the funding of both deaf children and young people’s acquisition of NZSL and services that support access to learning through NZSL within education settings, the Board will not replicate or replace the Ministry of Education’s NZSL planning and funding in these areas, but will work with and support the Ministry of Education in its NZSL education strategic planning.

We aim everyone to think twice before judging many Deaf people – do not fear of us, do not discriminate us from work or to think that are we not good enough to work for you. The strong message is simple – INCLUDED US as EQUAL to you. Otherwise you never know that any one of the Deaf person may finish the job before deadline than anyone who struggle to complete the job by deadline. What about doing the good job, teaching, making crafts, good at recognise the detail of a picture and so on?

Sign language is perfect way of communicate in a noisy area than shouting at your staff, across the field, games, from ground level to top-level instead of shouting, in the water like swimming pool, in the ocean and so on. Even a language barrier when you are travelling to another country from England or Australia to Afghanistan or Albania or Iraq where these countries does not have an English language there.

What about children with CI (Cochlear Implant) with their hearing parents? It would be nice to give the hearing parents to learn about our culture and sign language from the Deaf community than the medical society. Any children with CI, may struggle to re-learn to speak again than using sign language. Because with the CI, it will take a long time to keep a ‘normal speaking’ language and getting the way words are pronounced under the speech therapy. With the sign language, it is quick to communicate while speaking later with any friends, school mates even in the family.