– by Nkosingiphile Ntshangase
We successfully hosted our Sign Language course at the Olive Convention Centre, where COVID-19 regulations were strictly adhered to. This course was specifically crafted for this group of delegates and was designed to improve their understanding of the language and market applicability. By attending this course, delegates were able to demonstrate the ability to communicate with the South African Deaf community.
South Africa has a large Deaf community, and learning sign language will allow you to interact with this community. If you are someone of hearing capabilities, it can open up new doors by creating a chance to meet new people and gain knowledge of their experiences. Consequently, these interactions have the potential to raise awareness of the challenges faced by the Deaf community in the process. Learning the language gives you access to a whole new beautiful culture because signing is so expressive and elegant, making it an experience on its own. Learning Sign language can also help you discover abilities about yourself that you may not have thought you possess. For example, being more observant, as sign language demands that you pay attention to hand gestures as that is the primary form of communication in the community. Learning any language can help to stimulate your brain and give it a good exercise. South African sign language is no different as it can enhance your cognitive skills, memory, and awareness, to name a few. From a professional perspective being proficient in sign language may be beneficial in the work environment, especially if you are a civil servant and in the service industry. This will help with assisting those in your community and making certain essential services more accessible to those that are hard-of-hearing.
Ms. Monique Sutcliffe (Facilitator), stated, “I would suggest South African Sign language for individuals that want to help Deaf people, to communicate with them. This particular certificate may also help with obtaining more credits for your recognition for prior learning which allows people to demonstrate that they are capable of undertaking specific tasks or working in certain industries based on evidence of skills and knowledge gained throughout their life.”
At UKZN Extended Learning, programme customisation is one of our strong suits. We uniquely design programmes for clients to satisfy specific development demands that cater to the culture in your organisation. Our customisation process with the organisation we have partnered with, seamlessly integrates specific content for training purposes in order to have optimal output. Our delegates are also able to effectively apply what they have learnt in their respective work environments.
If you would like to find further information on the customisation process, please click here.
Our upcoming Sign Language course is starting on the 4th August 2021. Click here to learn more about this course.
You can also contact us directly for more information:
Thobeka Malinga
T: +27 31 260 1234