Event Report, Ibaraki Chapter, March 2022

IBARAKI/OLE SIG: March Sign language—Why I Like It by Martin Pauly. Pauly reflected on his journey of learning sign language over the years. It all started when he began working at the Tsukuba University of Technology (TUT), which has a division for the hearing impaired and one for the visually impaired. Pauly vigorously attended the university’s training sessions and trips abroad, acquainting himself with sign languages worldwide. He explains that each sign language correlates with its parent language, though the syntax may not always be consistent. Sign language is also suitable for content and language integrated learning (CLIL), so Pauly attributes the educational success of the hearing division to its rigorous adaptation of signing. Pauly also points out that signing has additional benefits. It gets your body moving, preventing classroom lethargy. It could also be used as a mnemonic device to remember people’s names, new vocabulary, or items on the shopping list. The participants at the meeting shadowed Pauly and deepened their understanding of the fascinating world of signing.