Teaching sign language remotely in the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT Like language teachers everywhere, Deaf teachers of New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) had to suddenly move classes online when COVID-19 restrictions were implemented from March 2020. NZSL is conventionally taught through a direct immersion, communicative approach, so adapting instruction to a remote mode required NZSL teachers to develop new technical skills, and adapt teaching formats and strategies to accommodate the constraints of on-screen interaction and learning. The combination of a visual language produced in three dimensions with a screen-mediated mode of interaction creates particular challenges for sign language teachers and learners. This article reports a qualitative enquiry into 14 teachers’ experiences and strategies, with the aim of contributing to practice knowledge for sign language teachers, and to extend the literature on emergency remote teaching (ERT) addressing the teaching of community and signed languages, particularly in the adult community education sector. The study does not evaluate online teaching outcomes, but rather seeks to understand how NZSL teachers adapted to new challenges and what pedagogical knowledge may be carried forward.