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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.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to the following: participants for sharing their experiences and insight with us, NZSLTA for allowing us to a record a panel discussion at the 2020 conference, Kyle Cloete for transcription and translation assistance, and Victoria University of Wellington Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences for funding the research.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Author contributions
Both authors conceptualised the study together. Author 2 collected and oversaw translation of the data. Data was analysed by both authors. Author 1 wrote the first draft. Author 2 contributed to subsequent revisions. Both authors contributed equally to the project and approved the submitted version of the article.
Ethics statement
The research was approved by the Human Ethics Committee of Victoria University of Wellington, Application ID: 0000030616. Participants gave consent for anonymised publication of data they provided.
Notes
3 In a speaking Zoom, the ‘speaker view’ automatically changes by voice/audio cues, but this does not happen in a slient, signing mode, so changes to ‘speaker view’ have to be manually managed by pinning or spotlighting the person who is signing and should be watched.