New sign book helps Tonga's speech and hearing impaired students [1]
Tuesday, June 19, 2007 - 15:44. Updated on Tuesday, July 21, 2015 - 10:14.
A new sign language book made for Tongans will help students at the Tonga Hearing and Speech Impaired School at the Tonga Red Cross learn how to communicate with others both at home and when travelling abroad.
The book was made by Rachel Brindal, a sign language teacher, who completed her one-year term as an Australian volunteer in Tonga on June 15. Rachel told a gathering of parents that that this was the first sign language book created as a guide for the school and it consists of 392 signs with 700 photos of the students showing the signs. She said that the signs were adapted by the students from English signs taken from Australian sign language books and translated into Tongan. The students also came up with signs they use daily to communicate and these were included in the book.
The book will help the students' families to learn and use the signs to communicate with their children, she said.
The book cover, was designed, by one of the students, Fisi'ilose.
The Secretary General of the Tonga Red Cross Sione Taumoefolau attended the ceremony together with school principal Silongo Fakasi'i'eiki and parents.
Silongo said the Australian signs were a standard signing commonly used in New Zealand and abroad. "By using this more often with the students they have a better chance of communicating with others when they travel or go to school overseas," she said.
Rachel left Tonga on June 18 for Samoa where she will serve a one-year as a volunteer there.