By Hsieh Yun-Ju (謝韻茹)

Translated by Gregory Laslo (樓克己)

This summer, NMTL held a children’s sign language summer camp. All 23 campers had different hearing abilities, but they were all equally curious about literature. Through the dynamic visuals of sign language, the camp opened a window for the children, outlining scenes in stories, character actions, and changes in scenery, giving them a glimpse into the quiet yet lively  Deaf culture.

Since 2014, NMTL has been the Ministry of Culture’s model museum for providing hearing-impaired services and actively promoting cultural access . The Sign Language Camp, regularly held during the summer, is in its third year. In order to build an environment friendly to both Hearing and Deaf people, the Camp enrolls children with and without hearing impairments, promoting mutual understanding and respect, and highlighting Taiwan’s linguistic diversity.

The camp  was held over three days, between August 6th and August 8th. First, teachers taught basic sign language, such as greetings, numbers, and the twelve Chinese zodiac signs. Aspects of Deaf culture were introduced, including how names in sign language are given based on visual appearance and gender, and assistive devices for Deaf people, such as video telephones, doorbells, and vibrating alarm clocks.

For Deaf people, their senses of sight, smell, touch, and taste are oftentimes more sensitive than those of Hearing people to compensate for their hearing impairment . Objects like scouring pads, perfume, and fruit preserves were used to create a multi-sensory experience to learn corresponding signs for concepts such as sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, and fragrant and deepen their connection with sign language.

The camp also incorporated the Museum's exhibitions and works of children's literature to enhance the literary aspects of the program. One of the Deaf teachers explained the exhibition A Mix of Savory and Sweet: The Taste of Tainan Literature in sign language. After the tour, the program prepared ingredients for the children to make food preserves. The sensory experience of mixing coarse salt and winter melon sugar and adding it to seedless preserved plums inside cherry tomatoes gave them a taste of the unique sweetness of Tainan’s literature.

Sign language can also be used to recite children’s poems. Deaf teachers used evocative sign and body language and expressions to interpret two children’s poems, The Mouse and the Tabby Cat by Ma Ching-Hsien, and The Spider’s Map by Chao Tien-Yi, bringing the stories off the page and giving them life .

A performance was held on the last day of camp. The children’s creativity in using the signs for numbers and animals they had learned to weave a story was amazing to see. The unique visual nature of sign language not only ignited imaginations, but also fostered respect for different languages and cultures, and created unforgettable summer memories.