This practical course will introduce you to South African Sign Language (SASL). The course consists of interactive face-to-face sessions during which the presenter teaches introductory aspects of SASL, involving practical exercises and some explanation of language use. This will enable you to take part in basic conversations related to everyday life.
We will expect you to practise the language using video material available online and to work in pairs or small groups functioning as a check for each other. Certain sessions will be facilitated with the support of South African Sign Language interpreting, and course material is available in English.
This course will assist you to:
- use basic, everyday SASL vocabulary
- interact using simple phrases and sentences to describe, discuss and ask about everyday topics and things you may need or use immediately
- recognise visual input and understand the gist of that input relating to familiar words and basic phrases that deal with things that you or your conversational partner may need or use immediately
- be aware of and respect Deaf culture when using SASL in various everyday social contexts.
Who should attend and what are the career benefits?
If you would like to learn more about South African Sign Language, then this course is for you! To ensure optimal learning, we limit the number of participants. Face-to-face sessions are complemented by online learning, and certain aspects of the course are assessed.
Any prerequisites?
You will need a computer and a reliable web browser to access learning material on SUNOnline. You should be familiar with creating electronic documents.
Where and when will this short course take place?
Our courses combine face-to-face sessions, facilitated by the course presenter, with self-directed online learning.
This course opens before the face-to-face sessions and closes well after the last face-to-face session. This allows enough time for you to activate your SUNOnline presence before the first face-to-face session takes place.
The 10 face-to-face sessions will take place in the Seminar Room of the Language Centre, Kleine Bosch, 44 Banhoek Road, Stellenbosch from 14:00 to 16:00 on the following dates:
| Face-to-face sessions (14:00 to 16:00) | Course duration (opening and closing dates) | Apply by | |
| Course 1: | 3, 10, 17, 24 April, 8, 15, 22, 29 May, 5 and 12 June | 13 March to 26 June | 14 March |
| Course 2: | 5, 7, 12, 14, 19, 21, 26, 29 August, 2 and 4 September | 15 July to 18 September | 15 July |
During this course, you will spend your time as follows (this may vary for individuals):
- weekly face-to-face sessions of two hours each
- about six hours per week of self-paced reading and completing tasks, activities, and assignments
Who are the presenters?
Susan (Modiegi) Njeyiyana is a Deaf poet and academic who recently obtained her master's in linguistics. Her first poem was 'June 16th', followed by 'Bear Wash Day', and her poetry inspired many Deaf poets to explore new ideas. Her creativity also exposed Deaf children to poetry and storytelling in their own language. Susan is currently a lecturer at Stellenbosch University and teaches South African Sign Language Acquisition as an additional language to hearing students.
Zulfah Shabodien uses SASL as her first language and has been facilitating training and managing projects in the SASL field for well over 10 years. She is passionate about sharing her language and culture with those who are keen to learn. Her footprint in the broader Deaf community includes working with SociGo to promote cultural activities by and for the Deaf community. She is also involved in helping to develop material for SASL as a school subject.
Interested?
Contact Michelle Pieters at michellep@sun.ac.za or 021 808 2812 for more details.
