For the past few weeks, I have been working on my knowledge of New Zealand Sign Language. Learning NZSL for me has been an enjoyable experience so far. Although I haven't learned much, I'm still impressed at how quickly my class has learned the language and how we are all able to communicate in only sign (most of the time). Filming myself doing sign has been quite difficult. I always want to start over and make it perfect, but I keep having to tell myself that making mistakes is the whole point! Similarly, if you're presenting something in English, you don't just stop and start over, you pretend the mistake was intentional and continue despite it. I think another issue is that each time I film a video, there's no way to know if I had done something wrong. There are simple things that I can correct myself, like the positioning of my hands or the way I sign a word, but other things, like the structure of my sentences, I haven’t got the hang of yet. The only thing I can do is go to classes and improve my NZSL or ask my teacher what the right and wrong way to sign a certain sentence is. Afterwards I can look back at my videos and see what were mistakes and what I had done correctly.

 

When writing about my first NZSL test, I couldn’t write about what my results were because I hadn’t received them yet. However, I am happy to report that I achieved an A grade! If you’ve read my ‘First NZSL Test’ post, you’ll know that it was a very frustrating test. More so because it was my first test and I didn’t know what to expect. Looking at it now, I know there was nothing I could have done better because I did my very best. It helps that I’ve taken test mid semester because now I know what to expect for my final test. Also, because I have been recording myself sign every week, I feel ready for the presentation section of the test. It’s exciting learning a new language and being able to communicate with a whole new community. It’s a good feeling whenever I meet someone who speaks Spanish, because they’re always impressed that I’m able to speak any Spanish at all. Even though I haven’t had the opportunity to sign with someone other than my classmates and teacher yet, I know that I would get the same feeling when I do.

 

I don’t have a specific goal in mind for the next few weeks, but I would like to be able to get over the urge to sign perfectly because I feel like if I overthink what I’m trying to say then it doesn’t appear vey natural. I also aim to be more expressive because expressions are very important when you use sign language. Body language is important when you speak any other language and it is the same with NZSL. It shows your personality and it lets the person you are communicating with understand what you are saying more easily. NZSL is the only way deaf people in New Zealand can communicate and I’m glad that I will be able to be a part of their community.