What is the 'no-voice' policy?

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The 'no voice' policy is a rule that is enforced in sign language classes and deaf schools where any spoken language is left outside the classroom and only sign language is used.

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Why is this policy used?

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It helps students learn the language faster and lets student become fully immersed in the classes. In some cases the teacher may be deaf, and speaking to someone in front of a deaf person without including them in the conversation is considered rude. According to Jolanta Lapiak, ASL instructor and native signer, "Full immersion helps develop better receptive and expressive skills. Using voice may distract or interfere other students' learning process."

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(https://www.handspeak.com/learn/index.php?id=12)

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My experience in a NZSL classroom:

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One of my electives this semester was a NZSL beginners paper at Auckland University of Technology. One of the rules that this class enforces is the "no voice" policy. At first, it was really difficult not speaking for two hours every Monday since I didn't know how to say anything in sign.  Also, you couldn't really introduce yourself to other classmates. However, as time went on we slowly learned more signs and after a couple of weeks we could talk to each other easily in sign! Of course, we could only ask basic questions like "What's your name?" and "Where are you from?" but as we learned more and more we started to be able to learn more about each other and could even understand our teacher when she gave us a presentation about her life.

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Surprisingly, signs were not that hard to remember and the challenge of only using NZSL for two hours made the classes that much more fun. Another benefit of this policy, for me anyway, was that it made the classes relaxing and calm, especially after a long day of lectures and studying, NZSL class was a fun sociable experience I was excited for every Monday evening. In my opinion, the "no-voice" policy really did help me learn NZSL fast, but that might also be due to my ability to pick up languages quickly. However, looking at how easily my classmates were able to pick up the language and how we could have conversations after only a couple of weeks, I think it helps others learn quickly too.

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Not only does it help you learn signs better, but it teaches you about the deaf culture. When you converse with deaf people, it's rude to speak to someone else while signing with them, so using only sign helps you become comfortable with situations where that might happen. One thing to keep in mind though is that it is common to mouth words for some signs and that this is completely okay, but if you are having a conversation with someone and a deaf person is nearby, then that is what is considered rude. Just like how whispering to your friend next to your other friend is rude.

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My advice to others wanting to learn a sign language is that you shouldn't be scared about not being able to use your voice. Mistakes happen all the time, but it's nice to be able to laugh it off and learn from them. Sign language is fun and expressive and sometimes I prefer it to spoken language. To be able to enjoy the experience fully you will need a sense of humour, so don't be shy to be silly every once in a while.

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