Benefits of making sign language

mandatory in primary school

 Structure
• Background
• Benefit 1: Providing better learning environment for hearing impaired
people
• Benefit 2: Raising public awareness towards the needs of deaf people
• Benefit 3: Incrrasing sign language interpreters
 Background
• In 2014, there were 155,200 people with hearing difficulties in Hong
Kong, of which only 2.5 per cent knew how to use Sign Language.
• Lutheran School For The Deaf as the only special school that provides
primary and secondary education for the deaf after 2019.
 Providing better learning environment for
hearing impaired people
• Most student with hearing disabilities are forced to learn in mainstream
schools due to integreted education
• May have troubles following learning progress
 Provide better learning environment for
hearing impaired people
• When normal students can understand sign language ：
1. Allocates communication between them and promotes friendships,
inclusiveness-mental growth
2. Normal students able to help with study problems-help following
learning progress of class-academic improvement
 Raising public awareness towards the needs
of deaf people
• Mainstream not knowing exact needs of deaf people due to lack of
promotion and understanding
• More and more people will know about information of sign language and
increase awareness towards people suffering hearing loss
 Raising public awareness towards the needs
of deaf people
• Policy or benefiting deaf people can be suggested and promoted
• e.g. more special school for deafs

• Less discrimination and misunderstanding

 Increasing sign language interpreters
• Not enough sign language intepreters currently, causing inconvenience in
communications of deaf people e.g. in family, in workplace
 Increasing sign language interpreters
• Having sign language mandatory in primary school allowing more people
able in handling proper sign language skills
• Releasing demand in sign language interpretation helpers, especially in
specific situations such as hospitals
 Resources
• VARSITY (31 MARCH 2020) Will emphasis on speaking and hearing lead to
the demise of sign language in Hong Kong?
Will emphasis on speaking and hearing lead to the demise of sign language in H
ong Kong? - Hong Kong Free Press HKFP (hongkongfp.com)
• TVB 新聞透視 - 聽障人士生活困難看醫生花時間 聾人去醫院難找手語傳
譯 －香港新聞－ TVB News －陳嘉欣
(8) TVB新聞透視 - 聽障人士生活困難看醫生花時間 聾人去醫院難找手語
傳譯 －香港新聞－TVB News－陳嘉欣 -

• Lutheran School For The Deaf School Address

學校簡介 - 路德會啟聾學校 (lsd.edu.hk)
Q and A