Recent school leaver Annabel MacKay reflects on her experience accessing education bilingually as a deaf student in a mainstream school in Te Whanganui-A-Tara Wellington.
Can you describe your personal education journey and any challenges you faced?
Annabel describes her life as living between two languages and two worlds - English and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL), and hearing and deaf.  
“For the most part, my education was accessed bilingually via a qualified interpreter, and I was incredibly fortunate to have this degree of access,” says Annabel. 
“I love learning and had a real thirst for knowledge. But in all honesty, isolation was a great challenge, and it can be really tough being the only (and often the first) deaf student in a school of 1,000.
“If you’ve never met a deaf person before, the prospect of meeting one can be daunting.”
Annabel found she was often the one to initiate conversations and educate teachers before they were able to educate her.
She stresses the importance of everyone being willing to learn and improve, stating that “people truly don’t know what they don’t know”.
Noting that there is no easy fix, Annabel believes education can be one of the most powerful tools to reduce isolation and remove systemic barriers. 
What strategies or resources were helpful across your educational journey?
Annabel says there is not one specific strategy but instead “a combination of things that collectively make a considerable difference”.
In addition to a qualified interpreter, Annabel transcribed some classes via a speech-to-text service and took many photos of classroom whiteboards on her phone, particularly in high school.
“It is virtually impossible to take notes in class when you are watching the interpreter or teacher, so I typed up notes following classes at home, based on what had been transcribed and any documents I received.
“I have no doubt that this greatly aided in my comprehension of the material taught.”
Annabel also built a strong support network within her school, extended community and whānau, which she could lean into when issues did arise. 
Meeting one-on-one with teachers at the beginning of the academic year also helped make sure the classroom would be as inclusive as possible, and there was continuous reflection throughout the terms.
Underlying all of these strategies, Annabel says “being aware of my human rights significantly contributed to my academic success”.
“School provided me with years of lived experience within the human rights field and self- advocacy was a key skill I learned from a young age.
“Deaf children need to be acutely aware of their inherent value, and they need to know that it is their right and entitlement to be in the classroom just as much as anyone else.”
She sees these strategies as akin to building a bridge. 
“To build a bridge between two places, or in my case two worlds, you set foundational pillars,” says Annabel.
“Some of these pillars came from interpretation, some from transcription notes, some from my support network, and some from my knowledge of human rights. All together they built a bridge that provided me with the access I needed to succeed educationally.”
How does NZSL contribute to the cultural richness of Aotearoa New Zealand?
“I am incredibly proud to be multilingual,” says Annabel. 
“My family are all hearing and I learned NZSL through meeting the Deaf community and being exposed to fluent language models. Knowing NZSL has allowed me to immerse myself into a distinct culture, community, and way of life where I am able to see things with a different worldview.”
Grateful for the wonderful people met on her journey to date, Annabel says NZSL has fuelled her desire to make tangible change in the world.
With about 300 different sign languages worldwide, she equates NZSL as a “cornerstone of New Zealand culture” and “one of our official languages”.
“Sign languages are not universal. Just like spoken languages, different sign languages exhibit distinct characteristics with their own dialects and variations,” explains Annabel. 
“NZSL is a unique taonga to Aotearoa that contributes to the vitality, cohesion, and multicultural fabric of our country.”
Read more: www.deaf.org.nz/2024/05/bridging-worlds-and-embracing-new-zealand-sign-language/