The sound of silence in a dramatic pause in the middle of reading. That’s what I’m hooked on! Watching teens and young adults getting hooked on a story. That’s what I’m hooked on. I get to be on stage during reading and writing workshops. I am the young man sitting on a train, crushing on a girl and hoping to get her number. My voice ages, becomes the gogo who’s grandchild is breaking her spirit. Storytelling – that’s what I’m hooked on.
But, how will this translate – my focus on sound to bring stories to life – with a group of students who cannot hear? We accepted an invitation to introduce the magic of reading to learners at the Dominican School for the Deaf as part of their Book Week (or two… running from 25 April to 5 May) programme. We were about to find out.
The initiative came about because the teachers had noticed that their learners read very little and literacy rates were low as a result.
“We notice a substantial difference in the writing levels of learners who read for enjoyment. It would be great to get our kids reading.” ~ Brendon Bussy (Art, Design, Music teacher)
We were warned that whatever we had in mind will take two or three times longer with these special needs learners. We decided to use stories from our Twisted Tales because of they were shorter in length, used simple language and ended with humorous twists that keep readers wondering what will happen next.
We had two sessions and the plan was simple: introduce our mobi site, read a story and then get groups of learners to act out a part of a story. The teachers attended the sessions as well for which I was grateful. I had no idea how to draw their attention. I tend to be a loudspeaker when it comes to getting the youth’s attention. The learners are busy chatting/signing away and for this, of course, they have to look at one another, not the stranger standing at the front. One of the teachers showed me some tricks. Flicking the light switches. On. Off. On. Off. Or simply stomping your feet a few times and enlisting the help of students who have already started quietening down.
So there we were, facing one another. The interpreter, Gabby was running a bit late. I am left speechless. It is not until that moment that I realised we have some languages in common, English and Afrikaans, but that means nothing if I can’t sign to them. Yes, Sonja, signing is another language.
When Gabby arrived I handed her a sheet of paper with the story on it, thinking it might help if she can’t understand my accent. She pulled up a chair and placed the paper on it. Of course, her hands would be quite busy!
I started reading with my usual animated tones and role playing, moving my body to play the part of Lebo. I watched for the reaction from the learners. But they weren’t watching me. They were watching Gabby. Her face and gestures were enthralling. She was the storyteller. I lost the plot a few times, struggling to pull my attention away from her.
Gabby asked me to stop when I read the part where Lebo says: “I don’t do blind dates!”. She explained that there is a sign for blind and a sign for date but not a sign for the concept of a blind date. A discussion with the students followed. She had to explain a scenario of being set up by friends or family to go on a date with someone that you’ve never met before. We only continued when learners understood that ‘blind date’ didn’t mean that Lebo was not interested in dating guys who are blind. Gabby also asked me to read slower.
By the time we got to the twist at the end of the story, I could see that Gabby had succeeded in making the story come alive to these learners – strong stories do translate. Then she and other staff helped the learners with the drama activity. They got into acting out the acting out! It was strange to be on the outside. Though, through body language I managed to connect and joke around with a few of the learners.
When I got back to the office and shared the experience, Mignon touched me when she said that if we’re going to call ourselves a literacy trust, then these are just the type of people we should be reaching, the most vulnerable and in need of literacy. For anyone, reading is a gateway to the world. For those who cannot hear, being able to travel through this gateway is even more important.
“It’s always fascinating for us to learn how our stories can be used in different environments and with different types of children and their specific needs.” ~ Mignon Hardie
Stories. That’s what I’m hooked on.