Breaking down a language barrier

Four deaf students have made transition year an opportunity to link up with their hearing peers. Louise Holden reports

Not many schools would bother with transition year if only four students were available to take it. The prospect of running special modules, entering national competitions and making staff available would hardly be worth the challenge for such a small group. At St Mary's School for Deaf Girls, however, they don't baulk at challenges - and they believe the effort is well worth the outcome.

"We have a tough time convincing parents and students that transition year is a positive option," says Shirley Higgins, transition-year co-ordinator at St Mary's, in Cabra in north Dublin. "There's huge pressure on deaf students to get through to the Leaving Cert without delay, as it can sometimes take longer to get through the primary and junior cycles. Students can be reluctant to put the Leaving Cert on the long finger when they are already 17 or 18. They see transition year as a waste of time."

Undeterred, the staff of St Mary's give transition year the hard sell. "You would not believe the difference between students who take transition year and those who don't. They're more confident, more able to communicate, more self-reliant and more motivated. Many of our students take the Leaving Cert Applied, and the transition-year programme is an ideal preparation for that. Many others take the Leaving Cert, and they invariably get higher marks than those who have not taken transition year," says Higgins.

The school has been running transition year for more than a decade; each year it gets a little easier to convince potential candidates, as they see the enjoyment their seniors get out of it. "We run an Oscars night at the end of transition year, where participants get their various awards. It's very exciting, and younger students are increasingly curious."

The transition-year programme at St Mary's starts with a blindfold tour to an unknown destination, where the new recruits are thrown into an ice-breaker session. This year they arrived at Dublin Zoo, where they were sent on a treasure hunt. It was great way to break down inhibitions between the four girls, who would get so close over the following three terms.

After that, the transition-year schedule at St Anne's is virtually indistinguishable from that at any other school. "There are a couple of programmes we can't do," says Higgins. Students have problems with modules such as transition-year radio and debating. "However, you'd be surprised what's possible when you're determined. These girls don't want sympathy or special treatment, and they are well able to find ways to participate on an equal footing."

The four students - Yvonne Walshe, Sally Byrne, Emma Boland and Sarah Moore - have competed in this year's main transition-year competitions, including the Get Up and Go mini-company programme (they came second for quality of product in their region) and the Young Social Innovators awards. They have also entered the Coca-Cola Form and Fusion design competition, where they have a particular advantage.

"We place great emphasis on practical subjects, such as home economics, and visual-spatial subjects, such as art, in this school. These are not as reliant on language as other subjects, so they are liberating for our students," says Higgins. "Our students do better at home economics and art than many other students in the country. These are subjects in which they really shine."

The trouble for many deaf students taking the Junior and Leaving Certificate is the curriculum's reliance on language. Because deaf students don't hear language spoken, it takes many of them longer to reach proficiency in the written language that is the crux of the high-stake State exams. If students could sign their exams it would be a different story.

Forty thousand Irish people use Irish Sign Language each day, yet it is still not recognised as an official language. The National Association for Deaf People is lobbying for legal recognition of the language, in the hope that deaf students will get access to suitable resources in the future.

On a transition-year trip to Manchester last month the students were amazed to find that sign language is used more widely in the UK than it is here. The UK government is one of five European administrations that has given sign language official legal and administrative status.

"Everywhere we went, passers-by would address us with a few words in sign language. In restaurants, bars and train stations everybody liked to show whatever they knew, even if it was just their name. This was a real boost for the girls, because it made them feel welcome. In Ireland people tend to stare at people who sign, but very few show an interest in learning the language."

When the students visited the set of Coronation Street, many of the actors had some sign language. Kate Ford, who plays Tracy Barlow, had taken a year-long course in signing, and in the soap opera's knicker factory the St Mary's girls were able to chat in sign with Anthony Cotton, the actor who plays Sean.

The students are proud of their language and their school, and simply want to familiarise people with what they can do.

"Through transition year we have made links with students in mainstream schools, and that is a major development for us," says Higgins. The students keep in touch with them in large part by text messaging - a welcome technological development for deaf people everywhere.

"In this school the majority of our students go on to third level, either through PLC courses or directly through the CAO. They are working in business, the public sector and education. We know there's nothing they can't do, and that's the message we put across every day."