By | 14 August 2019

The University of Education, Winneba UEW of Ghana and Western Oregon University (WOU) in the USA has held a workshop for Sign Language Interpreters and Teachers of the Deaf

The Department of Special Education (SPED) of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) in collaboration with Western Oregon University (WOU), USA has held a workshop from Monday, 29th July to Friday, 9th August, 2019 for Sign Language Interpreters (SLI) and teachers of the deaf at the Registrar’s Conference Room, North Campus, Winneba.

The workshop was intended to help participants improve upon and sharpen their interpreting skills thereby developing a community of skillful and fluent SLI at SPED who will individually provide effective interpreting, translating and note-taking support services to individual students who are deaf.

SPED and professional partners from WOU have been providing professional training in Sign Language for SLI and teachers of the deaf who in turn provide academic and psychosocial support to individual students who are deaf or hard of hearing at the secondary and tertiary levels of education in the country. This is the seventh collaborative workshop that has been organised at UEW between SPED and WOU in addressing the issue of best practices for SLI.

Dr. Daniel Dogbe, Head of Department for Special Education

The Head of SPED, Dr. Daniel Dogbe indicated that his outfit envisages continuous collaborative dialogue to produce a community of skillful and competent SLI for students who are deaf at UEW in particular and Ghana as a whole.   

The workshop saw participants from SPED, public and private schools for the deaf in the country, Ghana National Association of the Deaf (GNAD), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), parents and teachers with wards or children who are deaf.

Brief Backgroud on SLI at UEW

Sign Language interpreting started officially at UEW in September of 2006 when a deaf female student was admitted into the Department of Special Education to read a bachelor’s degree in Special Education.

At the fresh students’ orientation at that time, it became necessary for the Coordinator, Unit for Education of the Hearing Impaired (EHI) to interpret for the deaf student. Later, a male Teaching Assistant who was a competent Signer was assigned as her interpreter.

UEW has since 2006 admitted on average, six students with deafness each academic year to read various degree programmes at the Winneba and Kumasi campuses of the University.