Postsecondary Education for Nurturing Deaf Professionals in Sign Linguistics in the Asia–Pacific Region

The past decades have witnessed a growing recognition of sign language in Deaf communities as a human right and its significance in enhancing the educational prospect and social well-being of Deaf people. Alongside this global awareness is a surging demand for expertise in sign language documentation, analysis, teaching, and interpretation. As sign languages have been under century-long suppressions due to the abounding misconceptions among both Deaf and hearing people, it is of paramount importance to nurture Deaf professionals in sign language linguistics and applied linguistics to ensure that the campaigns for sign language promotion are geared in directions that can truly benefit the Deaf communities. Nonetheless, Deaf people worldwide, particularly in developing countries, face the problem of low academic attainments which bar them from receiving tertiary education in sign language-related fields. One possible solution is to establish a bridging program at the postsecondary level to equip potentially Deaf individuals with foundational training in sign linguistics which allows them to further tertiary education and engage in local sign language promotional works. With this goal in mind, the Centre for Sign Linguistics and Deaf Studies (CSLDS) at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) set up the Asia-Pacific Sign Linguistics Research and Training Program (the APSL Program) with funding from the Nippon Foundation in 2003. Since its inception, the APSL Program has gone through several phases of development. This article documents the objectives, educational philosophy and curriculum design of the APSL Program, and evaluates its outcomes from the perspective of the participants and their subsequent education and career development in their own countries. It is hoped that our experiences gained through the implementation of the Program and the challenges we faced in the process would offer insights for institutions or organizations which are considering setting up similar training programs for Deaf people in the future.