Hong Kong Sign Language is a language of the Deaf community in Hong Kong. It is a visual-gestural language having its own grammar.
In our course, you will acquire the language for
effective communication in everyday situations and appreciate the natural grammar of the language and explore the Hong Kong Deaf culture. Being taught by Deaf instructors, you will have an authentic experience of communicating with deaf people through various language activities.
Lay your hands onto the language of Hong Kong Deaf people. With your hands, you can search for the path into the Deaf world.
Applicable to students admitted in 2022-23 and thereafter
Students are required to complete a minimum of 18 units of courses, with at least 6 units at 3000 or above level, as follows:
| Units | |||
| (1) | Required courses [a]: | ||
| (a) HKSL1000 Hong Kong Sign Language I and HKSL2000 Hong Kong Sign Language II, or HKSL2050 Hong Kong Sign Language I&II | 6 | ||
| 6 | ||
| (2) | Elective Courses: | ||
| BMBL1001, 2001, 2002, 2003, 3001, 3002, 4001 or any HKSL courses other than HKSL1001 and those listed above | 6 | ||
Total: | 18 |
Explanatory Notes:
| 1. | This Minor Programme is not applicable to students who major in Bimodal Bilingual Studies. |
| 2. | Linguistics Major students can only take HKSL courses to fulfill the requirement of (2). |
| [a] | Students who have prior knowledge of Hong Kong Sign Language before admission may be exempted from taking HKSL1000, 2000, 2001, 2050, 3000 and 3050. They should seek the advice of the Department to take substitute courses in accordance with their academic qualifications. |
| [b] | Students who take HKSL3050 will only be recognized as completing 3 units of courses at 3000 or above level by taking this course. They will have to complete an extra 3 units of course at 3000 or above level to fulfill the relevant requirements. |
| Code | Course Title | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| HKSL1000 | Hong Kong Sign Language I | 3 |
| HKSL1001 | Hong Kong Sign Language Taster | 1 |
| HKSL1100 | Exploring Deafhood | 3 |
| HKSL2000 | Hong Kong Sign Language II | 3 |
| HKSL2001 | Hong Kong Sign Language III | 3 |
| HKSL2050 | Hong Kong Sign Language I & II | 6 |
| HKSL3000 | Hong Kong Sign Language IV | 3 |
| HKSL3001 | Hong Kong Sign Language V | 3 |
| HKSL3002 | Hong Kong Sign Language VI | 3 |
| HKSL3050 | Hong Kong Sign Language III & IV | 6 |
| HKSL3100 | Special Topics in Hong Kong Sign Language | 3 |
HKSL1000 Hong Kong Sign Language I (Course Outline B)
This course will provide students with the basic skills and knowledge of Hong Kong Sign Language (HKSL). It adopts a communicative approach to sign language teaching, and, through exposure to situational dialogues and interactive activities, students will acquire some basic vocabulary and grammatical constructions of HKSL, as well as some taste of deaf culture and customs of local deaf community.
Note: For students who have learnt Hong Kong Sign Langauge before, please contact the teachers of the language programme for placement test.
HKSL1001 Hong Kong Sign Language Taster (Course Outline)
[This course is offered via asynchronous online mode. Students should register the course via KEEP, a CUHK eLearning platform where the course materials are uploaded.]
This online course enables students to acquire some basics of Hong Kong Sign Language and the general principles for communicating with deaf people in a visual-gestural modality. With different videoed scenarios, students are systematically guided to acquire elementary signing skills for fulfilling basic communication needs in everyday situations. Emphasis will be placed on a range of simple, general-purpose expressions, which allow students to converse with local deaf people, as well as prepare themselves for learning the language further.
Students intending to take any of the one-unit language courses to be offered via online mode must read the following information:
One-unit Online Language Courses – Information for Students
HKSL1100 Exploring Deafhood (Course Outline)
Deaf people form a distinct minority group within most societies. This course offers a critical overview of the environments in which sign languages and Deaf communities develop in different parts of the world through which the history, culture, life experiences and ways of deaf people in the local context will be examined. Two key concepts – Deafness and Deafhood, the first describing the state of being deaf from a medical perspective as opposed to the latter, a cultural perspective, will be introduced and discussed. To facilitate discussion, Deaf and hearing guests will be invited to offer their unique perspectives on practical, educational and social aspects of being deaf. Documentaries, film, theatre and other Hong Kong Sign Language performance art will be used to enhance students’ understanding of Deafhood.
No prerequisites.
HKSL2000 Hong Kong Sign Language II (Course Outline A) (Course Outline B) (Course Outline C) (Course Outline D)
This course is the continuation of Hong Kong Sign Language: Beginners l. It adopts a communicative approach to sign language teaching, and, through exposure to situational dialogues and interactive activities, students will acquire a more in-depth understanding of HKSL with respect to vocabulary and grammatical constructions, as well as deaf culture and customs of local deaf community
Pre-requisite: HKSL1000
HKSL2001 Hong Kong Sign Language III (Course Outline)
This course, which is a continuation of HKSL I, II will continue to train students’ expression skills in Hong Kong sign language. To develop students’ proficiency, this course adopts a communicative approach to sign language teaching, and, through exposure to situational dialogues and interactive activities, students will acquire some continuative vocabulary and grammatical constructions of HKSL, as well as a taste of Deaf culture and the customs of the Hong Kong Deaf community.
Pre-requisite: HKSL2000 or 2050
HKSL2050 Hong Kong Sign Language I & II (Course Outline)
This is a summer intensive Hong Kong Sign Language (HKSL) course, covering the full syllabus of HKSL1000 and 2000. This course covers beginner level of HKSL grammar. It provides students with the basic skills of comprehension and expression in a variety of communicative tasks and situations. Students will acquire some basic vocabulary and grammatical constructions of HKSL through exposure to situational dialogues and interactive activities. Topics include 1) basic formation of a sign (i.e. five parameters of a sign) 2) basic sentence types and some of their distinctions as marked by non-manual features (i.e. grammatical features not articulated with the hands) 3) grammatical use of space as reflected in the pronominal system. In addition to language-based communication through HKSL, students will also be taught to appreciate other communication methods using gestures, including mimes, pantomimes, body language and facial expressions. Selected topics on various aspects of deaf culture and customs will be introduced to enhance students’ understanding of the local deaf community.
Note: For students who have learnt Hong Kong Sign Language before, please contact the teachers of the language programme for placement test.
HKSL3000 Hong Kong Sign Language IV (Course Outline)
This course is the continuation of HKSL2001. It continues to train the students’ comprehension and expressive skills through their participating in a set of communicative activities with emphasis on narrating events and describing relative locations of objects in space. Students will acquire more vocabulary and grammatical constructions of HKSL. Selected topics on various aspects of deaf culture and customs will be introduced to enhance students’ understanding of the local deaf community.
Pre-requisite: HKSL2001
HKSL3001 Hong Kong Sign Language V (Course Outline A)(Course Outline B)
This course adopts a communicative approach to sign language teaching. This course emphasizes developing the skills for expressing personal opinions and arguments. Students will learn to command more vocabulary and complex sign language structures. Students are encouraged to analyze some selected deaf issues in the local community and the world.
Pre-requisite: HKSL3000 or 3050
HKSL3002 Hong Kong Sign Language VI (Course Outline A)(Course Outline B)
This course is the continuation of HKSL3001. It continues to train the students’ comprehension and expressive skills with emphasis on narration of personal experiences and short stories. Students will learn to command more vocabulary and complex sign language structures. Students are encouraged to analyse some selected deaf issues in the local community and the world.
Pre-requisite: HKSL3001
HKSL3050 Hong Kong Sign Language III & IV (Course Outline A) (Course Outline B)
This is a summer intensive Hong Kong Sign Language course, covering the full syllabus of HKSL2001 and 3000. This course covers intermediate level of HKSL grammar. It aims at strengthening the students’ skills of comprehension and expression in a variety of communicative tasks and situations. Students will acquire some continuative vocabulary and grammatical constructions of HKSL through exposure to situational dialogues and interactive activities. Topics include 1) types of classifiers and their uses to describe and compare the appearances of objects/persons 2) use of space and classifiers to talk about actions, narrate a series of events and describe the locations of objects in space 3) modulation on the verbs and time phrases to express time, temporal meanings (i.e. aspect) and person agreements. Selected topics on various aspects of deaf culture and customs will be introduced to enhance students’ understanding of the local deaf community.
Pre-requisite: HKSL2000 or 2050
HKSL3100 Special Topics in Hong Kong Sign Language (Course Outline)
This course aims at enhancing students’ understanding of selected area(s) of Hong Kong Sign Language, Deaf culture and identity or Deaf communities and communication. Issues to be discussed under the area of Hong Kong Sign Language may include language policy, language documentation and basic human rights in sign languages and accessibility. Academic perspectives on Deaf culture, the Deaf experience, and the effects of educational settings on Deaf culture are issues to be discussed under the area of Deaf culture and identity. Under the area of Deaf communities and communication, the course will discuss “hearing” as a label for non-deaf people, deaf lives in a society built through sounds and the rise of deaf communities in different parts of the world. Topics will vary from year to year. Offerings with different subtitles can be taken up for credit, up to a maximum of two times.
