Deaf students agree on a sign-language symbol for “Google”. Pic: Hein Latt Aung

BEFORE the students at the Mary Chapman School for the Deaf could learn to surf the web, they had to invent a few new words.

The sign language they use at the school had no symbol for “Google”, or even for “internet”.

Now when the teacher puts her thumb and first finger on the back of her other hand, it means to hunt for information on the popular search engine. And for students who used to feel isolated by their disability, the internet suddenly opens a new world of possibilities online.

“Until I learned about the internet, the only aim I had in my life was to open a sewing shop after graduation,” said Ma Lei Lei Lwin, a 23-year-old university student, speaking through an interpreter using sign language.

“But now I want to strengthen my education by enrolling in foreign universities for the deaf.”

Ma Lei Lei Lwin had barely been aware of the internet until this year, when she met Daw Lwin Myo Myat, a teacher at Service Plus, a computer servicing company in Yangon that also provides internet training.

Their friendship led to Service Plus providing free internet classes for students from the Mary Chapman School, which Ma Lei Lei Lwin attended.

The school on Thantaman Street in Dagon township was founded in 1920 and has 350 deaf students between the ages of five and 20. Many of them live at the school, which also serves as a social centre for former students.

At Service Plus’s classroom in Sanchaung township, Ma Lei Lei Lwin and six friends joined the first training course, which began in May and lasted about six weeks.

They learned to do web searches as well as use email, forums and chat rooms. Last week Daw Lwin Myo Myat began a new course for six more students from the Mary Chapman School.

She said some online tasks, such as chatting, are hard for deaf people because language difficulties prevent them from answering quickly enough.

“We skip difficult topics which could make them confused,” she said. “If we teach them the way we teach ordinary people, they might get scared of the internet.”

The students mostly enjoy forums in Myanmar language because they’re easy to use and a quick way to meet new friends, she said.

Since completing the course, Ma Lei Lei Lwin has spent about four hours a week on the internet, mainly researching schools. She has made friends online with deaf people abroad, but she said it’s sometimes hard to communicate.

“I have to improve my English skills, and at the same time learn sign language from other countries,” she said.

As a teacher for the deaf, Daw Lwin Myo Myat faces difficulties as well.
First there’s the language barrier. A teacher from the Mary Chapman School translates for her in sign language, but many of the concepts are new to the students. Most computer terms don’t even have symbols in the sign language they use.

“Whether we write it down in Myanmar or English, the children don’t understand. So we have to do a lot of explaining to make the point,” she said.

The first training took longer than the usual internet course – about 12 sessions instead of five. But now that Daw Lwin Myo Myat has picked up a bit of sign language – and with lessons learned during the first attempt – she’s confident the new course will be more effective.

On the first day of the new classes last week, student Maung Aung Myat Bo did a search for “Malaysia”. He was looking for information on his brothers who are working there, but he soon learned it takes time to find specifics on the web.

“I’m very much eager to know more (about how to use internet),” he said.

Another student, Maung Aung Ko Hein, said he’s anxious to meet new friends online, including people who can hear. In the real world, a teacher at the school said, deaf people usually mix only with each other.

Twenty-year-old Maung Thila got interested in how computers work after finishing the first course. Now he wants to study hardware maintenance and set up a computer shop.

But after the courses are finished, another issue comes up. Without up-to-date computers and web access at the school, it’s a challenge to let the students get online and hone their skills.

Now the teachers at the Mary Chapman School want to set up an internet centre for students and teachers to use.

Service Plus, the company that trained the students, posted a forum on the website www.planet.com.mm about the school’s technology needs.

Among the readers who responded, some turned out to be donors. They already have helped collect money and launch a website about the school, www.mm-marychapman.org.

It will cost about K15 million to set up an internet centre at the school, but so far they have raised only about K150,000.

In the meantime, the school’s head, Daw Margaret Kyaw Mya, plans to start a basic class on computer applications with the four used machines at the school.

She said it’s been a pleasure to witness the students’ joy at attending the internet classes, which have opened their minds to new possibilities.

“Taking care of living expenses for the children is already a headache,” she said. “I’m truly glad that there are people to support this opportunity.”

SCHOOL IN NEED

To help the Mary Chapman School for the Deaf build an internet centre, call 221 872.