interview

 
Another wonderfully innovative application of HotPotatoes many of us don't even think of on a daily basis - sign language.

Dr. Rachel McKee ☍, Senior Lecturer at Deaf Studies and Research Unit at the School of Linguistics and Applied Languages, and Edith Paillat ☍, Language Technology Specialist of the Language Learning Centre at Victoria University of Wellington share the challenges and rewards of creating courseware to teach New Zealand Sign Language. Welcome, Rachel and Edith! And many thanks for taking the time to be interviewed.

1. Tell us a bit about your background

Rachel: I teach New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Studies at Victoria University, Wellington. NZSL was legally made an official language in 2006, after an earlier history of being an 'underground' language. Teaching and researching NZSL has raised awareness that it is indeed a real language, that the Deaf community now uses openly and proudly. I'm a hearing person fluent in NZSL, and I work with a small team of Deaf teachers who are the main language models for learners.

For the past ten years that this site has been providing support and ideas, I've been amazed by the wonderfully various contexts and settings in which Hot Potatoes is used.

And while people have been coming and going, I'd like to preserve some of the knowledge in the hope that new users will have access to other peoples' experiences and good practices.

Glenys Hanson, an avid HotPotatoes user and a good friend of mine, I can proudly say, has recently been interviewed on EFL Notes sharing her experiences and mentioning my HotPotatoes Tutorials and add-ons site. Here I re-blog the interview.