Teaching NZSL to all Adults of Deaf children

Merge NZ strongly believes that its vital for all families and supporting roles such as teachers, teacher aides, etc. of Deaf and hard of hearing children to learn NZSL. The great benefits of this are a strong foundation of the Deaf child's identity development, all whanau/supporters becoming able to fluently converse in NZSL, and developing a deeper understanding of Deaf culture.

NZSL Fund

The NZSL Fund under the Office for Disability has contracted Merge NZ to offer courses to all families/whanau and other supporting roles to learn NZSL free of charge. You can learn NZSL as much as you want from 1st August 2022 to 30th August 2023.

Criteria required to meet:

You must have a Deaf or hard of hearing child, aged 6 and over at home, in your community or in your classroom
Extended families or close contact with Deaf child can apply too
Families of Deaf/hard of hearing child/ren need to be member of Deaf Children NZ before registering for any of our courses

Available services for you:

We have different services available for you to suit your needs, your schedule and your NZSL knowledge/levels:

Weekly, monthly or one-off learning experiences
A variety of times from daytime, evenings and weekend learning
Online and in person delivery
Immersion to group workshops - Coming soon
Beginner to intermediate learners

Contact us by sending an email to info@mergenz.co.nz and let us know which course are you are interested in, then we will register manually for you. Please make sure that you are a member of DCNZ first before contacting Merge NZ.

Deaf Children NZ Subsidy Fund

Available to DCNZ members (and family members) who wish to learn NZSL at home, in a community class or online.

This Subsidy provides $400 (including GST) per Term, with a maximum total allowance of $1,600 per family, per calendar year. The application form can be found on the DCNZ Get Funding page. When you register with Merge NZ please provide your reference number from Deaf Children NZ.

Our team of NZSL tutors

All of our NZSL tutors are culturally Deaf themselves and fluent in NZSL. You will get a rich experience from our tutors.

Since 2017, Merge NZ has delivered over ten workshops for a team of NZSL tutors in various locations in New Zealand. Training include teaching NZSL to families of Deaf and hard of hearing children.

Most of our NZSL tutors are qualified with a Certificate in Deaf Studies & NZSL Teaching under Victoria University of Wellington. As well, they have responsibility to attend NZSL trainings, workshops and national conferences as part of their ongoing professional development.