Presentation by Margaret Odhiambo

20 November 2024

Photo: UHH/IDGS

On 20 November 2024, Margaret Odhiambo gave a presentation entitled “How glosses became a pedagogical challenge for deaf education in Kenya”. Margaret Odhiambo has been a staff member at the IDGS since summer 2024. In her presentation, she shared her personal background as an educator of the deaf in Kenya and then addressed the intersections of Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) developments and traced the history of KSL from its informal origins in local deaf communities to its current status as an equal language with the other national spoken languages (English and Kiswahili) in Kenya. Drawing on personal experiences, the presentation highlighted the positive steps taken by the government to recognize KSL, which have led to the development of policies to promote KSL as a fully-fledged language. Margaret Odhiambo also addressed glossing, a system that uses spoken/written language to represent sign and the associated misconception that the Ministry of Education and Teachers of the Deaf in Kenya have about glosses being synonymous with KSL. This has led to a variety of challenges for Deaf learners in the classroom and outside of schools as well as barriers for the Deaf community in real life. It was exciting to get an insight into the situation in Kenya!