Malaysian-Japan International Institute of Technology (MJIIT) in collaboration with Malaysian Deaf Sports Association (MSDeaf) had organized online sign language classes for the staff of MJIIT from Mac until April 2021. Some of the purposes for the classes being held:

1) Provide exposure to ‘normal’ people like us to deepen the knowledge of Malaysian Sign Language or Bahasa Isyarat Malaysia (BIM). This will allow us to communicate with the deaf and dumb without embarrassment.

2) There are a number of MJIIT students and staff who have deaf family members or friends but are unable to communicate well with them. The exercise will provide this exposure.

3) Learning BIM knowledge is a unique and fun experience and it can help to relieve stress.

A total of five classes were organized to learn basic sign language every Saturday. The classes on the weekend helped to not bother the staff and lecturers working hours.

The classes were taught by an MSDeaf teacher who has a hearing disability as well. In the first class, the teacher had focused on the backstory, reason and definition of hearing and speaking disability. An ice-breaking session was done as well as an introduction to the class. The attendees had started their lesson with sign language spelling from A to Z.

Meanwhile, in the second class, the teacher had shared that people with hearing disability often use nicknames rather than full names and taught the attendees to figure out nicknames for them to easily communicate with each other. Numbers from 1 to 10 in sign language was also taught on the same day.

In the third class, the teacher taught the attendees about every state in the country. Some of the countries are spelt by each alphabet and the rest with nicknames to be signed more easily. The other two classes were also carried out to accomplished the 5-day course.

In short, the attendees had a fun time and learned a lot thoughout the sign language classes.