USJ Social Work Students Experiential Learning on Sign Language Workshop and Silent Café at the Macau Deaf Association
USJ Social Work Students Experiential Learning on Sign Language Workshop and Silent Café at the Macau Deaf Association
28
Oct
28/10/2025
USJ Social Work Students and Teachers Visit Macau Deaf Association, Experiencing Sign Language Workshop and Silent Café.
Recently, a delegation of over 20 students and teachers from the Social Work Programme of the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) visited the Macau Deaf Association. Through participating in a sign language workshop, simulating “silent café” services, and other diverse activities, the group gained an in-depth understanding of the service system and community development of the deaf community in Macau.
On the day of the event, the person in charge of the association first introduced the organization’s development history and core service contents to the teachers and students, including key areas such as advocating for the rights and interests of the deaf, promoting sign language, vocational skills training, and social integration support. They also elaborated on the policy support and practical achievements in the field of deaf services in Macau. Under the guidance of professional instructors, the teachers and students participated in a basic sign language workshop, systematically learning daily communication sign language vocabulary and expression skills. Through interactive exercises, they broke down language communication barriers and personally experienced the communication methods in the silent world.
Subsequently, the delegation carried out an immersive simulated service at the Silent Café under the association: students were divided into groups to play the roles of waiters, chefs, and customers, completing the entire process of ordering, conveying needs, making drinks, and service feedback through sign language. This allowed them to personally experience the daily communication and work scenarios of the deaf community. During the process, deaf baristas from the association provided on-site demonstration and guidance, helping the teachers and students adjust the details of their sign language expressions while sharing their own career experiences. Through this simulation, the group not only observed the career development status of the deaf community intuitively but also gained a deeper understanding of the café’s operational philosophy as a social enterprise—to provide employment support for the deaf and build a bridge for social integration. During the visit, combining their classroom learning, the social work students exchanged views with the association’s staff on topics such as the construction of social support networks for the deaf community and cross-sectoral service cooperation, accumulating valuable practical experience for their future social work practice.
Prof. Jacky Ho, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at USJ, and Mr. Ed Si, a lecturer, stated that this visit is an important combination of classroom teaching and social service practice. In particular, the simulated service at the “Silent Café” allows students to understand the needs of special groups through role-playing, helping to enhance their professional capabilities in cross-cultural communication and social services. The Director of the Macau Deaf Association also noted that they look forward to further promoting sign language culture, enhancing social understanding and inclusiveness of the deaf community, and advancing the construction of a diverse and inclusive society in Macau through such immersive exchange activities.
