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22 September 2021
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Story Michelle Nöthling
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Photo Supplied
Annemarie Le Roux.
“I love working with children.” This is one of the first things Annemarie le Roux mentions when asked to describe herself. This love for children propelled Annemarie into the field of education and she graduated in 2006 with a BEd in Foundation Phase at the UFS. Annemarie immediately immersed herself in the Deaf community, enriching the lives of children at the Thiboloha School for the Deaf in Qwaqwa and the De la Bat School for the Deaf in Worcester.
The academic world enticed Annemarie back to the University of the Free State (UFS) and she was appointed as a junior lecturer in the Department of South African Sign Language (SASL) and Deaf Studies in 2013. Going from strength to strength, Annemarie completed her master’s degree in SASL in 2019, and published an
article earlier this year that she co-wrote with Marga Stander. In this article, they found that SASL “has become an increasingly popular language that hearing university students want to learn as a second language” and subsequently explored different teaching methods used for this emerging group of interested students.
Although now firmly established in academia, Annemarie is still committed to the practical application of SASL. “I am closely involved in student and community engagement through the
SIGNALS Sign Language student association that helps empower the Deaf community and South African Sign Language.” She also interprets for the Deaf community whenever she gets an opportunity, as well as for Deaf students in class and meetings.
On the importance of Sign Language and the recognition of the Deaf community in South Africa, Annemarie believes it will open greater opportunities for development. “More people will be able to learn SASL, and it might even become a subject in school for hearing children.”
UFS Research Report launched
2010-08-25
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Seen here, are Prof. Nerad and Prof. Jansen
Photo: Stephen Collett |
The Directorate Research Development launched the University of the Free State’s (UFS) 2009 Research Report in August 2010. Prof. Frans Swanepoel, Director: Research Development, highlighted progress, future research development direction and several exceptional institutional research achievements, with special focus on the women researchers who are changing the face of research excellence at the UFS. Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS, emphasised outstanding research performance as a fundamental element to the vision of the UFS and introduced Prof. Maresi Nerad, founding Director of the Centre for Innovation and Research in Graduate Education (CIRGE) and Associate Professor for Higher Education in the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies Programme at the College of Education at the University of Washington, Seattle, USA, as keynote speaker at the event. Prof. Nerad argued for a “global-village approach” to doctoral education, calling for a coordinated effort at many levels of higher education and beyond in supporting and developing our young researchers.