Autoworkers learn sign language hoping connection with deaf colleagues improves work and lives

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One doesn’t need to know sign language to understand what Michael Connolly feels about his colleagues’ efforts to break down the barriers posed by his deafness. When asked what he thought of his teammates’ decision to learn British Sign Language (BSL), the 45-year-old autoworker at the Nissan plant in Sunderland, England, grinned and flashed a universal symbol: two thumbs up. Connolly loves having the chance to banter with his workmates, to talk about everyday things—the kids, vacation plans, a TV program. And now he can, because the entire 25-member bumper-paint team at Sunderland started learning BSL at the beginning of the year. “I’m glad they have all learned sign language for us because I can talk and I lipread the hearing person, but I have my limits,” Connolly signed in an interview with The Associated Press. “If you reverse the situation and the hearing person can sign and speak, they have no limits.'” The initiative grew out of a broader effort to improve efficiency at the Sunderland plant, which makes Qashqai and Juke sport utility vehicles. While Nissan took steps to overhaul training and increase the use of visual aids during briefings, the bumper-paint team decided to go a step further and learn sign language, said supervisor John Johnson. Connolly is one of four hearing-impaired people assigned to the team, which works in a less bustling area of the plant where it is safer for workers who can’t hear the sound of an approaching vehicle. Johnson said the thought of mastering the combination of gestures, facial expressions and body language that comprise BSL was daunting. But it helped him understand what life was like for Connolly and the other deaf workers as they tried to learn their jobs and fit into a team without having the ability to share the personal tidbits that build friendships. “So as a team, we thought, ‘how can we knock that barrier down?’ And obviously, sign language was the solution or at least the start of an opportunity,” Johnson said. This article was provided by The Associated Press.