Simnika - learning sign language in Haifa - details and registration here

Have you thought about learning sign language? Now you can do it in Haifa. The Simnica school opened its doors to all those who want to know how to communicate in sign language and bridge cultures.

◄ Simnika - the center for studying Israeli sign language and bridging between cultures

About Us

Simnica was established to achieve two main goals:

• Exposure of the Israeli sign language to the hearing audience.
• Building a connection between two worlds - deaf and hearing, with the aim of breaking stigmas.

Our personal story - we don't give up even when it's hard

We, Chen Kroter and Karin Gorlick, two deaf, energetic and lively women, decided one day in August 2016, to make a change and establish the project "Simenika".

As deaf people, we encountered quite a few obstacles throughout our lives. The lack of awareness regarding the world of deaf and hard of hearing people as well as their language (Israeli sign language), has led to many barriers in dealing with and communicating with the various systems. The frustrations grew even more when we discovered in adolescence that in addition to deafness we share a vision limitation called 'Asher syndrome', which manifests itself in deafness from birth, night blindness in adolescence and a reduction in the field of vision, sometimes to the point of blindness. Deaf-blind people communicate in sign language through touch.

But when we saw that the students who studied in our courses came out with a new view of the world as well as inspiration and motivation to get to know, research and learn about minority communities, we decided to create a common vision and establish a project that will work for a socio-cultural perceptual change in order to raise awareness of sign language and the deaf and hard of hearing population in our small country of Israel .

Courses for learning sign language

Learning sign language in a different way - the center for learning sign language publishes comprehensive and professional courses where you can learn sign language. In the course you can acquire a double skill: communication and culture.

The courses taught have different purposes: 

• acquire the grammatical basics specific to sign language.
• Know how to use the appropriate facial expression.
• Place your phrase in three-dimensional space.

A professional teaching team that conveys the content using original teaching aids suitable for the course

The teaching staff of Simnica established a research and development group that for several years has created all the teaching aids necessary to progress in all the training courses of the teaching staff of Simnica. 

These supports are varied and adapted to each training and are constantly updated according to the development of our training. They consist of:

• Visual documents: photos or illustrations.
• Videos showing a large number of SSI (Israeli Sign Language) speakers.
• Slide show.
• Different games teach.

about the different courses

• SSI course 20 km/h for regular | Level 1: Acquisition of SSI as a second language for basic and daily communication with a deaf person.
• SSI course 50 km/h for the elite Level 2: Communicate in a simple and direct manner in most everyday situations.
• SSI course 80 km/h for exceptional | Level 3: Understand or express yourself and be able to participate in all conversations in the Shasi for details that are inherent in significant nuances in a clear, fluent and extended manner with a logical and effective linguistic structure.
• 100 km/h course for fluent markers Level 4: to achieve fluent and flexible control of visual language. This course will take you a step up in the practical level for studying translation.

Why exactly study at the gymnasium?

• Because at Simnika you get the added value of a different learning experience.
• Because in the courses you will be exposed to a wide and large variety of the deaf and hard of hearing population.
• Because in our courses there is a small number of students in the group with an emphasis on maximum and optimal attention to the learner.
• Because we have the best teachers with years of experience in teaching SSI (Israeli Sign Language)

Simnica also offers a variety of workshops, lectures and cultural evenings

Our workshops, lectures and cultural evenings in Israeli sign language bring the hearing audience a glimpse of a deaf person's point of view.

The different types of workshops and lectures:

The sign language workshop: The workshop is delivered by deaf instructors, who will give the group a small taste of a shared group experience by getting a tiny glimpse into the world of the deaf and their language - sign language. 

An experiential workshop on Asher syndrome: The audience was exposed to an initial introduction to Asher's syndrome and the life of a deaf person. On the daily coping, on the dreams, the aspirations and the difficulties and triumphs in life with the syndrome, and this in combination with an experiential experience that allows "stepping into the shoes" of people with the syndrome that illustrates the coping with hearing and vision loss. 

A lecture in Israeli sign language: The lecture is delivered by renowned deaf lecturers with knowledge in the field of deaf culture - the historical origins of sign language; the processes of the evolution of the language and its effects; the deaf identity; the social-historical struggles of the community; The question of the importance of the natural and human language of the deaf in the hearing society. 

Cultural Arabs: The idea of ​​cultural Arabs was born when Karin Gorlik, a deaf and visually impaired woman, and Ravid Adri, a hearing woman, connected within the course and gradually realized that their unique connection, consisting of two different worlds of culture and language, may lead to cultural mediation for other people as well. Thus, they initiated the first evening in a neighborhood pub, in a friendly atmosphere to bring together their friends from two worlds - the deaf world and the hearing world. The evening was a resounding success!

In the following meetings (which received the winning name - "Getting drunk from SSI!"), it was decided to join forces with us, the 'Simanika' team! We brought all the graduates of our courses and anyone who was interested in learning the language, we recruited our close friends and held joint meetings and activities for hearing, deaf, hard of hearing, signers and non-signers.

Cultural Arabs are divided into two:

• A frontal cultural evening for dating and social activities - we will usually meet in a neighborhood bar, accessible, well-lit with a wide and open area for gathering.

• An online cultural evening that takes place on Zoom, where we will host deaf lecturers who will share with the viewers stories and experiences from their world, and their ways of coping.

We invite you to take part in the various activities and events!