Eveliina Meriö, Susanna Pyykönen and Meri Seppälä Sign vividly - Facial expression exercises for sign language interpreter students 62 pages, 3 attachments Spring 2020 Diaconia University of Applied Sciences  Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Humanities  Interpreter, Sign Language and Interpretation

The purpose of this thesis was to create exercise material about practicing facial expressions for students of sign language interpreting. The learning material was designed for independent studying as well as school lessons. The learning material was developed because students found using facial expressions difficult. Providing tools for finding and using facial expressions was the goal of the learning material. This thesis was executed in co-operation with Diaconia University of Applied Sciences.

Sign language, theater and pedagogy professionals were interviewed for this thesis. They were provided with the learning exercises and the learning material was improved based on their feedback. After these improvements, the material was tested on first year students and their feedback was gathered with a questionnaire.

The product of the thesis was a learning material that includes 21 learning exercises. The learning material was brought to PowerPoint and it can be used in Turku campus of Diaconia University of Applied Sciences. The learning material got positive feedback from professionals and students so it can be inferred that the goals set for the thesis were achieved. The learning material is multifaceted and it can be used several times and in several ways. With the learning material, students of interpretation can achieve better skills in sign language by learning how to better use their facial expressions.

Keywords: exercise materials, facial expressions, Finnish sign language