Sign Language Courses

British Sign Language (BSL) is a visual communication relying on gestures, facial expressions and body language. It is used within the deaf community. It is the first or preferred language of approximately 50,000 deaf or hard of hearing people in the UK.

I've wanted to learn sign language since I was a young child and so when I got the opportunity at the beginning of this school year, I jumped at the chance. So, since September I ...
...The word order of British Sign Language is different to the word order of English.

For example,
English:
'What is your name?'

BSL:
'Your name what?'

~ Why should I learn BSL? ~
'How would you communicate with a deaf person if you cannot sign?' Common answers would probably include lip reading and writing things down for the deaf person to read.

Lip reading ... more

British Sign Language (BSL) is a visual communication relying on gestures, facial expressions and body language. It is used within the deaf community. It is the first or preferred language of approximately 50,000 deaf or hard of hearing people in the UK.

I've wanted to learn sign language since I was a young child and so when I got the opportunity at the beginning of this school year, I jumped at the chance. So, since September I have been studying level one BSL.

As I am still in full time education I did not need to pay for the course which was a great benefit, as for those on the course who did need to pay, I think the fee was £119 for a 30 week course. (Fees vary depending on the centre) Although that is quite a lot of money, I think it is worth it to be able to communicate with deaf people more easily. The fee also includes the price of the exam. At the end of the course if you pass the exam you have a level one BSL qualification.

The word order of British Sign Language is different to the word order of English.

For example,
English:
'What is your name?'

BSL:
'Your name what?'

~ Why should I learn BSL? ~
'How would you communicate with a deaf person if you cannot sign?' Common answers would probably include lip reading and writing things down for the deaf person to read.

Lip reading is one way in which you could communicate but this is extremely difficult. If you are sitting near a mirror, mouth the 'vegetable' followed by the word 'fashionable'. You will find very little difference in the way they appear. Deaf people often misunderstand things when they lip read due to many words appearing very similar on the lips. It is the sound that differentiates between them.

Many deaf people cannot read or write simply because they cannot hear the words to learn to read so this is another poor way of communication.

~ Who should study BSL? ~

Anyone who:

Would like to gain basic language skills so that they can communicate with deaf people.

Has a deaf friend, relative or colleague.

Wants to extend their communication skills

Wants to make new friends while gaining a recognised qualification.

~ The course ~
Each class has been two hours long.
My sign language tutor is deaf. She is a fantastic tutor and has really made the course fun. I think this has made the course more enjoyable as she is more like a friend than a tutor. However, the course content is really good too.

During the first lesson we learned the alphabet. This was a nice introduction to the course as well as a good way of learning the names of everyone in the group. Although finger spelling is an important part of BSL, most words do have their own sign. This makes it easier to have a conversation than spelling the words out letter by letter.

For the first few weeks we spent the lessons practising our finger spelling. In one of the early lessons we had to think of a name sign. This is something that deaf people use to recognise a person when talking about someone. It also saves finger spelling their name each time they are mentioned. My name sign means 'pink' because that is my favourite colour but, as long as our teacher didn't know someone who already had that sign, you could choose anything you wanted. My tutor has the same name as me so having a name sign made it easier for everyone to know which 'Julie' they were referring to!

As the weeks progressed we learned more signs such as colours, numbers, general conversation (how are you? etc). We also learned multi-channel signs, which are signs, which don't involve worded lip movement.

Towards the end of the course we had to draw a storyboard containing 4 pictures to sign to the rest of the group. This was great fun and was really good practice for the exam.

~ The Exam ~
The exam should last around 15 minutes. It is split into three sections. You get 15-20 minutes preparation time in exam conditions before entering the exam room. This is where you get the story board (a choice of two) and the scenario that you need to sign.

The exam is filmed with a video camera, which is set up opposite where you sit. This is so you can appeal if you've failed but you think it was the examiners fault for signing too fast etc .

The first part of the exam is general conversation with the examiner. The exam that I did involved asking for directions to a place of interest. I felt that this part of the exam went quite well and I knew what to sign. He finger spelled a street name which I had to spell back to prove that I understood.

The next section of the exam involves the examiner signing a story in four parts. After each part he asked me three questions. I felt that I followed the story well and I knew the answers to the questions. However, he didn't let me express my answers as much as I wanted (he kept interrupting me) so I'm unsure how I have done on this part of the exam.

The final part of the exam involved signing the story that you practised in the preparation time. The examiner sits and watches the story until you have finished. I don't think that I made my story last the right length.

Overall, I'm not sure how the exam went. I was very nervous and I don't think I signed my best but fingers crossed I have done better than I think! The results take between 6 and 8 weeks so I have a while to wait yet!

After level one you can go on to level two then level three. Once you've completed level three you are a qualified interpreter.

~ Deaf Awareness ~

While I was doing the level one course our teacher asked us if we wanted to do a deaf awareness course. She told us that this would help alongside the BSL qualification.

The Deaf Awareness course lasted 5 weeks plus the night of the exam. Again I did not need to pay for this qualification but for those who did it was £35 (including the exam fee)

During this 5 week course we learned the correct ways to communicate with a deaf person and the correct (and incorrect) terminology surrounding the subject. For example, it is correct to refer to a person who is unable to hear as 'deaf' but it is not correct (in fact it is very insulting) to refer to a deaf person as 'deaf and dumb'.

We learned about special equipment that deaf people can use such as vibrating alarms and minicom's (a telecommunication device which allows deaf people to communicate using text).

The Deaf Awareness course made me think about things I hadn't previously thought about. Such as 'How does a deaf person call 999?' It also made me think about all the sounds that I take for granted each day that a deaf person is unable to hear.

The deaf awareness exam is written (rather than signed like the BSL) so you need no previous experience of sign language. I didn't think I had done very well in this exam but I found out last week that I had passed!

If you don't have the time or the money to do BSL but want to further your knowledge about communicating with deaf people then I would recommend that you do a Deaf Awareness course.

~ Examining body ~

Both the BSL and the Deaf awareness exams were through The Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP)
This is a registered charity that is "raising standards of communication between deaf and hearing people."
On the CACDP (www.cacdp.org.uk) website you can 'find a course' by clicking on the map of the UK for your region. You will get a list of contacts and where they are located so you can see if there is a course near you.

~ Final Word ~

I think that choosing to do a BSL is one of the best decisions I have made. If I pass level 1 I would like to go onto study level 2 but even if I change my mind, I know that should I ever meet a deaf person, I will be able to have a simple conversation with them. I would highly recommend that you complete a BSL qualification. If you do choose to complete a BSL course you must be determined as it can be difficult at times.

~ 29/08/06 ~

I just found out that I passed Level one BSL so I hope to enrol on the BSL Level 2 Course for September :-)

Thanks for reading! I hope I have helped in your decision to learn BSL and that you have enjoyed my review. I look forward to reading your comments. bluejules x
 

...less