Introduction to Basic Sign Language VESAUFS2107 Alison Moore
Weekly outline
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Information taken from the course information sheet
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Welcome to Introduction to British Sign Language
British Sign Language - or BSL for short was officially recognised as a UK language in 2003 and is the 1st language of approximatley 150,000 deaf people in the British Isles. There are also many people who are not deaf who use BSL to communicate with relatives, friends, employers or employees and carers or who work as BSL interpreters.
BSL is a visual, gestural language without a conventional written form. It has it's own grammar utilising facial expressions, handshapes and upper body movements to convey meaning.
It's important to remember that the grammar used in BSL is completely different to that used in everyday English - it's sometimes easier to think of it in terms of describing a picture - because it's a visual language - rather than following the grammatical structure we are used to.
During this course we will be learning about deaf awareness, basic fingerspelling, greetings, asking and answering basic questions as well as some basic vocabulary including giving directions, the weather and travel and transport.
We hope that learning BSL will enhance your communication skills and that you will enjoy the confidence it gives you to communicate with deaf people.
Thank you for joining us!
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Click on the link to find out about International Deaf Awareness Month
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Welcome back to Introduction to British Sign Language
This week we will be practicing our fingerspelling and learning how to introduce ourselves, ask and answer simple questions and learn about non - manual communication.
When using BSL you need to use your non manual features – that is your facial expressions and head or upper body movements. These are really important when communicating in BSL.Anything that is not your hands is known as non manual.These include you lip movements which are important as some deaf people will be relying on lip reading. When you are speaking to a hearing impaired or deaf person who is reading your lips you don't need to exagerate your movements - just slow down a little, make sure you are facing them and speak normally.This week we will also continue to increase our deaf awareness and learn more about deaf culture.1. It is estimated that there are about 9 million people in the UK who are Deaf or hard of hearing
2. Deafness is the third most common disability in the world but you probably wouldn’t spot a Deaf person in a crowd
3. Most Deaf people don’t view their Deafness as a disability or as a problem that should be fixed. For many of them, it’s a natural part of a cultural experience that they share with friends, both Deaf and hearing
4. Most Deaf people who use sign language use British Sign Language, or BSL. It’s a rich combination of hand gestures, facial expressions and body language
5. BSL isn’t simply English with hand signs, it is a different language with its own grammar and sentence construction. While you would say “what is your name?” in English, a BSL user would sign, “your name, what?”
6. You might assume that sign language across the world is the same – but actually British Sign Language is totally different to other sign languages such as American Sign Language or Japanese Sign Language
7. Even the best lip-readers only catch less than half of the words said to them, natural facial expressions and hand gestures can really help
8. 9 in every ten deaf children are born to hearing parents, but only 1 in 10 of those parents will learn sign language to be able to communicate fully with their son or daughter
9. Deaf people embrace their Deafness and are proud of their history. There is a very strong sense of community and culture amongst Deaf people
10. As a Deaf person you rely on your eyes for clues to what people are saying or feeling, and you rely on other clues like vibrations in floors to be aware of what is going on around you
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This week we are going to learn some signs about being deaf and hearing and learn how to ask people some basic questions such as where do you live? and where are you from?
Click on these links to find a video clearly showing left handed and right handed signs and some signs related to the pandemic.
We will also look at some more deaf awareness issues.
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This week we are going to practice telling people where we are from.
We will also be learning and practicising numbers, some colours and how to tell people about our families.
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This week we will look at how to talk about your family, the seasons and the weather.
We will also look at some of the achievements of deaf people.
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This week we will be learning how to talk about travel and different kinds of transport.
We will also be learning about some of the new technology developed to help deaf people.
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This week we will be looking at how to give directions to people and doing a quiz to see how much we have learned so far.
We will also be learning about one deaf girl's story.
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This is the final week of the course. Well done to everyone who has made it this far!
This week we will be doing our final reviews - looking back at how far we have come and looking forwards to see what our next steps can be.
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Answer the following questions to see how far you have come since the start of the course and make some plans for the future.
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This section contains all teaching resources for the course and is only available to tutors and staff. Learners do not have access to this section.