The newest staff team members at Signature have just passed all three assessments to achieve their Level 1 Award in British Sign Language.
Everyone who works at Signature understands how daunting and challenging it can be to learn another language, find your confidence, and apply your new skills in an assessment. We know exactly what our students experience throughout their learning journey.
To support our students, we asked staff who’ve recently passed assessments how they got the most out of their training and what advice they would give to new learners. They said:
“Our trustees, suppliers and experts are deaf so I had plenty of opportunities to communicate with deaf people and practice my skills. Try to immerse yourself in the deaf community as much as you can and push yourself to use your new BSL skills in everyday life, your confidence will soar.”
“I watched BSL interpreted videos on TV. Even if you can’t understand 100% you will be able to pick out words and phrases that you do understand and see them being used in more complex settings.”
“Practice in front of the mirror is a good way to practice your hand shapes and facial expressions.”
“Sign as much as possible, when you don’t understand, or you need clarification, or you need to know how a word is signed, don’t use English, you’ll become much more confident in your learning.”
“Use your classmates to practice in between classes. FaceTime and Skype are really helpful.“
“I signed up for BSLHomework to practice my receptive at home and on my way to work. It was great practice and I could see myself getting better and understanding more difficult phrases. “
Find out more about BSLHomework, our online study resource created for Level 1-3 students, and signup for a 90 day free trial, here.
