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Hey Everyone, I'm excited to be writing my wee story for you all! I have started learning BSL after being introduced to the deaf community through my new job. I work for a company who provides VRS and VRI services. So far learning BSL has given me a broader insight into all aspects of BSL and has really benefitted me, in particular learning to acknowledge my deaf colleagues and how they like to communicate with those in the hearing community. I hope that after I complete the BSL course I will be able to use BSL well and have more connecting communications with my colleagues and others in the deaf community. I look forward to reading all your introductions on SLF! Thanks SharonDavie

Hi guys, I have recently started learning BSL - extremely beginner!! I am wondering when signing and talking at the same time do I say what I sign or say the sentence. For instance, when singing “name your what” do I say ‘name your what’ or ‘what’s your name’ Hopefully this makes sense!!

Hello everyone I am shannen I am 24 years old I am Irish but I am living in scotland , I have been learning BSL for a little bit now I am a support worker for people with disabilities I have worked in summer camps in America where I first started to see people use ASL I have recently set up my You tube and Instagram page : signalongwithshannen I sign along to pop songs at the moment I am in the care sector and someone i look after uses bits of BSL but I have always had an interest for learning how to sign so that it can be used day to day what I am learning throughout the course I am teaching and helping the people i support and also the staff that I work with .

Does anyone know of any resources for signing Ring a Rosies? I've checked google, Youtube and Instagram and all I can find is Makaton.

I'm recording a video since this is a sign language forum lol, if anyone wants to make friends through sign I'm all for it as I don't actually know anyone who signs :) say hi!

Hi All, My name is Izzy, I am a secondary science teacher who has a fair few pupils who use BSL. We have our support but I decided I wanted to do more, I wanted to communicate 1to1 with these pupils and find ways that I can describe the world of science to them as I am more then aware BSL is even harder when science is brought in to it. I have a lovely year 7 pupil who each Friday tests my understanding of key words in science into BSL and then if I can put them in a sentence and he teaches me those with the help of one of the schools signers and I teach him the science! I have also been working through the online course and loving it, but sometimes I wish I could practice a little bit more with people as practice makes perfect, right? Look forward to getting to know some of you! Izzy

I would like to practice signing with other people, who have started to learn BSL. This weekend from 10:00 to 11:00 I will be in Room 2 of the Video Chat. That's the one for beginners 😉 I hope some others are able and willing to join me, so we could practice our signs together. Hope to meet you this weekend! 🙂

Hi, My name is Ellen Dodkins, I have been interested in learning about sign language since I was at secondary school as my school had a hearing resource base due to having deaf students within our school population. Sign language was very normalised at my school and I had the opportunity to learn both Level 1 and Level 2 BSL while at school. I have signed up to this resource to refresh my memory of sign language and help me to be able to communicate within the community better. Hope I can develop my understanding of sign language and be able to communicate within the community even better. Ellen

Hi I am Emily Lucas and I looking into using design to help teachers and parents teach babies and young children sign language. I would really love to here about you experiences teaching or learning sign language, how were you taught, why did you start learning or teaching you baby to sign? Any information would be helpful.

I am a Scottish Primary teacher, and have decided to learn BSL in order to ensure that my classroom environment is an inclusive and equitable space for all children. I'm looking forward to teaching my class some signs and learning and practising together with them when school returns.

Hi everyone. I hope this topic is where it's supposed to be. Let me introduce myself, My name is Pierre and I am currently working on a signing avatar for my research project. The avatar signs train announcements in British Sign Language. The idea is that it would be kind of a phone app or a terminal in a train station. I am partially deaf and I started learning BSL recently, so I know I still have much to learn in order to improve the avatar signing (and my own). If you could answer the following questionnaire I would be very grateful. https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=8l9CbGVo30Kk245q9jSBPWNZAdZJva9Cv7g43XIt1QRUOFhWOUhWTFM5VzhVR1dTWU5RMlMyVURDRy4u Do not hesitate to write a comment at the end of the questionnaire, that would help me improving my BSL knowledge. Thank you very much

Hello everyone I hope everyone is doing well. I usually host meeting on Saturday 2pm with various other users on this site. Come and join. A few weeks ago we covered questions and and how to sign them. We went over: whats, whos, wheres, why, etc. After we discussed the questions and tried to figure out how to phrase them I noted them all down. My best friend uses BSL on a day to day basis (scottish bsl) but he has volunteered to aid me and answer any question I have in terms of signing and phrasing. So once we finished our session I had him proof read what we covered and the next session we covered it to provide some sense and understanding to use on our day to day learning BSL. Attached are those notes and questions. Hopefully quality is decent. And you can read my handwriting. If not let me know and I will type it up. Usaid Tariq is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: BSL Meeting Time: Jul 18, 2020 02:00 PM London Join Zoom Meeting https://us04web.zoom.us/j/77395693865?pwd=MnFXVlp6NjFGUkkzQ0hYV3h4QjVPdz09 Meeting ID: 773 9569 3865 Passcode: V9bVLn Usaid

https://morecambebayacademy.co.uk/join-us/vacancies/ We are looking for someone with BSL Level 3 or above to become the main teaching assistant for a Year 7 student starting in September. Please see our link if interested.

I'm Carlos, I'm currently studying business in Edinburgh. I think there are so many ways of communication like BSL and thanks to this course I will be able to communicate with BSL users. I'm really enjoying this course.

Hi, my name is Julia. I'm a 43 year old 1:1 teaching assistant. I'm also a mum to 2 wonderful kids, 1 of which is diagnosed ASC and at a special school. About 3½ yrs ago I attended a signalong course to help my sons communication. I really enjoyed the course. I signed up for this during lockdown and thought it would be another great extension to my SEN story.

Good afternoon, my name is Tori and i am training to be an Operating Department Practitioner, currently in my second year. With the current pandemic, despite working within the hospitals, i found myself with much more free time and I would like to be able to be a British Sign Language interpreter within theatres once i qualify. Although anyone is welcome to bring their interpreters to theatre, they often dont and rely solely on lip reading and theatre is daunting enough for people without the added difficulty of trying to read 5 pairs of lips at once. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated thanks in advance

Hi there! My name is Bethany, and like many of you, I have decided to take the plunge and begin learning BSL during this period of lockdown! I will be graduating this summer with a degree in Psychology and want to use this to start a career in teaching. One of my final year modules focused on Autism Spectrum Disorder, and confirmed to me that I want to work with SENDS children. So, in order to do that, and do it effectively, knowledge of BSL will be so valuable! I took some basic classes in primary school, as one of my classmates was deaf, so I have been able to fingerspell for years, but not much more! So, why not, as we have such an abundance of free time at the minute, use it productively and sign up for a BSL course? So far, so good! I am thoroughly enjoying this process and am really looking forward to using sign language in my day to day life.

Hi, I'm Jane and have just passed my intro to BSL. I'm looking for a level 2 course to start but would love some conversational experience on here too. Can't wait to hear from you - either with comments as to how I can improve or just general chat so we can both improve! Take care, Jane

Hi! My name is Ellie, I am 21 and from the Isle of Wight. I have been wanting to learn BSL for a while as I think that it is a great life skill to have. I love to travel and have been lucky enough to take two gap years to explore many countries around the world. I am now in the second year of my four year degree to become a registered dietitian and am loving every minute. I am looking forward to learning more BSL and being fluent enough to be able to use it in my future career, any tips and tricks for good practice and remembering would be greatly appreciated.

Hi all, My name is Angel and I am here to learn a new language and add to my skills. I am proficient in a few languages already, and BSL was one that I really wanted to learn as well. As wth all new languages, I find it so intersting as it comes with so many interesting facts. I am excited to continue on this wonderful journey. I am currently working at a privae medical practice in London's medical hub in Harley Street, and hopefully this new language will be useful for me in the future (and I am sure it will be). Anyway, I don't want to ramble on. x

Communication Support Worker - Thomas Hinderwell Primary Academy *NJC09 £20,344 (Actual salary £15,625) - 32.5 hours per week, term time only* ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover – come and broaden your horizons!’ Thomas Hindwell Primary Academy is a one and a half form entry primary (265 on roll and rising) with big ambitions as we continue to broaden our horizons for our children and our staff team. Over the last year we have overhauled our curriculum, leadership structure, provision, and learning environments and we enter 2019 looking very much to the future. As a school we are very much a ‘sleeping giant’ and while our new approaches will take time to further embed we are seeing positive results. As a school we have adopted Talk for Writing, Effective Maths, a new Core Knowledge Curriculum and become an outward facing school working with our coastal primary partners to transform our children’s lives. We are part of the David Ross Education Trust which is a family of 34 primary and secondary schools. As a staff colleague you will access CPD available locally as well as accessing leading teaching and leadership programmes through our Trust networks. Our ongoing development in terms of educational achievement and commitment to raising standards on the coast is at the forefront of our thinking – and we now have a Research Arm, a great enrichment programme and work closely as a partner of the Scarborough and Esk Valley Teaching Alliances. Our opportunity We are looking to appoint a colleague to support and guide one of our Year one pupils who is hearing impaired. Working closely with the designated Teacher of the Deaf through the Local Authority you will provide the communication support and help make sure the learning provided is adapted accordingly. While we are looking for current or prior experience of working with Deaf children you will work closely with our support staff and the LA specialist who will be in school at least every 2 weeks. We are looking for: · Current or prior experience of working with Deaf children · A good understanding of the needs of Deaf pupils and strategies that will help ensure they make progress · A colleague who is supportive, nurturing and seeks to make learning exciting and a positive experience We can offer you: · A school with a renewed focus who puts pastoral and nurture provision at its heart and an aspirational outlook for our children · An opportunity to be in a school that is rapidly improving · Happy, enthusiastic children who are thriving and have a thirst for learning · A school which has had its learning environments inside and out redesigned and reworked to fully met the expectations of our children and staff · An opportunity to work with an experienced and committed team and be part of a Trust which is diverse and puts the community at the heart of its agenda Join us and build a wonderful career in a school you are passionate about. Please contact the school office for more details. We strongly recommend that you visit us so that we can share with you why we are so proud of our school, and you will get a chance to see what we have to offer. Please contact the school office on 01723 373110. For an informal conversation you are welcome to contact James at North Yorkshire County Council at [email protected] or call 01609 534939/ 07966261249. Closing date: Monday 24th February 2020. Interviews will be held as soon as possible after the closing date To apply for the post you can apply direct at the following link: https://www.jobtrain.co.uk/dret/displayjob.aspx?jobid=1312 We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive an overwhelming response. All candidates are advised to refer to the job description and person specification before making an application. We are committed to safeguarding and protecting the welfare of children and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. A Disclosure and Barring Service Certificate will be required for all posts. This post will be subject to enhanced checks as part of our Prevent Duty.

Hello, I am learning BSL to help support children in my class at school.

Hello, I am a teaching assistant in a Specialist secondary school, I am looking to work on my signing schools. I work in a class of 12 but only 1 child uses BSL however it is heavily used across the school. Hoping to eventually find someone that I can practice my BSL with (and vice versa), just completed Part 4. Looking forward to signing with you, Ebony:)

Hi everyone, I'm Steph and I'm new to BSL. I've decided to learn to sign as I'm slowly losing my hearing at the age of 16 and so want to be proactive before I lose it altogether! I've set myself a goal this year to at least learn how to spell my name and introduce myself so keep your fingers crossed for me! 🙂