Why it was needed

This project ran as part of the programme of volunteering events we put on for National Student Volunteering Week. A lot of our volunteers already volunteer in schools where some of the children use basic sign language to communicate. Also, I feel it is important for people to have a basic knowledge of sign language so they can communicate with people they meet throughout their life that use BSL.

What's being done

The session was a 2 hour session during SV Week led by a BSL tutor from a local college. A lot was covered in a short time including the finger spelling alphabet, greetings, questions, basic vocab and even some BSL grammar structure. The session was very popular and the feedback from the session was very positive. I am hoping that the session has inspired students to learn more sign language -perhaps even set up sign language classes through Junction 49!

How it started

This was a very quick session to organise. I got in touch with the local college which run BSL part-time courses and asked the tutor if she would be able to run a one-off session for me. The session was then advertised to students at Kingston University.

More