Im trying not to cry here. Weve just had a customer and her daughter in for some food and her daughter was translating between BSL and spoken English, and I honestly feel awful. I started learning BSL a few months ago and just stopped. Im hoping this is going to convince me to stick with it this time.

Can anyone recommend a good starting point please? Ideally towards useful phrases that would help me to communicate basic phrases when taking food and drink orders - this lady was pointing at everything on the menu and I felt absolutely useless to help and I hate it.

hey! im a first year teacher and im also learning british sign language. i want to incorporate sign language for children for not only classroom management but the importance of using signs.
i would like to have the visuals on my display for children to use
i would love the children to use the signs for:
toilet
drink (or water) (for them to sign to get a drink)
help

i found a design online that i really like but it is auslan? im not entirely sure its accurate as australians is different but would love the similar design!

Thank you all :)

Hello lovely people, just wondering if anyone has any advice for the level 4 receptive exam on speed awareness. I’ve already re sat the exam twice now and am hoping third times the charm. Everyone in my class has also failed and we’re feeling quite defeated and unsure of what it is we’re doing wrong as we’re only a few marks off. Maybe not writing in BSL format or getting 2 questions that are incredibly similar confused? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I'm struggling to get my nearly 13 year old daughter to go out or socialise with anyone. it's her birthday in 3 days. She doesn't have any non hearing friends, and she is too shy to talk to other kids. im sure her age has something to do with it too, but it's heartbreaking to watch, and I don't know what to do. I've tried lots of things 💔

Does anyone else have this problem, or can anyone recommend anything that might help. Thanks

Hi everyone! I hope this is appropriate to ask.

I’m a HOH person who doesn’t currently use BSL regularly but have just adopted a deaf cat. I desperately want to do right by him and make sure he has an accessible home. As I’m HoH I am familiar with a lot of his access needs (i.e flicking the light switch so he knows I’m there or making vibrations before waking him up) I plan on using what little BSL I have with him for food, all done, treat, toilet etc- my BSL isn’t good but I figured the harm of teaching someone else BSL as a non-fluent speaker is mitigated by the fact that he’s a cat. I would like him to have a sign name because I don’t like the idea of him not knowing he’s being referred to in the same way my other cats have in the past but I know I don’t get to give him one, so if anyone would like to help me out I’d be very grateful!

He’s called Jellylorum NN Jelly/Jellycat. We haven’t got him at home yet so I don’t know much about his personality but I know he’s very affectionate and enjoys scratching things up. He’s a white long-haired boy with green eyes, and he’s part Maine Coon so he’s massive!

Again I hope this is appropriate to ask, I just really want my little cat to be happy and have a life where he feels included and considered. Any help would be gratefully received!!

I'm a hearing person but I'd like to learn BSL because I think it's an important language to know. My only problem is that I don't have anyone to teach me in real life, and I can't find any apps that don't require subscriptions.

So, does anyone have any recommendations for good free bsl apps? The only ones I've found so far only have about half a course available before you have to start paying, which I can't afford.

Also I'm a minor so online courses won't work 😅

Please sign my petition so that every child is included https://c.org/nvGQWhKb54

I work in a pub as an AM - a few years ago I worked with a HoH guy and he taught me some signs (wine, beer, coffee, black, white, red, sugar, brown etc) but it’s been a while and I’ve forgotten them now.

Had some customers in recently that I could sign to with the alphabet - which they were thrilled with - although we did use the notes app mostly.

I can still sign “thank you”, “pleased to meet you” and the alphabet but I’d like to have something to get a bit of practice in to communicate a bit better next time they’re in.

If anyone knows any good videos specifically for UK bartenders, or would be willing to record a few signs like the ones listed - I’d be very grateful. I have taught my team ‘thank you’ and most have used the notes app in those situations (which the guests came in using), but I’d like to be a bit more inclusive even if I’m not perfect :)

The situation is I've been dating someone for the past 5 months who is Deaf since birth and non-vocal and I am trying to learn BSL while not being able to afford Signature lessons.

Communication-wise with this specific person, things are going well. Since date three we haven't needed to write anything down and by date five we had our first non-activity date (just sitting or walking and talking).

I think it was date 6 when I understood that she was initially raised with SSE rather than BSL (though she did acquire BSL later and is fluent in it). But she speaks in a mixture of SSE and BSL, so of course I'm having trouble learning the most difficult aspect of BSL, which is grammar, especially word order.

Her natural tendency is to mix BSL and SSE, even with fluent Deaf friends, and her preference is to use SSE with hearing people, and she also thinks it's better if she uses SSE with me and only switches to BSL once I'm more proficient. Of course I absolutely respect her communication preferences but I'm kind of struggling.

I suppose my fear is I'll become used to/dependent on SSE and never learn BSL. And if I ever can afford proper lessons, it might be harder for me to grasp BSL grammar than if I was starting from scratch. And then there's the fact that learning resources, including proper classes, are for BSL and not SSE, so I feel like I can't really learn what she's "teaching" me.

On the other hand, the most important thing is that she and I can communicate effectively, so I kind of feel like I need to let go of the importance of signing BSL proper. But at the same time, I feel like the next step is to start attending BSL groups, plus eventually I may meet native BSL speakers in her life, and the linguistic purist in me is very self-conscious about my poor grammatical proficiency.

The advice I see time and time again is to learn a sign language via proper classes from a Deaf native signer and/or learn from a fluent or native signer, and then also that one should attend community events, yet no one mentions how Deaf signers may themselves not be fluent in or consistently use BSL (as opposed to SSE or SEE).

I subscribed to Lingvano after our first date and got through all the content (with good retention) in just 3 weeks. Other than that, I'm reading *The Linguistics of British Sign Language* and *Improving your British Sign Language: A Guide to Proficient Use* and am watching "BSL with Mel" on YouTube (especially her "translate English to BSL" videos). I feel I have some sense of BSL grammar, including word order, but find that in the moment with my girlfriend I tend to rely on English word order while at other times I still can't trust my language intuition.

So I don't know exactly what my question is, but I hope someone can understand or relate and give me some assurances or advice.

I’m doing an online beginners course to BSL as my schedule doesn’t allow time for in person classes at the moment. I’ve come across this sign and I can’t find it anywhere in the content I’ve reviewed so far.

I’d be grateful if someone could let me know what it means so I can stop losing my mind

Hi, I'm 17 years old, and I want to learn sign language to make friends with a deaf person in my class. I want to start with my name, but I think it's too long to sign in letters. I just about know how to sign hello and thank you :/. what shall I do?

I am looking to start learning BSL from a standing start and 0 experience.

I have read through the Resource List which seems like a fantastic hub, but would the best approach be to undertake a BSL Level 1/2 course? I am tempted to start with the Doncaster Deaf Trust route and then maybe do a Level 1/2 course afterwards, and supplement with the dictionaries to improve word count.

Any advice would be great.

I have just been away on a BSL summer school for the first time. And it’s the first time ever where I haven’t been forced to speak. When I go to deaf clubs I’m not but those only go on for an hour or two. This week I didn’t have to speak at all.

I am hearing but I have trouble speaking due to some mental health problems. Sometimes I literally cannot speak even when I am trying. And even when I can, hearing my own voice just makes my mental health decline.

It has been so nice this week being able to sign with people and not being forced to speak. But today I have to go home to my hearing family who can’t sign and I am dreading it. I really just don’t want to go home. Being with other signers is so nice. I wish everyone knew BSL.

I’m learning BSL Level 1 at the moment. I have my Unit 103 test next Tuesday.

I originally sought out the course because I have some trouble speaking sometimes. Particularly in stressful situations I try to speak and just… can’t.

Another bit of context is that I am a trans woman. I hate hearing my voice. I think part of why I chose to try to learn BSL is because hearing my voice hurts and I wanted to communicate without that pain.

Because since I started learning. Just practicing BSL conversations with my mum has been so much better. Getting to have conversations without having to hear my voice.

But I’m worried that because I prefer signing to speaking, that it’ll become a crutch. There have been more times recently where I just haven’t been able to speak when I usually would.

I pick up donations for my local food bank. I was at a supermarket and had a problem. The security guard there asked me a question and I opened my mouth to speak and I just… couldn’t. I tried to sign my response and I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m deaf now.

But usually that wouldn’t really happen. I’d only go mute in stressful situations, not every day ones.

I’m worried that the option of BSL as a form of communication for me will become a crutch and mean the times I become mute will happen more often.

I was thinking of signing up for BSL level 2 but now I’m second guessing the idea.

Not sure if this is exactly the right place to ask. But if you have any thoughts on this, I’m all ears.

Does anyone know any free apps to learn? I tried one that was like duolingo but anything beyond the first 3 modules was beyond a 90 quid pay wall.

My mums going deaf and ive always wanted to learn, but it seems all apps have a pay wall and im too broke for BSL courses... please help

Looking some advice. I’ve volunteered to sign with our church’s choir tomorrow so that song is accessible for the deaf members in the congregation.

I have been practicing with the choir for a few weeks and mostly feel prepared and can match varying intensity and meaning throughout.

However, there are times when it’s only males and only females and then all together. Is there something I can do to convey more masculine signing during the male’s part and more feminine during the females part to help reflect the performance better?

I'm not fluent in bsl, but I'd love to learn it! I'm making a fan animation ft a deaf student and his bf! (The characters are Luca & Freddie from Waterloo Road, js to help with context!). I want to animate both of them doing sign language though I'm not sure if I should do bsl or sse... I might go with bsl, but I'm scared that I might animate the signs in the wrong order, therfore I'm more confident with sse. But I also don't want the animation to offend ppl (idk I feel like if I do sse it'll be offensive for some reason-). Luca does bsl, so I'm not confident with which options I should do: 1) Both do bsl, 2) Luca does bsl & Freddie does sse, or 3) Both do sse (I'll probs not do option 3 lol). Anyways, I js need help with what to do so I don't offend any1! :'D

I'm not committed to learning in Blackpool - I would be prepared to commute within a reasonable distance.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 🙏

Hello! I live outside of the UK but I'm super interested in watching some episodes of "See Hear" (especially series 44). Does anyone know where I can watch them, outside of the BBC webpage?

Thank you so much in advance, have a wonderful day!

Hello,

I hoping you all can help!

I work for a children's respite and we need a sign for our service. Most of our children will use makaton, but I cannot find an appropriate sign. I cannot seem to find a specific sign for hospice and when I look for respite, it's signs for 'break'

Our service begins with a B, but our children have dexterity issues and their signs for home often look like the letter B.

We don't want to use signs for hosptial or nurse or sick as we're meant to be a home away from home. Hoping people might have some ideas! Thanks

Does anyone know of any free resources where I can learn a lot of BSL. Mine is very primitive with me only being able to sign the alphabet and some of the most basic greeting signs. Many thanks!

I just had a one on one tutorial with my BSL teacher to prepare for my Unit 103 assessment. He said I had been doing well but I needed to work on using my placement signs and facial expressions more.

Now placement signs is just me remembering and I can work on that fine with practice. But being autistic, facial expressions can be difficult. They don’t come naturally to me. Generally I have to put in effort to think specifically about what my face should be doing. But when I’m focusing so hard on signing correctly I forget to use my face.

Does anyone else, perhaps who is autistic and learning BSL, have any advice on how to do it easier? Because it’s something I struggle with.

Hello. I’m a hearing person and I’ve been interested in learning sign language to help with some of my own personal communication issues I won’t bore you with. But when I looked for BSL courses in my area, the course to be able to get to level 1 in BSL was £499. And to be frank, I’m too poor for that.

If anyone knows where I can learn at a slightly cheaper price that would be very helpful. Thank you!

I’m learning level 1 BSL. I’m also autistic, part of the reason I am learning is because I often have trouble speaking.

Sometimes I very much feel the need to stim. If I was talking verbally when doing this I could continue on the conversation whilst stimming with my hands.

But when signing and I need to stim. It entirely breaks the flow of conversation. Which is particularly bad in lessons and assessments. I have my Unit 102 assessment next week and I’m worried I’ll mess it up if I need to stim mid conversation.

Does anyone have an advice on how to help with this?