Celebrating Sign Language Week 2024
20 Mar 2024
Monday, 18 March to Sunday, 24 March is the British Deaf Association’s Sign Language Week.
This week aims to celebrate and educate about British Sign Language (BSL) and Irish Sign Language (ISL) and to encourage more people to learn sign language.
British Sign Language (BSL) is the preferred language of over 87,000 Deaf people in the UK for whom English may be a second or third language.
The theme of this year’s Sign Language Week is ‘Promoting BSL and ISL as indigenous languages of the UK.’
Get involved and learn some sign language! Here are some ways you can learn some sign:
British-sign.co.uk – this site includes an Introduction to BSL online course. It operates ‘pay it forward’ pricing, so you can pay £3, £15 or £25 depending on what you can afford. You get access for 2 years.
BrightBSL app - like DuoLingo but for sign.
Library BSL practice group – every 2 weeks (Tuesday, 1pm-2pm) a group of staff meet to learn, practice and swap BSL skills. It is very informal and staff drop-in when they can. If you would like the calendar invites for the sessions, please get in touch with Esther Miller.