Learn British Sign Language in 2022!
BSL courses are sparking more and more interest thanks to Rose Ayling-Ellis' participation in this year's Strictly Come Dancing.
In case you haven't heard, EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis has made it to the final of this year's Strictly Come Dancing. The Deaf actress turned dancer's appearance on one of Britain's favourite programmes has not only been pivotal in raising awareness for the Deaf community, her influence has also generated a surge in demand for BSL courses.
All of our Term 2 BSL courses (starting in January) will be taught by Deaf language specialist and BSL Teaching Fellow Carri Neilson.
“From my experience as a BSL teacher I have experienced an increase in student numbers as well as in people interested in Deaf culture and how to communicate with the Deaf community," says Carri. “I think what my students enjoy the most is to have the class taught fully in BSL experiencing an immersive classroom environment!”
Head of Short Course Languages Anxela Alonso-Fernandez says: “Our Languages Team are proud to offer British Sign Language courses for the general public as well as University of Edinburgh staff and students, and we are delighted to see a growing interest in the language. We are now working towards offering credit courses in BSL for the University student community, making BSL accessible to a wider range of audiences and helping to raise numbers of BSL users.”
Not only are our BSL courses taught by passionate tutors, they are designed to be engaging and fun with plenty of group work and opportunities to meet new people while learning a new language.
BSL Development Officer Alison Hendry highlights the positive impact that Rose's involvement on the programme has made on the BSL community in the video below.
- Video: BSL Development Officer Alison Hendry Reacts to Rose Ayling-Ellis Appearing in the' Strictly Come Dancing' Final
- BSL Development Officer Alison Hendry highlights the positive impact that Rose Ayling-Ellis's involvement in the programme has had on the Deaf community.
This January we are offering Beginners Step 2 BSL Short Courses.
Learn more and book your spot here
Want to learn BSL from scratch with us? Check back in the spring as we'll be offering a larger variety of levels. In the meantime, you can view the full range of Term 2 Languages on offer below.