Since 2003, British Sign Language (BSL) has been recognised as an official language by the UK government. The British Deaf Association estimates there are 151,000 BSL users in the UK, of which 87,000 are Deaf.
In March 2022, the BSL Act was approved by the UK Parliament, affording BSL the same legal rights and protection as Welsh and Gaelic. The implications of this are wide-ranging, including the provision of BSL as a GCSE qualification.
Read posts from former students on our blog. You can also read about how you’ll learn on a Languages for All module and the reasons why you should take a Languages for All module.
Students of Languages for All British Sign Language may also get the chance for some extra-curricular activities, such as film screenings.
More information is available from the BSL Lead.
For detailed information, see our how to apply page.
This beginner’s module is for students who have no prior knowledge or virtually no knowledge of British Sign Language.
This module will provide an introduction to British Sign Language, concentrating on its communicative use in familiar, everyday situations. You'll acquire a basic understanding of BSL and the ability to communicate at a survival level through signing.
This post-beginner module is for students who have some basic knowledge of British Sign Language, such as that acquired by attending Stage 1 or equivalent.
You'll increase your ability to communicate in BSL by building on your basic knowledge of language necessary for everyday situations. This module also includes linguistic analysis of the grammatical components of BSL and work on “Deafhood”, such as the history of oppression of Deaf people and its impact on their culture.
This lower-intermediate module is for students who have some previous knowledge of BSL, such as that acquired by attending Stage 2 or equivalent.
You'll increase your ability to communicate in BSL through engagement with a range of socially relevant and interesting topics linked to the Deaf community, such as education, health, and technology, and a short research project.
If you would like to take BSL at a higher level than we currently offer, please contact us via languagesforall@reading.ac.uk.