Student Thoughts: Abby, British Sign Language
British Sign Language (BSL) is the first or preferred language of over 87,000 deaf people in the UK. We sat down with Abby, who shares with us her reason why she – and the rest of her family- chose to study with us.
Hi Abby, can you start by sharing with us why you chose to study with us?
In January I gave birth to our beautiful baby daughter, who we found out when she was 7 weeks old, was born Deaf. Pretty soon after diagnosis we knew we wanted to learn BSL to support her in her communication whatever that may look like in the future. After chatting with our families, a lot of them decided they would like to learn alongside us, so that we were all on a similar page and could help and support each other.
UHI Moray is the only place that offered in person BSL classes in our area. I was so pleased when we found out the course was going to run - it took a lot of stress away from me and I feel so grateful to be able to learn alongside our families.
What a beautiful inspiration, do you think your experience has helped you (and your family) achieve your goal?
So far, my experience has been thoroughly enjoyable, insightful and has made such a positive impact on my family’s life. It’s truly been life changing.
We have learnt so much already and every week I can’t wait to come back and learn more. I started the course with next to no knowledge of BSL, and after only a few weeks I feel confident enough to have basic conversations, ask questions and talk about my life.
Our lecturer is fantastic, and I feel that she takes extra time and consideration to explain certain aspects to me in regard to how Deaf children learn, for example different variations of signs, because she is aware my daughter is Deaf.
Were there any challenges?
Of course, getting back into a learning environment as an older student can be quite daunting, but honestly after the first week those nerves disappeared. Everyone I’ve dealt with at Moray UHI so far have been lovely, and it’s a great learning environment from what I can see.
Finally, What advice would you give to anyone considering studying BSL at UHI Moray?
Go for it! Sign up now. My experience has only been positive so far, and I hope to continue my learning here as far as I can.
By studying BSL you are part of journey to a more communicative and accessible world, supported by a team of BSL users from all walks of life no matter your skills, knowledge, or background.