Courses for Deaf Professionals: BSL Sociolinguistics Course
Introduction
Course content
Teaching and assessment methods
Certificates
Who can apply?
How to apply
Fees & Payments
Application form
All classes will be held at:
Division of Psychology and Language Sciences
Chandler House
2 Wakefield Street
London
WC1N 1PF
Sociolinguistics of British Sign Language
Course Director: Frances Elton
The development of sociolinguistic research in British Sign Language (BSL) has stimulated an extensive interest in professional competence within this field. Many Deaf professionals are working in environments where academic and practical understanding of the structure and use of BSL in its social contexts is crucial. These can include areas as diverse as working in the mental health professions, Deaf organisations, education, TV and media, entertainment, conference management, and many more.The course will consist of a variety of elements, offering Deaf professionals the opportunity to analyse sign language, understand variation and change, and consider the implications of how the language is used in a range of situations and in its extended forms. This course will run for five weeks. For further information please see How to apply for course dates. It is strongly recommended to complete this course together with the sign linguistics course.
This unique course can provide an appropriate basis for a range of further professional development. If you are interested in careers in education or training we also offer the Advanced Teaching of Sign Language course for those who have taken the Certificate in the Linguistics of BSL from City University or a Certificate of Achievement from UCL and the Sociolinguistics module.
Course Content
The course consists of 30 hours class time plus 20 hours of individual study / analysis work. All classes are held on Thursdays from 12pm - 6.00pm. Due to the structure of the course students are expected to attend 100% of the course to successfully complete their training.In order to receive a Certificate of Achievement, students must attend all sessions and satisfactorily complete a final assignment. Details of this assignment will be given at the end of the course and the deadline for submission will be six weeks later.
The final assignment will be presented in BSL, on video/DVD, and be no longer than half an hour. This type of assignment requires a different approach from the more traditional written format.
The course will consist of the following elements:
- BSL variation & change
- Historical change in BSL
- BSL and other sign languages
- BSL in its social context
- Borrowing and name signs
- Fingerspelling within BSL
- Social acceptability: including taboo and euphemisms
- Extended use of language in BSL: including poetry, humour & storytelling
Teaching and Assessment Methods
Teaching will include lectures, task-based work, seminar discussion, and video analysis, based on prepared work. All lectures will be in BSL. We will provide all course information and tasks (homework) via Moodle. This is a computer based course information site. BSL clips will be provided for each task set, which you will do at home. You will be given a password to use as soon as you have registered and paid for the course. Teaching and all assessments will be carried out in BSL.
If you require further information with regard to the course content you can contact:
Frances Elton
Course Director
DCAL
49 Gordon Square
LONDON
WC1H 0PD
f.elton@ucl.ac.uk
Direct line (textphone): 020 7679 8692 Fax/voice: 020 7679 8676
Videophone: IP address 144.82.60.59 (Text first) SMS 07920560372.
This course in Sociolinguistics of BSL is new and very popular. We advise you to send your application forms as soon as possible to be sure of a place.
All students will receive a Certificate of Achievement on completion of the full five weeks course and satisfactory completion of all assignments. Students wishing to attend but not undertake the assessments may request a Certificate of Attendance. An application is currently pending with the University to create a University Certificate which will include the Linguistics of BSL, and the Sociolinguistics of BSL. Students who complete Linguistics of BSL this year will be able to apply for their work to be counted towards the full certificate.
Who can apply? This course is for Deaf professionals who:
- Must have a Certificate in Linguistics of BSL from City University or a Certificate of Achievement from UCL.
- Experience and knowledge of Deaf culture and community.
- Other relevant training and qualifications (please see the Application Form for examples).
- Must be able to attend all five days of the course
- Please note the dates carefully.
How to Apply
The application form can be saved as a Word document. Either complete it on your computer and email it as an attachment to: hcs.class@ucl.ac.uk
or you can print the application form and post it to the address on the application form.
- Fill in the application form and send it back as soon as possible
- Please also let Frances Elton know to confirm a place on the course.
- If we cannot offer you a place, we will write to you to let you know.
- If we decide to offer you a place on the course, we will send you a letter with a date for payment.
- When we receive your payment we will send you a map and information about where to go on the first day.
Thursday 13th May 2010 until Thursday 10th June 2010 each week for 5 weeks on the following dates:
- 13th May 2010
- 20th May
- 27th May
- 3rd June
- 10th June 2010
Fees and Payments
The course fee is £470. This fee must be paid for in full, before the start date.
