S m a r t s i g n s b s l
Welcome to Smartsignsbsl
The fun and friendly way to learn british sign langauge!
What is BSL?
Many people think that sign language is a universal language used by all deaf people worldwide but this is not true!
British Sign Language (BSL) is the signed language of the Deaf Community in the UK.
BSL is an official language of England, Wales and Scotland, and is the first or preferred language of over 87,000 people in the UK.
A rich and complex visual spatial language, it involves a combination of hand shapes, facial expressions, lip patterns and body language. BSL has its own grammar and sentence structure and is not a signed equivalent of English. For the majority of deaf people in the UK English is a second or third language.
Sign language evolves wherever there are deaf people. Not only are there international variations but there are regional variations too, much like the regional accents and colloquialisms found in spoken languages.
The first description of a deaf person using sign language in England appears in the Marriage Register of St. Martin’s, Leicester in 1576.
About Us
The fun and friendly way to
learn British Sign Language!
Interested in learning a new language or developing your signing skills? Then you have come to the right place.
​Based in various places across Devon such as Newton Abbot, Exeter, Teignmouth, Brixham and Plymouth Smartsigns BSL is designed to help you learn British Sign Language in a fun, friendly and relaxed atmosphere with no stress or pressure. It will enable learners to communicate with deaf people in BSL on a range of topics that involve simple, everyday language use.
our courses are all nationally registered under the regulation board of Signature and accredited by Ofqual (The Office of the Qualificaions and Examinations Regulator)
​We teach any age groups, large or small as well as one to one sessions. Signature level 1, 2 and 3 courses are available and intensive courses, bespoke courses are also available. We offer BSL training to all types of businesses and can organise the courses to be totally flexible to suit all needs including taster sessions and full qualifications.
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Courses
The courses are designed to enable the development of signing skills and to give an insight Into deafness and the part that British Sign Language play in communication. All of the course will be taught by using British Sign Language.
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This will be done in different ways: watching and responding to demonstrations of signing, taking part in pairs and group learning and practice role play to communication scenarios using BSL, reading articles and handouts from your tutor.
1
Level 1 BSL
On this BSL course for beginners, you'll learn to understand and use a limited range of simple words and sentences in BSL leading to a nationally-recognised level one qualification from the exam board Signature.​
2
Level 2 BSL
​On our level two BSL course, you'll develop your signing to cover more topics and learn to have longer, more varied, conversations. This course leads to a nationally-recognised level two qualification.
3
Level 3 BSL
At level three, you'll learn how to use BSL in a range of work and social situations, and you'll learn more about the grammar and structure of the language, leading to a nationally-recognised level three qualification.