Comments for Learning BSL http://learningbsl.com My Journey Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:54:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Comment on About me by lally http://learningbsl.com/about#comment-1425 lally Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:54:57 +0000 http://geekroots.com/wordpress/?page_id=2#comment-1425 Hi Amy, Thanks for your comment :) it's nice to hear of other people enjoying their courses as much as I did, where are you studying? I definitely think that going to deaf club is the best place to get practice, if you have one near you, if not, why not ask a few of your classmates and think about starting one? As for online resources, I watched a *lot* of videos on youtube in BSL, on any topic from the translation of a pamphlet about diabetes to covers of songs, particularly by <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/LeesBSLsongs" rel="nofollow">this guy </a> who also has some videos <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/LeesBSLlessons" rel="nofollow">here</a>. Other than on youtube, I watched any programmes with signing on iPlayer, even when I wasn't interested in the programme. It's a really good way to brush up your receptive skills. Check <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/tv/categories/signed" rel="nofollow">here</a> regularly, as the shows get updated pretty often. See Hear is a show I'd recommend watching, as not only is it signed but it's aimed at deaf and hard of hearing audiences as well, so it's a great way of getting an insight into deaf culture and building an understanding. I hope you find these links helpful! Please let me know if you have any other sites you'd like to share. Thanks, Lally. Hi Amy,
Thanks for your comment :) it’s nice to hear of other people enjoying their courses as much as I did, where are you studying?
I definitely think that going to deaf club is the best place to get practice, if you have one near you, if not, why not ask a few of your classmates and think about starting one?
As for online resources, I watched a *lot* of videos on youtube in BSL, on any topic from the translation of a pamphlet about diabetes to covers of songs, particularly by this guy who also has some videos here.
Other than on youtube, I watched any programmes with signing on iPlayer, even when I wasn’t interested in the programme. It’s a really good way to brush up your receptive skills. Check here regularly, as the shows get updated pretty often. See Hear is a show I’d recommend watching, as not only is it signed but it’s aimed at deaf and hard of hearing audiences as well, so it’s a great way of getting an insight into deaf culture and building an understanding.
I hope you find these links helpful! Please let me know if you have any other sites you’d like to share.

Thanks,
Lally.

]]> Comment on About me by Amy http://learningbsl.com/about#comment-1417 Amy Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:51:04 +0000 http://geekroots.com/wordpress/?page_id=2#comment-1417 Hi lally, Love your blog! I started signing in 2009 doing my level 2 at the moment its a 2 year course im hoping to progress on to level 3. I think its good you love it as much as i do. Ive found this year a huge change but i really enjoy the challenge. Im hoping if i start attending deaf club this will help. Ive worked with deaf children with learning difficulties but very few signed so struggle to practice. you should definatly keep it up i hope to become an interpreter one day but think thats a long way off. how did you practice i havent found much online to help :-/ thanks Amy Hi lally,
Love your blog!
I started signing in 2009 doing my level 2 at the moment its a 2 year course im hoping to progress on to level 3. I think its good you love it as much as i do.
Ive found this year a huge change but i really enjoy the challenge. Im hoping if i start attending deaf club this will help. Ive worked with deaf children with learning difficulties but very few signed so struggle to practice.

you should definatly keep it up i hope to become an interpreter one day but think thats a long way off.

how did you practice i havent found much online to help :-/

thanks
Amy

]]> Comment on About me by lally http://learningbsl.com/about#comment-1376 lally Sun, 12 Feb 2012 15:13:43 +0000 http://geekroots.com/wordpress/?page_id=2#comment-1376 Hi Laura, Thanks for your comment. You're right, I have progressed quickly through level one and level two. I think that's because I enjoyed level one so much I wanted to jump straight into level two. For now, I have put BSL on a back burner, as I'm concentrating on getting my degree in computing (which is also why the posts have tailed off somewhat!) I did find the change from level one to level two quite difficult, I found the speed of signing was significantly faster, and I found it very hard to read signs at level two, particularly on the video for exams, but it gets easier with plenty of practice. There were a few deaf people that attended my church, with more coming when word spread that we signed most of our services. I've moved away from that church now, so I don't know if they still offer BSL services, or how large the community there has grown. I also have a cousin who is deaf, but she doesn't sign, she mostly lip reads and uses a hearing aid so speaks quite well. Unfortunately due to her age, when she was at school deaf children were encouraged to learn to speak, rather than sign! Wishing you the best of luck in your exam tomorrow! Lally. Hi Laura,
Thanks for your comment. You’re right, I have progressed quickly through level one and level two. I think that’s because I enjoyed level one so much I wanted to jump straight into level two. For now, I have put BSL on a back burner, as I’m concentrating on getting my degree in computing (which is also why the posts have tailed off somewhat!)
I did find the change from level one to level two quite difficult, I found the speed of signing was significantly faster, and I found it very hard to read signs at level two, particularly on the video for exams, but it gets easier with plenty of practice.
There were a few deaf people that attended my church, with more coming when word spread that we signed most of our services. I’ve moved away from that church now, so I don’t know if they still offer BSL services, or how large the community there has grown. I also have a cousin who is deaf, but she doesn’t sign, she mostly lip reads and uses a hearing aid so speaks quite well. Unfortunately due to her age, when she was at school deaf children were encouraged to learn to speak, rather than sign!

Wishing you the best of luck in your exam tomorrow!
Lally.

]]> Comment on About me by Laura http://learningbsl.com/about#comment-1310 Laura Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:43:34 +0000 http://geekroots.com/wordpress/?page_id=2#comment-1310 Hi Lally, I came across your blog completely by accident when I was looking for ideas for my exam story. I love your blog! It's very interesting. I am hard of hearing but I was only introduced to British Sign Language five years ago. You seem to have gone through your levels very quickly! However, I am not doing a foundation course. Did you find it to be very condensed and you had to learn an awful lot over a very short period of time? I live in the HIghlands of Scotland and it took me more than a year to pass level one as there was never enough people to hold a class. I am currently learning level two and I'm finding it to be such a big jump - I wasn't expecting it to be that big! - from level one. Did you ever find that? So it's quite challenging and I'm nervous for my exam on the 13th! Were there quite a lot of deaf people in your church then? Do you have family members who are deaf? I also see that your last blog was in October (I'm just about to read it!) so have you completed level two by now? I'd love to hear back from you if you have the time! Laura Hi Lally,

I came across your blog completely by accident when I was looking for ideas for my exam story. I love your blog! It’s very interesting. I am hard of hearing but I was only introduced to British Sign Language five years ago.

You seem to have gone through your levels very quickly! However, I am not doing a foundation course. Did you find it to be very condensed and you had to learn an awful lot over a very short period of time? I live in the HIghlands of Scotland and it took me more than a year to pass level one as there was never enough people to hold a class.

I am currently learning level two and I’m finding it to be such a big jump – I wasn’t expecting it to be that big! – from level one. Did you ever find that? So it’s quite challenging and I’m nervous for my exam on the 13th!

Were there quite a lot of deaf people in your church then? Do you have family members who are deaf?

I also see that your last blog was in October (I’m just about to read it!) so have you completed level two by now?

I’d love to hear back from you if you have the time!

Laura

]]> Comment on deaf vs. Deaf – “The big D” by Colleen http://learningbsl.com/deaf-vs-deaf-the-big-d/39#comment-273 Colleen Sat, 22 Oct 2011 13:54:01 +0000 http://learningbsl.com/?p=39#comment-273 I believe that you can't be hearing and be Deaf, however you can be accepted as a member of the Deaf community if you are involved in it and use sign language. A hearing child of Deaf parents, is also accepted by the Deaf community, but they are always classed as "hearing, mother father deaf", CODAs. Even though many CODAs first language is sign, they are not Deaf. I believe that you can’t be hearing and be Deaf, however you can be accepted as a member of the Deaf community if you are involved in it and use sign language. A hearing child of Deaf parents, is also accepted by the Deaf community, but they are always classed as “hearing, mother father deaf”, CODAs. Even though many CODAs first language is sign, they are not Deaf.

]]> Comment on Ed Sheeran – You Need Me I Don’t Need You, BSL music video by Kay http://learningbsl.com/ed-sheeran-you-need-me-i-dont-need-you-bsl-music-video/202#comment-34 Kay Sun, 02 Oct 2011 20:53:23 +0000 http://www.learningbsl.com/?p=202#comment-34 I have wondered when they would finally involve the deaf in the music world, its a great way for them to understand the beat as well as the words. I have been using BSL for 8 years now and have got qualifications in the language and the only thing I would like to see improved is his lip pattern. With the video muted I found it tricky to understand every sign as one hand shape can mean a variety of things. However I love the fact they are trying to involve BSL in their videos. I have wondered when they would finally involve the deaf in the music world, its a great way for them to understand the beat as well as the words. I have been using BSL for 8 years now and have got qualifications in the language and the only thing I would like to see improved is his lip pattern. With the video muted I found it tricky to understand every sign as one hand shape can mean a variety of things. However I love the fact they are trying to involve BSL in their videos.

]]> Comment on deaf vs. Deaf – “The big D” by lallyd http://learningbsl.com/deaf-vs-deaf-the-big-d/39#comment-6 lallyd Wed, 07 Sep 2011 22:02:09 +0000 http://learningbsl.com/?p=39#comment-6 Sara "Technically, if you are Deaf, you are also deaf." My understanding was that this is not the case and that as a fully hearing individual, I could class myself as Deaf if I wanted to, for example by submerging myself in Deaf culture and adopting BSL as my first language. This can often be the case for a hearing child born to two Deaf/deaf parents? Sara “Technically, if you are Deaf, you are also deaf.”
My understanding was that this is not the case and that as a fully hearing individual, I could class myself as Deaf if I wanted to, for example by submerging myself in Deaf culture and adopting BSL as my first language. This can often be the case for a hearing child born to two Deaf/deaf parents?

]]> Comment on deaf vs. Deaf – “The big D” by Sara http://learningbsl.com/deaf-vs-deaf-the-big-d/39#comment-5 Sara Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:49:09 +0000 http://learningbsl.com/?p=39#comment-5 Technically, if you are Deaf, you are also deaf. However, if you are deaf, then you are not also Deaf. Xenocide - think of Deafness as a choice, you can either identify with the culture or not, but you still have hearing loss, so are still deaf as well. Technically, if you are Deaf, you are also deaf. However, if you are deaf, then you are not also Deaf. Xenocide – think of Deafness as a choice, you can either identify with the culture or not, but you still have hearing loss, so are still deaf as well.

]]> Comment on Ed Sheeran – You Need Me I Don’t Need You, BSL music video by Han http://learningbsl.com/ed-sheeran-you-need-me-i-dont-need-you-bsl-music-video/202#comment-29 Han Wed, 17 Aug 2011 09:08:34 +0000 http://www.learningbsl.com/?p=202#comment-29 I had seen a tiny clip of the video before but it wasn't until I looked it up on YouTube yesterday did I realise that it's BSL. It's incredible :) Beats me signing the alphabet lol. Need to learn some words now :) I had seen a tiny clip of the video before but it wasn’t until I looked it up on YouTube yesterday did I realise that it’s BSL. It’s incredible :) Beats me signing the alphabet lol. Need to learn some words now :)

]]> Comment on 203 exam results by lallyd http://learningbsl.com/203-exam-results/194#comment-27 lallyd Tue, 02 Aug 2011 08:18:42 +0000 http://www.learningbsl.com/?p=194#comment-27 Hey Beth, sorry I haven't gotten around to writing a blog post explaining these things for you. I found with the receptive the best thing to do is try not to spend time thinking about the signs you didn't understand and focus on what you do, you'll quickly understand the context of the question and be able to guess what the signs you missed were. Also, concentrate on improving your finger spelling as there are always names you need to understand and remember. With regards to the BSL flow and getting your topic title in, put it at the beginning, it doesn't matter if the story is not 100% on topic after that, for example in my exam I basically said "went on holiday to India last yet with my best friend, I have never been before and I was very excited. We met at the airport and flew from Gatwick to Goa" so far my story didn't contain anything on topic but I got 2 finger spellings in early. "the airport was very crowded when we arrived and I thought I lost my best friend but she just went to get a trolley. The weather in India was beautiful, so we went on a trip to see a waterfall. When we got there we saw lots of wild monkeys near by. The waterfall was huge." by now I'd also included two non-manual feature signs for beautiful weather and huge waterfall and I'd also used a placement sign. "we had a guide at the waterfall who we followed to the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. When I looked around I couldn't find my friend, she had vanished" there I used my multichannel sign for disappeared/vanished "I searched everywhere for my friend and retraced our steps but she was no where, I told the guide I couldn't find her" this was my first role shift "and we looked together until we found her. Eventually we found her and I asked where she had been, we were very worried! She told me she was taking photos of the monkeys and when she turned back we were out of sight" another role shift there "we swam in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall together and then we went back to our hotel, exhausted. When we got home to England, our families laughed at our story". And that was about it, I did my best to use plenty of expressive faces, and tried to forget it was an exam, you should be allowed plenty of time to compose yourself if you do feel nervous, and make sure you practise lots so you can throw in extra vocabulary when you feel a bit lost for words. It's also a good idea to base your story on something that really happened, as it's much easier to recall a story than it is to make one up, this should also help you get your flow right :) I hope all that makes some sense and helps you in your exams! Best of luck. Lally Hey Beth, sorry I haven’t gotten around to writing a blog post explaining these things for you.
I found with the receptive the best thing to do is try not to spend time thinking about the signs you didn’t understand and focus on what you do, you’ll quickly understand the context of the question and be able to guess what the signs you missed were.
Also, concentrate on improving your finger spelling as there are always names you need to understand and remember.

With regards to the BSL flow and getting your topic title in, put it at the beginning, it doesn’t matter if the story is not 100% on topic after that, for example in my exam I basically said “went on holiday to India last yet with my best friend, I have never been before and I was very excited. We met at the airport and flew from Gatwick to Goa”
so far my story didn’t contain anything on topic but I got 2 finger spellings in early.
“the airport was very crowded when we arrived and I thought I lost my best friend but she just went to get a trolley. The weather in India was beautiful, so we went on a trip to see a waterfall. When we got there we saw lots of wild monkeys near by. The waterfall was huge.”
by now I’d also included two non-manual feature signs for beautiful weather and huge waterfall and I’d also used a placement sign.
“we had a guide at the waterfall who we followed to the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. When I looked around I couldn’t find my friend, she had vanished”
there I used my multichannel sign for disappeared/vanished
“I searched everywhere for my friend and retraced our steps but she was no where, I told the guide I couldn’t find her”
this was my first role shift
“and we looked together until we found her. Eventually we found her and I asked where she had been, we were very worried! She told me she was taking photos of the monkeys and when she turned back we were out of sight”
another role shift there
“we swam in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall together and then we went back to our hotel, exhausted. When we got home to England, our families laughed at our story”.

And that was about it, I did my best to use plenty of expressive faces, and tried to forget it was an exam, you should be allowed plenty of time to compose yourself if you do feel nervous, and make sure you practise lots so you can throw in extra vocabulary when you feel a bit lost for words.

It’s also a good idea to base your story on something that really happened, as it’s much easier to recall a story than it is to make one up, this should also help you get your flow right :)

I hope all that makes some sense and helps you in your exams! Best of luck.

Lally

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