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Level 3 Certificate in British Sign Language

This BSL Level 3 course is a progression from Signature Level 2 Certificate in BSL and helps you to gain more advanced signing skills towards Level 3 in BSL.

This certificate is for people who want to deepen their knowledge of BSL in order to communicate better with Deaf people without the pressure of exams.

The Level 3 Certificate in British Sign Language (BSL) meets the learning needs of those who already have competence in BSL at Level 2 and are interested in developing their skills and knowledge. Successful learners must be able to demonstrate competence at Level 3 of the UK Occupational Language Standards (Instructus 2012). This means that the learner will be able to understand and use varied BSL in a range of work and social situations.

The learner will develop an advanced knowledge of the structure and function of British Sign Language and an understanding of the Deaf Community and Deaf Culture.

Learners must demonstrate both receptive and productive BSL skills at level 3, and in all of the six topics that make up this qualification. Assessments may cover any of the topics listed in this qualification. The natural context of using BSL is in two-way interactions (discussions, conversations, debates etc.), as well as one-way interactions (monologues, presentations etc.). The learner is therefore expected to demonstrate receptive and productive skills in both two-way and one-way interactions.

Successful completion of this qualification can be used as evidence of the language skills needed in order to be able to operate independently and at an advanced level in the target language. It is useful for those who work on a regular basis with Deaf people (for example social workers, teachers of the Deaf, communicators, voluntary workers, workers within Deaf organisations, schools, etc.), those who aspire to work in these contexts, and those who wish to expand their knowledge and skills in British Sign Language.

Learning Outcomes:

1 – Use receptive and productive skills to engage in varied social interaction.

2 – Maintain fluency, grammatical accuracy and coherence in sustained contributions containing varied language.

3 – Understand sustained signed communication containing varied language.

To achieve the full qualification of this BSL Level 3 course, learners are required to achieve all assessments.

Assessment 1 – Formal Presentation by the learner to their teacher. The presentation will focus on a topic title provided by Signature.

Assessment 2 – Informal Conversation between the learner and the teacher. The conversation will focus on a topic title provided by Signature.

Assessment  3 – Receptive skills task where the learner will be assessed on their understanding of a story based on one or more of the topics in the Qualification Specification.

Length of course: 39 weeks of 3 hours per week

Progression routes

On completion of this Signature BSL Level 3 course, a wide range of further qualifications is available, including:

  • Signature Level 4 Certificate in British Sign Language
  • Signature Level 6 Certificate in British Sign Language
  • Signature Level 6 Diploma in Sign Language Interpreting and Translation

These qualifications would potentially lead an individual to various employment opportunities.

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