The British Deaf Association is pleased to announce that it will deliver the first ever BSL linguistics and sociolinguistics training course for Deaf BSL/ISL teachers in Northern Ireland. Thanks to funding from the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL), this will run from January 2010 to December 2011.

The BDA identified a gap in the provision of BSL linguistics and sociolinguistics training in Northern Ireland and so is delighted that this opportunity will now be provided to address the lack of BSL linguistics knowledge amongst BSL teachers in Northern Ireland.

The BDA will be working in partnership with Queens University Belfast (QUB), who will provide a certificate of attendance and completion for all participants who complete the course. The training will be provided by trainers from the BDA.

This course will assist Deaf BSL/ISL teachers to describe the language as fully as possible and to understand why the language is the way it is.

The BDA is committed to encouraging a better quality and standard of teaching and is happy to be able to offer support to BSL/ISL teachers in Northern Ireland by providing this training. The BDA would like to thank DCAL for giving local NI BSL/ISL teachers this opportunity. This successful partnership between the BDA and QUB bodes well for the future of BSL teaching in NI. The BDA would also like to thank Sue Barry, our Cultural Development Officer in NI, for supporting this initiative. Sue and Avril will be working closely on developing this training for NI.

Please watch this space if you think you may want to apply for this training!

If you require any further information, please contact Avril Hepner: Avrilh@bda.org.uk