Families who had moved to Scotland had changed from using the sign language in their country of birth, to BSL.  However, they still reverted back when communicating with family and friends back home.

While there were variations between sign language(s) used in their country of birth and BSL, transferring between the two was generally not a problem.  This did not prevent participants from getting confused at times.  Differences included BSL using two hands to sign the alphabet and others using one.

Participants did notice changes in both BSL and the sign language(s) used in their country of birth, and commented that these get influenced naturally as they continue to advance.

Having the opportunity to learn another language like French or German was a very welcomed idea by all participants.  Learning about the culture and history of other countries and how words in one language influence another was appealing.

Being able to learn other sign languages was considered to be very valuable.  In particular, this was because two of the participants have travelled quite significantly across the world.  Having some of the language when they travelled helped make communication easier but also assisted in understanding the practicalities of travelling and living in other countries.  It also had the potential to open up career opportunities in other countries.

Between them, participants had knowledge of, and/or currently use, or have used the following:

• Chinese (Mandarin) sign language
• Reading and writing in Mandarin
• International sign (not officially recognised as a language)
• Latvian sign language

Participants advised that there were other spoken languages on offer at their school.  Deaf pupils are allowed to get involved and attend classes in these languages but they cannot sit examinations in them.  The reason for this is because the examination requires listening skills and has a spoken element as well.  If a deaf person can use speech then they could potentially sit the examination.  BSL is offered as a subject in a school which one of the participants attended but they were not sure if it was possible to sit an examination in it.  This would appear to be a new development and in its early stages.

Three participants felt their ability to read English was of a good standard while one considered their reading of English could be better.  Two participants considered their ability to write English to be of a good standard while the remaining two felt less confident.  None of the participants considered their fluency in reading and writing English to be of the same standard when compared to BSL.  All participants preferred to communicate in BSL.  One participant expressed that having a good command of written English was an expectation required to study at university.

Participants felt that teachers should be required to have a decent level of fluency in BSL to allow them to communicate with Deaf pupils.  Having teaching staff trained to SCQF Level 6 was acknowledged as being good.  However, participants did not feel that this was sufficient for them to have the necessary ‘fluent colloquial language and the ability to connect’.  Deaf pupils were having to ‘adjust their register to sign with the teachers’.  This was to enable the teachers to understand what was being said.  Participants felt that teaching staff should have ‘a skillset to match with the young people.  It should not be the young people having to match with the teaching staff.'

Sign languages used at home included Mandarin, Latvian and BSL.  One participant still uses a mixture of gestures, family sign and BSL to communicate with her family.  The skills of family members at home in using BSL was mixed.

Two participants advised that they did not share very much, if anything with their parents when attending primary and secondary school.  Now that one participant is attending university, she looks forward to going home and sharing what she is learning and studying in her courses.  The second participant sometimes asks his parents about the meanings of certain things when he does not understand them.  However, he did not overly share any learning while attending college or university.

Two participants had opportunities to teach hearing pupils some introductions to BSL such as the alphabet, ‘hello’, ‘how are you’, ‘good morning’ or some of the ‘cool buzz words’.  Being able to see hearing children open to and learning BSL was a lovely experience.  Children were able to pick up the language very easily.

One participant remembers her chemistry teacher asking her about signs for some of the terminology.  This helped to develop a good rapport between them.  It was also the same when friends at school asked to learn some sign language.

Incorporating British Sign Language into a course at university was possible for one participant.  This was specific to his course and may not be possible for others.

All participants felt that teaching BSL in schools as part of the curriculum would be a great idea and a ‘dream come true’.  This would enable hearing people to learn the language of BSL and better understand the culture of Deaf people.  It was not considered necessary to be completely proficient in the language but simple communication learned through 1+2 languages would make life so much better.

Additionally, this approach could potentially provide an increased number of BSL/English interpreters and improve public services because more people would have a basic understanding and so communication would be improved.  Had this been introduced years ago, things would be very different today.

Participants appreciated BSL videos in public places such as airports, supermarkets and in NHS buildings to allow Deaf people to access information.  Having services such as Contact Scotland BSL was also allowing greater communication.

Where a hearing teacher did not sign BSL fluently or have adequate BSL skills, BSL/English interpreters or support workers were provided in classes.  While the BSL/English interpreter would generally be fluent in BSL there was no guarantee that the support worker would be at the same level or have the required knowledge about sign language for that particular learning context.  Having a consistent BSL/English interpreter helped to build a good relationship and improve communication between them.  BSL/English Interpreters became familiar to all the students and became part of the class or group as well.