Hello and welcome to KCL British Sign Language (BSL) Society!
We are a society that aims to raise awareness of Deaf culture and British Sign Language, whilst building relationships between the KCL Student Body and the wider London Deaf community.
You can join our society for free and be part of our growing community of passionate BSL learners.
Our separate class membership is only £2 for the whole academic year, with an aim to make BSL learning accessible for all students. This will also give you full access to session resources and powerpoints.
Our weekly BSL practice sessions are at the core of what we do, and involves a weekly Thursday class from 6pm-7pm, held on Guy's Campus. Each session will be led by a minimum of 2 student course facilitators who have already completed courses in BSL. Throughout the academic year, we will cover topics such as: greetings, family, work, hobbies, telling time, colours, food & drink, and many more. These sessions are intended for new learners, but all learners at any level are welcome and many find the sessions useful to keep up with their skills! By the end of the academic year, students will be able to hold basic conversations in BSL.
For those interested in taking their learning further, we work very closely with Deaf Unity, who offer accredited BSL courses (Introduction to BSL, Level 1, Level 2, and onwards) in various formats (in-person or online).
We also hold academic awareness talks which involves external speakers from a range of different careers and backgrounds signing about their experiences as Deaf or Hard of Hearing individuals. Examples of events we hold talks for include: Black History Month, Disability History Month and LGBT History Month. We aim to organise lectures exploring the intersectionality of being both Deaf and a member of another minority group. All lectures are fully interpreted between BSL and spoken English.
Last but definitely not least, you can also look forward to our various social events, including:
- Inter-university Halloween Social: where we collaborate with other BSL societies at the different London universities to host a Halloween themed evening full of BSL games and challenges. A great way to meet other students from different universities, practice your BSL skills and celebrate Halloween!
- Winter Social: held in December, where we celebrate the end of the calendar year with a winter-themed session, learning festive BSL signs, and also is a chance to relax and enjoy some festive food and drinks.
- Wellbeing Socials: as a society, we are also committed to supporting the student body and their wellbeing. We hold various wellbeing socials throughout the year to help students take time out from revision and the stresses of their course. Previous sessions have included a movie night and a bookmark-making session!
We look forward to meeting you all this year!
Please get in touch for more information! Contact us via:
Email: kclbslsociety@gmail.com ; Instagram: @kclbslsociety
Our 25/26 WhatsApp group chat link can be found in our Instagram highlights!