British Sign Language: Using Language in Context (SCQF level 4)

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1 National Unit Specification General information Unit code: J1FR 44 Superclass: HG Publication date: October 2018 Source: Scottish Qualifications Authority Version: 01 Unit purpose The aim of this unit is to provide learners with the opportunity to develop their conversation and productive skills in British Sign Language (BSL). It also provides the opportunity to develop their knowledge of British Sign Language in various contexts. This is a mandatory unit of the British Sign Language Award. It is also available as a free-standing unit. Outcomes On successful completion of the unit the learner will be able to: 1 Hold a straightforward conversation in British Sign Language. 2 Express information in a straightforward monologue using British Sign Language. Credit points and level 1.5 National Unit credits at SCQF level 4: (9 SCQF credit points at SCQF level 4) Recommended entry to the unit Entry to this unit is at the discretion of the centre. Learners doing this unit do not need prior knowledge or experience of British Sign Language. However, some previous knowledge and interest in British Sign Language may be advantageous. British Sign Language Award (SCQF level 3) or relevant component units J1FR 44, 1

2 National Unit Specification: General information (cont) Core Skills Opportunities to develop aspects of Core Skills are highlighted in the support notes for this unit specification. There is no automatic certification of Core Skills or Core Skill components in this unit. Context for delivery If this unit is delivered as part of a group award, it is recommended that it should be taught and assessed within the subject area of the group award to which it contributes. The Assessment Support Pack (ASP) for this unit provides assessment and marking guidelines that exemplify the national standard for achievement. It is a valid, reliable and practicable assessment. Centres wishing to develop their own assessments should refer to the ASP to ensure a comparable standard. A list of existing ASPs is available to download from SQA s website ( Equality and inclusion This unit specification has been designed to ensure that there are no unnecessary barriers to learning or assessment. The individual needs of learners should be taken into account when planning learning experiences, selecting assessment methods or considering alternative evidence. Further advice can be found on our website J1FR 44, 2

3 National Unit Specification: Statement of standards Acceptable performance in this unit will be the satisfactory achievement of the standards set out in this part of the unit specification. All sections of the statement of standards are mandatory and cannot be altered without reference to SQA. Outcome 1 Hold a straightforward conversation in British Sign Language. Performance criteria (a) (b) (c) (d) Uses straightforward ideas and content in contributions to a conversation. Applies knowledge of straightforward language in contributions to a conversation. Conveys meaning to a sympathetic signer during a conversation. Responds appropriately to questions and comments during a conversation. Outcome 2 Express information in a straightforward monologue using British Sign Language. Performance criteria (a) (b) (c) Uses relevant ideas and content to express information. Applies knowledge of straightforward language when expressing information. Expresses information with sufficient accuracy. Evidence requirements for this unit Evidence is required to demonstrate that learners have achieved all outcomes and performance criteria. Assessors should use their professional judgement, subject knowledge and experience, and understanding of their learners, to determine the most appropriate ways to generate evidence. For this unit, learners will be required to provide evidence of their conversation (dialogue) skills by holding a conversation lasting 2 3 minutes. Learners will also be required to provide evidence of their productive (monologue) skills, lasting around 2 minutes. At SCQF level 4, learners will be required to express straightforward signs and sentences in British Sign Language. There may be some inaccuracies and hesitation in delivery, but the meaning should be clear. Some occasional prompting will be permitted. J1FR 44, 3

4 National Unit Specification: Statement of standards (cont) In their contributions to the conversation and in their monologue, learners should demonstrate: appropriate sign order and placement. appropriate temporal markers. accurate and consistent handshapes and movement. appropriate facial expressions and mouth patterns. In their monologue, learners will be required to express information. This can include factual details, simple descriptions of people or events, and opinions and feelings. Learners may produce a monologue as a narrative, eg describing events on a holiday, or telling a story about a character. Evidence generated for this unit should come from the following contexts: Society Learning Employability Culture Evidence should be filmed to enable a learner s work to be authenticated. Each piece of evidence must be named and dated. Assessors must retain filmed footage of learners responses. Evidence can be gathered in combination with other outcomes where appropriate, either from this unit or in combination with the outcomes from the units: British Sign Language: Understanding Language and Linguistics, SCQF level 4 and British Sign Language: History and the Deaf Community, SCQF level 4. Evidence may also be gathered for individual outcomes where appropriate. The Assessment Support Packs for this unit provide exemplification of approaches to assessment and can be found on SQA s secure website. J1FR 44, 4

5 National Unit Support Notes Unit support notes are offered as guidance and are not mandatory. While the exact time allocated to this unit is at the discretion of the centre, the notional design length is 60 hours. Guidance on the content and context for this unit This unit provides learners with the opportunity to develop the skills required to use British Sign Language in two areas: conversation (dialogue) and production (monologue). Learners should develop the ability to hold a straightforward conversation with a sympathetic British Sign Language user, and to express information as a straightforward monologue in British Sign Language. For this, learners will be required to learn a number of terms, phrases and grammatical structures in British Sign Language that should allow them to be understood by another British Sign Language user. At SCQF level 4, learners will not be expected to understand all signs used by the British Sign Language user, but they should be able to ask for clarification and to contribute meaningfully to a straightforward conversation. The topic of the conversation will be familiar to the learner and will mostly use signs and phrases they have practiced. This should help learners build confidence in exchanging information through British Sign Language and maintaining a natural flow of conversation. The monologue delivered by learners should be based on a topic of their choice and should convey several relevant points in a logical structure. This should encourage the learning of a range of signs relating to a given topic. It should help learners build their confidence in using appropriate grammatical structures and linking conventions when communicating in British Sign Language. Learners may use visual prompts, such as presentation slides, during their monologue. Learners can develop their knowledge of British Sign Language from the following contexts: Society Learning Employability Culture J1FR 44, 5

6 National Unit Support Notes (cont) Guidance on approaches to delivery of this unit This unit can be delivered in different ways and the following approaches are suggestions only. There may be other methods that would be more suitable to learners. Practitioners should aim for a learner-centred, participative and practical approach. They should use their professional judgement in delivering the unit so that it is appropriate, relevant and motivating for individual learners. Learners should be given the opportunity to develop their knowledge of British Sign Language in the following contexts: society, learning, employability, and culture. Centres should choose a variety of topics which are engaging and meaningful for learners. It is particularly important that topics are delivered at an appropriate level and that learners are encouraged to engage with topics in different ways. The table below contains examples of suggested topics within each of the four contexts which could generate naturally occurring assessment opportunities. Contexts Suggested topics Society Family and friends Hobbies and interests Shopping Health and well-being Sport My local area and local facilities The environment The Media Technology and IT Deaf awareness Deaf history Culture Tourism, travel and holidays Meeting deaf people abroad Celebrations, events and festivals Customs and traditions Cookery and food Deaf culture BSL storytelling, poetry, theatre and films Deaf culture in other countries J1FR 44, 6

7 National Unit Support Notes (cont) Contexts Suggested topics Learning Learning BSL how are sign languages different to spoken languages? Introducing a new student to the school Favourite subjects at school The school day Deaf awareness in the classroom Deaf education Employability My future career Different jobs and places of work Employment Working with BSL and in the Deaf Community Volunteering Conversation skills can be developed by: working in pairs or small groups to have straightforward discussions of a topic(s). role-playing different scenarios in the classroom, in groups or in pairs. doing a survey in British Sign Language to collect information from other learners or British Sign Language users. playing games or doing paired activities in British Sign Language. visiting deaf organisations, deaf clubs or BSL events and engaging in conversations. inviting representatives of deaf organisations or members of the Deaf Community to visit the centre and converse with learners. Productive skills can be developed by: learners developing presentations about a topic in British Sign Language. learners creating vlogs (ie filming themselves expressing information) about a topic. learners telling stories or describing characters and situations in British Sign Language. Practitioners may wish to draw on various resources to support their delivery of this unit. The following are examples of dictionaries and other resources available: (includes some regional variations) (includes other sign languages for comparison) (glossaries of curriculum terms) Dictionary of British Sign Language: Compiled by the British Deaf Association (book), 1992, ISBN-13: J1FR 44, 7

8 National Unit Support Notes (cont) Practitioners should use British Sign Language dictionaries with caution as facial expressions and mouth patterns are often not included. Additionally, it is worth noting that very few regional variations of British Sign Language are included in online dictionaries. Most online dictionaries do not include signs that are commonly used in Scotland. Local forms of British Sign Language should be encouraged wherever possible. Practitioners may wish to approach representatives from local deaf clubs and national organisations to support learning, such as: British Deaf Association deafscotland (formerly the Scottish Council on Deafness) National Deaf Children s Society Guidance on approaches to assessment of this unit Evidence can be generated using different types of assessment. The following are suggestions only. There may be other methods that would be more suitable for learners. For Outcome 1, evidence to show ability to hold a straightforward conversation in British Sign Language could be evidenced by learners: holding a live conversation with one or more other learners, teachers, or other BSL users. role-playing an interaction that involves a conversation. making an online video call to another learner, teacher, or other BSL user. The conversation should last 2 3 minutes. For Outcome 2, evidence to express straightforward information clearly in British Sign Language could be demonstrated by learners: giving a presentation about a topic. telling a story. producing a vlog. The monologue should last about 2 minutes. Evidence should be filmed to enable a learner s work to be authenticated. Each piece of evidence must be named and dated. Assessors must retain filmed footage of learners responses. Assessment should take place when learners are ready to be assessed. The evidence for both outcomes may be produced at appropriate points throughout the unit, as naturally occurring evidence, or towards the end of the unit when learners will have had the opportunity to build language skills. J1FR 44, 8

9 National Unit Support Notes (cont) Evidence can be gathered in combination with the outcomes from the unit: British Sign Language: Understanding Language and Linguistics, SCQF level 4. For example, when holding a conversation (Outcome 1) or expressing a straightforward monologue (Outcome 2), the learner could discuss or summarise the content of a British Sign Language film clip to demonstrate understanding in the unit British Sign Language:Understanding Language and Linguistics, SCQF level 4, Outcome 1. Evidence can also be gathered in combination with the outcomes from the unit: British Sign Language: History and the Deaf Community, SCQF level 4. The table below shows some examples of combined outcomes at SCQF level 4. Activity Learner discusses issues connected to deaf education and deaf awareness with another BSL user. Learner researches a topic connected to the history of BSL and creates a vlog about their research. Outcome from Using Language in Context 1 Hold a straightforward conversation in British Sign Language. 2 Express information in a straightforward monologue using British Sign Language. Outcome from History and the Deaf Community 2 Describe the significant characteristics of the Deaf Community. (b) Describe some topical issues relating to the Deaf Community. 1 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the history of BSL. Evidence may also be gathered for individual outcomes where appropriate. Centres are reminded that prior verification of centre-devised assessments would help to ensure that the national standard is being met. Where learners experience a range of assessment methods, this helps them to develop different skills that should be transferable to work or further and higher education. Opportunities for e-assessment E-assessment may be appropriate for some assessments in this unit. By e-assessment we mean assessment which is supported by Information and Communication Technology (ICT), such as e-testing or the use of e-portfolios or social software. Examples e-assessment could include learners producing a vlog as part of an e-portfolio, or holding a conversation via an online video call. These would need to be recorded for authentication. J1FR 44, 9

10 National Unit Support Notes (cont) Centres which wish to use e-assessment must ensure that the national standard is applied to all learner evidence and that conditions of assessment as specified in the evidence requirements are met, regardless of the mode of gathering evidence. The most up-to-date guidance on the use of e-assessment to support SQA s qualifications is available at Opportunities for developing Core and other essential skills This unit has been designed for learners of BSL and learners may be deaf or hearing. Where learners are deaf BSL users, they can use BSL in order to generate evidence towards the achievement of the Core Skills Communication units and this is explained in Specification 6 of SQA s response to Section 96(7) of the Equality Act 2010, as detailed on the SQA website: This unit offers opportunities to develop the speaking and listening skills required within the Core Skills Communication units. J1FR 44, 10

11 History of changes to unit Version Description of change Date Scottish Qualifications Authority 2018 This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part for educational purposes provided that no profit is derived from reproduction and that, if reproduced in part, the source is acknowledged. Additional copies of this unit specification can be purchased from the Scottish Qualifications Authority. Please contact the Business Development and Customer Support team, telephone J1FR 44, 11

12 General information for learners This section will help you decide whether this is the unit for you by explaining what the unit is about, what you should know or be able to do before you start, what you will need to do during the unit and opportunities for further learning and employment. This unit is part of the Award in British Sign Language at SCQF level 4. It is about learning to communicate in British Sign Language (BSL). You will learn how to have a conversation in British Sign Language with other British Sign Language users, and how to express straightforward information. You will learn how to talk about topics that relate to at least one of the following contexts: society, culture, learning and employability. You should know some simple British Sign Language before doing this unit. You may have completed some or all of the units in the Award in British Sign Language at SCQF level 3. It would also help if you are interested in languages and communication. There are two outcomes in this unit. The first outcome focuses on your conversation skills where you will learn how to use British Sign Language in straightforward conversations with other British Sign Language users. This could be a real-life conversation, a role-play or a video call. The second outcome focuses on expressing yourself in British Sign Language. This could mean giving a short presentation in British Sign Language on a topic you choose, or telling a story. This could be live, or it could be a vlog. When you have completed this unit, you will be able to undertake straightforward communication in British Sign Language. You may want to continue to study and improve your British Sign Language skills in the future and progress to further study of SQA qualifications in British Sign Language. Being able to communicate in British Sign Language could help develop your employability skills. There are many employment opportunities for learners who can communicate in British Sign Language such as interpreting, translating, working with deaf adults or children. You may also meet or work with British Sign Language users in any employment, so it may be useful to be able to communicate in British Sign Language. J1FR 44, 12