Stephen Hurley from SH BSL on the beauty of BSL and the honour of teaching it (BSL)

My name is Stephen, I am a British Sign Language Teacher based in Norwich and have been for over 22 years.  I teach BSL Levels 1 – 3 as well as offering Deaf Awareness Training; one to one coaching and anything BSL related.  I have been deliver presentations to various community groups all over Norfolk and Suffolk, from the Women’s Institute to the University of East Anglia and so on.

I am proud to be profoundly Deaf and BSL is my preferred language.  It is visible; accessible; easy to use and preferable over any other means of communication for me personally.

It was back in 2016 that things started to take off with my sign language business. I was approached by an interpreter to visit a local school that was in need of learning BSL.  We did a joint visit and had a good meeting with the Teachers and support staff. They were keen to learn and a Level One course seemed the most fitting so we set it up and, well, the rest is history as people say!

That first course, with the Teaching staff and assistants, including one member of staff who was Deafened, was hosted in the school library.  To be honest that was a learning curve as there was little space and it was cramped setting up an overhead projector and screen each week, nestled between the bookshelves! But we did it and it was very successful.

I took my time doing my own preparation and research before officially setting up my business, SH BSL, in 2018.

I had been an employed tutor for, what was then known as “Adult Education”, for many years. It was actually when I had a big, life changing, health issue and then had to have my thyroid removed that things changed for me.  It was a rather scary operation and this period of my life was really challenging but I am grateful as it gave me time and opportunity to reflect.

It is true that challenges make you stronger and I used this one to really map out what I wanted to achieve. I realised that life is short. I wanted to set up my own business, I wanted to teach more, I wanted to really ‘live’ and not just coast through life with no real ambition.

I was soon being encouraged by friends, Interpreters, other Deaf BSL tutors and my family to just ‘go for it’ and that is what I did.

Since then, with the support of some key friends who are also experienced in teaching, I am pleased to say it has gone from strength to strength.  My main goal – with this gift I have, a beautiful visual language, BSL – was to share it with as many people as possible.  To put it out there and demonstrate how well it works and the art; beauty; intellect and intricacy behind communicating in this way. 

I especially love working with families or children who are Deaf and seeing their faces light up as they start to understand the depth and breadth of sign language.

That really gives me motivation to keep going and I feel privileged to be part of their journey.

My biggest barrier in setting up a business was the Governments’ tax and Self Assessment systems, due to the prohibitive use of over complicated legal language that is used.  I found this really off putting and totally inaccessible.

I got around it by asking a lot of questions; persevering and asking a friend of mine who had experience. I now have my own Accountant who sorts out all the ins and outs of my business.

Currently there is a desperate shortage of Deaf BSL tutors. Unfortunately a lot of our young Deaf people are being put through mainstream schools and not coming through as BSL users themselves.  Some of them aren’t fluent to the point of taking the Levels 1 – 3 themselves or have the motivation to do so.

We also need Government funding to support people undertaking Teacher Training.  The courses are prohibitively expensive as is the Certification process.

Hopefully, now the BSL GCSE has been approved, there will be more of an upturn in students choosing to study this and then moving on to becoming BSL Tutors themselves later in life.

Sign language tuition is vital and we need it in place to help people improve their skills and achieve their dreams.  I like to work one to one with people where possible, just to give them the opportunity to ask questions and give the support they need to flourish.

It’s not just about learning the language either, it is also about Deaf Culture, and being able to share with people more than just language but also about our rich heritage and community.

I think it is really challenging for new parents to learn BSL.  There are two models of thinking – the Medical Model of Deafness and the Social Model of Deafness.

Now, depending on what professionals are involved in the family situation, and what their bias is – the parents will find themselves being influenced to take up one over the other.

Mostly, unfortunately, it is the Medical Model that overpowers most families and they see it as a clinical issue needing treatment rather than an opportunity to embrace a lifestyle; language, community and culture, via the Social Model.

So, depending on how the parent’s are influenced, their views on Deafness and how positively they see Sign Language, they already may have barriers of stigma and negative influence to overcome.

It is not easy for parents to stand their ground against a professional opinion or override advice they have been given, few will be adamant that they want to learn a communication method like BSL.

One parent, Tilly Hawkes, who has recently been interviewed in Limping Chicken is an amazing example. I actually taught her on an Introductory course on Zoom way back! She has started Level 6 and continues studying.

Doesn’t this just show how important it is to have lots of different tutors, to learn from different Deaf role models and really absorb the full culture of Deafness!

We also really need to campaign for Government funding for parents so that they can get financial assistance to do so, otherwise the cost can be prohibitive.

I think another issue is the lack of face to face classes compared to the demand.  Unfortunately, there are just not enough tutors nationally, so you are unlikely to always have a local Deaf tutor running a course in your town.  Some people in rural villages face social isolation anyway and will struggle to find a BSL provider locally.

I get a lot of positive comments about the humour in the classes I teach, helping people not only to relax but also to remember what they learn.  Many people have used my courses as a stepping stone on the way to their bigger goals such as becoming an Interpreter or working with the Deaf community in some area.

Seeing students achieving Levels 1, 2 and 3 and more, and remembering when they first presented themselves at my class – knowing nothing and quivering with nerves – they couldn’t sign their alphabet, let alone colours or numbers and now I look at them. It’s fantastic. It really is my privilege to be part of their growth and see their development over the months and years.

Speaking personally, I love; love, LOVE to bump into someone somewhere random and they start to sign, if only hesitantly, and immediately I feel a sense of connection. I always ask who taught them and often, nowadays, it is online and someone from a totally different region, which is just so great to see.

That is what BSL does – it enables conversation where it should naturally happen.  No barriers!

Think about this – visualise the moon – now think about the stars, imagine a clear sky, that beautiful moon and all the stars around it twinkling and shining brightly.

The moon is you, and the numerous stars are your friends and family, the ones closest in relationship to you shine the brightest.

Now imagine you cannot talk to those friends and family, naturally, in a mutually accessible way. Those lights flicker and die out, they are covered up, you can’t see them, there is a barrier of clouds. In some ways they might as well not be there.  That is how I see my world without BSL.

I need that language, that clarity, to truly talk with my loved ones and friends, they need it to talk in depth with me. Who knows how many new friends I will make in the future now that more people are learning BSL.  The moon is me and the clear sky with myriads of stars is a world filled with potential friends all using sign language. No clouds, no barriers.

We need to campaign for more funding and more tutors to continue building on the progress that has been made and encourage more people to take up this beautiful language.

I hope that I can continue to expand my business and perhaps add Level 6 and Interpreter Training to our repertoire.  My passion really, though, is spreading Deaf Awareness – promoting Deaf issues and putting us on the map. I am very keen to mentor younger Deaf people who would like to become Tutors themselves one day too.

The more we put our beautiful; intricate, intelligent and expressive language out to the community, the more we encourage more Deaf Tutors to come forward and the more language that is taught – the better life will be.

If you’d like to learn BSL but you feel nervous about it, here’s my advice:

When you come to a class your tutor will do their best to make you feel relaxed and welcome. They want you to be happy and feel at home so that you can chill out and just absorb the language, not be all self conscious and stressy.  We have ALL the tricks up our sleeve to try and help you feel at home and relax.  Come along, enjoy the ride.  Give it a go.

Find out more about Stephen and SH BSL here.