CeLM Seminar Series
Learning British Sign Language as a second language in adulthood
by Chloë Marshall, University College London, Institute of Education
Date Wed 18th January 2017
Time 15h00 – 16h30
Venue University of Reading, Whiteknights campus, Palmer-104
Many hearing adults choose to learn BSL as a second language for various reasons, including having a deaf child or wanting a career as an interpreter. However, almost nothing is known about how hearing adults learn to sign and whether learning a second language in a different modality from the first differs from learning a second spoken language. In this talk I present some initial research which investigates how adult learners of BSL use co-speech gesture as a substrate for transfer into sign, and what some of the challenges for learners of BSL are.