Should Sign Language be Taught in Schools?
11 million people in the United Kingdom are either deaf or hard of hearing, according to the UK Government, and 151,000 are British Sign Language (BSL) users – as of 2017. With this many people using BSL, it’s no wonder that things have been set in motion for it to officially become a recognised language.
BSL helps deaf people communicate. Source: Unsplash
For many people, BSL is their only form of communication. However, only a small amount of sign language is taught in schools, it is not common for schools to offer a full course teaching it. So many people use BSL, and it would be beneficial for those who can hear to learn enough to be able to have a basic conversation with deaf or hard of hearing people.
Teaching this course in schools, or at least making it available as a choice would be a great start to making BSL more commonly known. It would be especially useful to customer service workers, especially during the Covid pandemic when masks are mandatory in most places. Without being able to lip read or communicate via sign language, it makes even a simple trip to the shops isolating and difficult for those who cannot hear.
An Instagram poll shows that 88 per cent of voters don’t know any sign language, and those that do only know little.
One voter said, “I learned a little from a guy who knew some.”
Just under half of the voters said that they have been in a situation where knowing sign language would’ve been useful. A few spoke about a family member who is deaf or hard of hearing, saying it would make it easier to communicate with them, and a customer service worker said: “they have had to type on their phone” whilst placing their order.
Students being taught in a classroom. Source: Unsplash
80 per cent of the voters think that sign language should be taught in schools.
One voter said: “It’s a useful aid for future jobs and prosperities, just like knowing another language is.”
Another said: “Basics should be taught as it is a ‘British’ language that is used daily.”
Other comments agreed, saying that “it’s a nice skill set to have” if you ever do meet someone who is deaf or hard of hearing.
“It’s someone’s main form of communication, or ‘first language’” said another.
However, there were a few that were in disagreement about teaching it in schools.
Worrying about the workload that teenagers face in high school as things are now, one voter talked about how the only time it could be taught would be in primary school, “I don’t think kids have the capacity to learn an entire language like that,” said the voter.
Others didn’t think it was necessary to teach as not everyone has hearing difficulties.
They said: “As it only affects a small number of people it seems strange to teach every child.”
With the majority of the voters in favour of teaching sign language in schools, it shows that there are people who want to learn sign language, or at least have the chance to. Making the course optional in high school could also persuade those who voted against teaching it, due to the main concern being the workload and not everyone wanting to learn the language.
Whether it be a fully-fledged course or just a couple of phrases to use daily, sign language is arguably an important and necessary skill to have in life; a selfless skill. It is beneficial to those around you instead of yourself.
Statistics from the UK Government show that 50 per cent of those that are deaf have poor mental health, compared to the 25 per cent for the general population. It could make someone’s day a lot brighter coming across another person using the language, making them feel a little less isolated.