Children studying the long-awaited GCSE in British sign language will be expected to learn at least 750 core words, government papers have revealed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Department for Education announced today<\/a> that it is aiming to approve exam board syllabuses so the subject can be taught from September 2025, and has published its subject content document following a much-delayed consultation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Education secretary Gillian Keegan said the qualification “will not only break down barriers and give young people valuable new skills, but also celebrate the history and rich culture of British sign language”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what you need to know\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n The subject content document<\/a> said courses will help children construct sentences and \u201crecall, understand and produce a range of” commonly used words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By the end of the GCSE, youngsters “are expected to know at least 750 signs from the established lexicon”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The DfE has released an advisory vocabulary list for exam boards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It contains a range of basic verbs, adjectives and adverbs, as well as words like clothing names, sports, countries, food and drink and animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It also includes words for months of the year, days of the week, cities in the UK, and phrases such as “good evening” and “what did you say?”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, \u201cGCSE specifications in BSL…may use reasonable flexibility in their selection of vocabulary, topics and scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTopics and scenarios should relate to those of social, cultural and personal relevance to students, taking into account the needs and interests of a wide range of students.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Children taking the course \u201cshould develop their ability to communicate using BSL with other signers on a range of themes\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The topics will have \u201csocial, cultural, political, work-related and personal relevance\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Officials also want GCSE specifications to allow youngsters to demonstrate \u201cthe use of accurate non-manual features\u201d through facial expressions, eye contact and body position. <\/p>\n\n\n\n GCSE specifications must require teens to \u201cfollow and understand signs\u201d and sentences by \u201capplying their knowledge of the vocabulary and grammar\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They will be expected to identify topics of discussion, infer \u201cplausible meanings of single signs\u201d, and understand and recognise \u201cthe relationship between past, ongoing and future events\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Teachers will show pupils how to construct sentences in BSL that can be understood by a proficient signer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This will help them to communicate \u201csimple sentences\u201d, describe people, places and things, and tell a story \u201cconveying past, ongoing and future events, as appropriate\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe narrative may be real or imagined but should enable students to demonstrate their ability to use BSL productively.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, courses should equip children with the skills to interact in \u201cstructured and unstructured scenarios\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Subject content papers stated that GCSE specifications \u201cmust require students to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the development of BSL, from its origins and the first references to signing in Britain, to the present day\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This includes learning how its use has evolved, the ways \u201cnew vocabulary enters BSL\u201d and how it is \u201cdistinctive from, has influenced\u201d and has been shaped by other languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following a consultation<\/a> earlier this year, Ofqual has decided<\/a> to have “one set of assessments for all levels of attainment” in GCSE BSL. This means exams will not be tiered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tests will assess teens’ “receptive language skills and their knowledge and understanding of the history of BSL”. Combined, these will be worth 40 per cent of the total qualification marks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The remaining 60 per cent will come from “non-exam assessments to assess students\u2019 productive and interactive language skills”. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Pupils to learn at least 750 core words, how to tell a story and have political discussions in new qualification<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311204,"featured_media":184167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[354],"post-theme":[2345],"class_list":["post-196379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-gcse","post-theme-assessment"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t1. Pupils will learn at least 750 signs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Students will learn to have political discussions<\/strong>…<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. …and be taught to \u2018tell a story\u2019 in British sign language<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. History of British sign language to also feature<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
5. GCSE exams won’t be tiered<\/h3>\n\n\n\n