Level 6 in BSL
Email us to enrol: deafedu@citylit.ac.uk
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- Start Date: 14 Jan 2026End Date: 17 Jun 2026Wed (Daytime): 10:00 - 17:00In PersonFull fee £1,949.00 Senior fee £1,949.00 Concession £1,949.00
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What is the course about?
By taking the Level 6 Certificate in British Sign Language, you’ll develop your existing language skills from Level 3 or 4 to Level 6 of the National Occupational Standards for Languages. After successful completion of this qualification, you’ll be able to use and understand complex BSL in all types of social and professional situations.
What will we cover?
You will learn productive, receptive and conversational skills at advanced level in a wide range of topics including
Sign Linguistics knowledge:
• Medicine
• Education
• Employment and Business
• Finance
• Politics and Law
• Society
• Media
• Science and Technology.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
– Use receptive and productive skills to engage in all types of complex social interaction
– Use and understand complex language, and maintain fluency, grammatical accuracy and coherence in sustained contributions containing complex language
– Understand sustained signed discourse containing complex language
– Use reference sources to confirm or clarify the meaning of signs
To achieve the full level 6 certificate in BSL you will need to pass all six unit assessments.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
You must be able to demonstrate competence in BSL at level 4, or equivalent.
You can use this qualification as evidence of your full professional proficiency in BSL. It’s relevant if you work, or aim to work, professionally with Deaf people – for example as a teacher, social worker or volunteer with deaf people, or as a deaf organisation’s employee. Level 6 can also be used as evidence of proficiency in BSL for sign language interpreters and sign language translators.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
• Classroom based teaching
• Individual or group tutorials
• Feedback or observed practice
• Assessments
• Demonstration
• Presentation
• Debate
• Group discussion
• Watching video clips for receptive skills
Utilising our resources and materials uploaded onto Google Classroom – accessed through your student account.
You will have access to Google Drive for your e-portfolio.
A considerable amount of additional home study will be required.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
Examination fees are included in the course fees.
You will need a smartphone or laptop for filming, research and access to Google Classroom.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
On completion of this qualification, the candidate may wish to progress to the following qualifications:
• Signature Level 6 NVQ Diploma in Sign Language Interpreting.
• Signature Level 6 Diploma in Sign Language Translation.
Emma has been teaching for more than 25 years. At City Lit she teaches Level 3 and Level 4 in BSL, and has previously taught BSL Level 1 and 2. She has also delivered National Curriculum BSL to Deaf children from nursery age to year 6 at Blanche Nevile School in North London. She is chair of the Association of British Sign Language Teachers and Assessors (ABSLTA). She established the ‘BSL News’ Facebook group, currently with nearly 5,000 followers! Emma has taught BSL, from Introduction to Level 4 at a range of settings and organisations, including: Chicken Shed Theatre, Blanche Nevile School and City Lit. In 2018, Emma was chosen by Signature as their ‘Excellent Teacher’ in their Annual Awards! She was also nominated as one of the top teachers working in Haringey Education Authority in 2016. Emma was the staff representative on the board of Governors at Blanche Nevile School. Emma has one Deaf and one hearing sister and has links to other Deaf organisations through her parent. Her mother, Winifred Tumim was chair of the board of trustees of RNID (now Action on Hearing Loss) and CACDP (previous name for Signature) during the 1980s and 1990s.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.