Level 3 BSL (Online)

Level 3 BSL (Online)

Upcoming courses:
• Mondays 18:00-21:00 starting 15 September 2025 (BSL3-Sep25)
• Tuesdays 18:00-21:00 starting 6 January 2026 (BSL3-Jan26)
• Wednesdays 18:00-21:00 starting 15 April 2026 (BSL3-Apr26)
Last Updated: 21-04-2025

At a glance:

Intermediate (B1)
3 exams
30 weeks
3 hours/week
Online course

£810 (inc. VAT) + £171 exam fees

Course content

The aim of this course is to further develop your linguistic skills in British Sign Language towards intermediate level, or B1 of the CEFR. Teaching begins by briefly re-visiting the vocabulary and grammatical structures covered in Level 2, before moving swiftly onto developing skills, understanding and knowledge in BSL grammar, receptive skills, productive skills and conversational skills.

The course is delivered in an informal and relaxed environment and your teacher will use a variety of teaching and learning methods to cater for all learning styles and to meet the needs of all learners. The course is designed to be fun, engaging and meaningful and will give you the opportunity to practice your productive and receptive skills by means of group work, pair work, role-plays, games, presentations and discussions.

The Level 3 course is useful for anybody who is in regular contact with deaf people, be it through work or social life. On completion of this course, learners will be able to further develop their linguistic skills by progressing onto the Level 6 Certificate in British Sign Language course and/or onto professional training in interpreting, translation and communication support.
ThemeTopics covered
BSL grammar
  • Classifiers
  • Syntactic and topographic space
  • Question forms
  • Negation and affirmation
  • Non-manual features
  • Finger spelling
  • Timelines and aspect
  • Plain, agreement and classifier verbs
  • BSL sign order
  • Role-shift
  • Mouth patterns
  • Intensifiers
  • Personal and possessive pronouns
  • Connectors
Home life
  • Experiences of being a deaf parent
  • Technology in the deaf home
  • Hearing parents and deaf children
  • Deaf parents and hearing children
  • Deaf parents and deaf children
  • What are the differences between a deaf and hearing home?
  • How has the deaf home changed over time?
Social and recreational activities
  • Leisure activities
  • Accessing the cinema and theatres – problems and challenges
  • Subtitles on TV and at the cinema
  • Interpreted and deaf theatre
  • Sports and exercise clubs – are these accessible for deaf people?
  • Deaf clubs
  • Social exclusion
  • Deaf conferences
  • Deaf comedy and humour
Education and training
  • Nursery costs and pre-school education
  • Nursery provision for deaf children and deaf children with additional needs
  • What age should children start school?
  • Implications for deaf children starting school
  • Mainstream schools
  • Specialist schools for the deaf
  • Support available for deaf children in the education system
  • BSL and bilingual education
  • Oral education
  • Should BSL be part of the national curriculum?
  • University and higher education for deaf people
Employment
  • Attitudes to finding work
  • Access to Work support
  • Obstacles and challenges of finding employment for deaf people
  • Unemployment support for deaf people
  • Flexible working hours
  • Discrimination at work
  • Barriers and challenges for deaf people at work
  • Interpreters in the workplace
  • Apprenticeships for deaf people
  • Retirement and pensions
Consumer issues and daily living
  • How can deaf people access public services, e.g. bank and utility companies?
  • Telecommunications for deaf people
  • Everyday barriers for deaf people
  • How can we make society more accessible for deaf people?
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Access to healthcare services for deaf people
  • Keeping fit and access to gyms and exercise classes
Deaf history and culture
  • History of BSL and finger spelling
  • Origins of signed language
  • Milan conference 1880 and 2010 official apology
  • History of deaf schools
  • Deaf social conventions
  • Social model of disability
  • D/d deaf and deafness as a linguistic and cultural minority
  • How do deaf and hearing cultures differ?
  • Deaf rules of etiquette, manners and how deaf people communicate with each other

Assessments

There are total of 3 assessments for this qualification:
No.TopicAssessment
1Productive skillsFormal presentation (8-10 minutes)
2Conversational skillsInformal conversation (10-12 minutes)
3Receptive skillsReceptive skills written exam

Entry Requirements

You must have passed the Signature Level 2 Certificate in British Sign Language qualification.

If you studied Level 2 at another centre, you will be required to attend a short interview online before you are offered a place. BSL First students do not need to attend an interview.

Progression

When you have completed this course, you will be able to progress on to the Level 4 Certificate in British Sign Language.

careers

Learning BSL isn’t just fun, for many it’s the starting point of a new and exciting career, or professional development in their current role. Popular careers include BSL/English Interpreter, BSL/English Translator, Communication Support Worker, Teacher of the Deaf and BSL Teacher. Our courses are designed to respond to industry demand, which means they won’t just prepare you for the assessment, but also they will equip you with the skills to succeed in your chosen career, or any other career involving the use of BSL.

Our teachers have a wealth of knowledge and experience in British Sign Language, teaching, interpreting, translation and communication support, so no matter what your goals are we will help to achieve them.

Here are some popular careers that require knowledge and skills in BSL.
BSL/English Interpreter
International Sign Interpreter
BSL/English Translator
Communication Support Worker
Teacher of the Deaf
BSL Teaching Assistant
Educational Communication Support Worker
BSL Support Worker
Communicator Guide
BSL Teacher
Notetaker
Lipspeaker
Deafblind Interpreter

Dates and times

Scheduled start date: 15 September 2025
Scheduled end date: 11 May 2026
Holiday dates to be agreed according to regional term times
Scheduled start date: 6 January 2026
Scheduled end date: 8 September 2026
Holiday dates to be agreed according to regional term times
Scheduled start date: 15 April 2026
Scheduled end date: 2 December 2026
Holiday dates to be agreed according to regional term times

Fees

Self GuidedTaught courseAccredited course
£72 (inc. VAT) annual subscription£810 (inc. VAT)£981 (inc. VAT + exam fees)
30x Self-guided lessons 30x Self-guided lessons 30x Self-guided lessons
List of learning resources List of learning resources List of learning resources
BSL stories and quizzes BSL stories and quizzes BSL stories and quizzes
BSL dictionary BSL dictionary BSL dictionary
Self-evaluation quizzes Self-evaluation quizzes Self-evaluation quizzes
Live weekly lessons with a qualified, deaf native BSL teacher Live weekly lessons with a qualified, deaf native BSL teacher Live weekly lessons with a qualified, deaf native BSL teacher
Administrative support Administrative support Administrative support
Access to online peer group Access to online peer group Access to online peer group
Formal accreditation and certificate Formal accreditation and certificate Formal accreditation and certificate
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For more information about how our course fees are calculated, please see our FAQ section.

For individuals paying privately

Option 1 – Pay in full
£50 interview fee payable at the time of application
£135 deposit payable when accepting place
£675 payable within 21 days after the course starts
£171 exam fee payable when the exams are booked

Refund policy:
£675 refundable up to 21 days after the course starts. No refund after 21 days.

Option 2 – Pay in instalments
£50 interview fee payable at the time of application
£135 deposit payable when accepting place
£135 per month x 5 months
£171 exam fee payable when the exams are booked

Refund policy:
£135 initial deposit non-refundable. Remaining payments refundable up to 21 days after the course starts. No refund after 21 days.

For employers and organisations

We do not absorb the VAT for VAT-registered companies. We will raise an invoice for the full course and exam fee. We do not offer employers the option to pay in instalments.

Full course fee: £810 + VAT = £972

There is no VAT on the exam fee.

PO number and employer financial details required at the time of application.

Refund policy:
£675 refundable up to 21 days after the course starts. No refund after 21 days.

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BSL First LTD | Company number: 12860304 | VAT number: 379905441

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