Online Courses
Webinar - 'It's like I am not really there'
Date: Saturday 14th November, 2026
Time: 11am – 2pm
Fee: £48
Venue: ONLINE
Delivered by: Robyn Dean
Ethical reasoning skills and the Interpreting profession
Since its beginning, the Sign Language Interpreting profession has made moral and justice claims as its raison d’etre. That is, Interpreters are there to provide access to Deaf people. Interpreters also claim to make decisions that are referred to as empowering the Deaf person. Further, Interpreters claim to be allies and of recent distinction, is the focus on social justice. However, when comparing some of these claims and the ethical content material of the Interpreting profession with those of other service-based professions and the philosophies of justice-reasoning, the Sign Language Interpreting profession falls short. It arguably falls short in part due the insufficient ethical constructs used in Community Interpreting.
This workshop explores the nature of ethical discourse in the field and problematizes the use of tools and devices that are not used in other professional fields. Alternate frameworks based in values are further explored.
Robyn Dean has been a Sign Language Interpreter for over twenty five years and is currently, an Associate professor in ASL and Interpreting Education in the Rochester Institute of Technology in the USA. She is internationally recognised for her contributions to research on decision making and ethics in Community Interpreting and is the co-author of the book, 'The demand control schema: Interpreting as a practice profession' with Robert Pollard.
Certificates will be awarded for 3 CPD points.
To join the Webinar, please email - training@bsl-link4comm.co.uk
Webinar - 'It's like I am not really there'
Date: Saturday 3rd October, 2026 - FULL
Time: 11am – 2pm
Fee: £48
Venue: ONLINE
Delivered by: Robyn Dean
Ethical reasoning skills and the Interpreting profession
Since its beginning, the Sign Language Interpreting profession has made moral and justice claims as its raison d’etre. That is, Interpreters are there to provide access to Deaf people. Interpreters also claim to make decisions that are referred to as empowering the Deaf person. Further, Interpreters claim to be allies and of recent distinction, is the focus on social justice. However, when comparing some of these claims and the ethical content material of the Interpreting profession with those of other service-based professions and the philosophies of justice-reasoning, the Sign Language Interpreting profession falls short. It arguably falls short in part due the insufficient ethical constructs used in Community Interpreting.
This workshop explores the nature of ethical discourse in the field and problematizes the use of tools and devices that are not used in other professional fields. Alternate frameworks based in values are further explored.
Robyn Dean has been a Sign Language Interpreter for over twenty five years and is currently, an Associate professor in ASL and Interpreting Education in the Rochester Institute of Technology in the USA. She is internationally recognised for her contributions to research on decision making and ethics in Community Interpreting and is the co-author of the book, 'The demand control schema: Interpreting as a practice profession' with Robert Pollard.
Certificates will be awarded for 3 CPD points.
To join the Webinar, please email - training@bsl-link4comm.co.uk
If you are unable to attend on 3rd October, please let us know as we aim to run a repeat of this session on Saturday 14th November, 11am - 2pm, depending on numbers.
Webinar - What is International Sign and how does it work?
Date: Saturday 26th September, 2026
Time: 10am – 12pm
Fee: £45
Venue: ONLINE
Delivered by: Annelies Kusters in BSL
International Sign (IS) is something most BSL Interpreters and CSWs will encounter, whether at deaf events, online or through deaf clients or colleagues. But how does it actually work and what does that mean for our work?
This session covers where IS comes from, why it matters for Interpreters and CSWs and the concept of 'calibration' - the process by which deaf signers from different language backgrounds negotiate meaning with each other in real time. Video clips will be used to illustrate calibration in action and we will analyse together, what strategies the signers in the clips use.
This is a highly interactive session: participants are encouraged to get involved throughout, whether that is in small group discussions, responding to the clips or sharing their own experiences.
Annelies Kusters is a highly respected Deaf Professor of Sociolinguistics with many years experience in the field. For more than 20 years, Annelies Kusters has researched how Deaf people communicate and move through the world, with particular interest in Sign Language multilingualism. She has also made eight documentary style films about Deaf communities and International Sign.
Certificates will be awarded for 2 CPD points.
To join the Webinar, please email - training@bsl-link4comm.co.uk
Webinar - Working in the Legal Domain for Deaf and Hearing TSLIs
Date: Saturday 14th March, 2026
Time: 10am – 3pm
Fee: £45
Venue: ONLINE
Delivered by: Byron Campbell and Catherine Hall
This Webinar is for Deaf and Hearing Trainee Interpreters who may be thinking about working in the Legal domain once they are qualified. While the development strategies, skills required and resources available differ for Deaf and Hearing TSLIs, as they work together in a variety of Legal settings, this joint session will provide valuable insight into each others roles and enable participants to consider and discuss best working practise.
NRCPD guidance states that Trainee Interpreters should not undertake work in the Legal domain. It is also recommended that those wishing to work in the Court and Tribunal Services, should have at least three years post-qualified experience. There are however, some types of Legal assignments that may be suited to a ‘newly’ qualified Interpreters who possess the requisite skills and knowledge.
This Webinar will cover the different types of assignments that occur in the Legal domain and will outline some of the key skills and knowledge that Interpreters will need to begin their career in this domain. Alongside presenting the strategies and resources available, the Webinar will discuss the creation of a development plan so Trainees can focus on the steps needed to gain the knowledge and skills that will be required.
Certificates will be awarded for 5 CPD points.
To register your interest, please email - training@bsl-link4comm.co.uk
BSL Linguistics
Date: Friday 17th, Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th October, 2025
Time: 10am – 4pm
Fee: £255.00 all inclusive
Venue: ONLINE
Delivered by: Tessa Padden in BSL
Tessa Padden, MA is a qualified Deaf Interpreter and Translator, a BSL Teacher trainer and an experienced teacher of BSL and Linguistics at University level.
The Course is 18 hours of online learning over three days and will establish a solid understanding of the structure and Linguistics of BSL.
The Course content will cover:
The Conditional Clause
BSL Semantics
Simultaneous Signs
Syntactic Space
Tenses/Time Markers
Non-Manual Features (NMF)
Negation
Morphology
Verb Classes
Classifiers
The sessions will consist of presentations, group work and video clips.
Participants will be expected to attend for all three days and to study independently between sessions as homework exercises will be provided for personal practise and development.
The Course is ideal for anybody with a minimum of Level 3 BSL and an interest in improving their self-awareness of the language and its structure. It is a useful addition for those studying Level 4 and Level 6 BSL as well as Deaf and hearing professionals, Translators, Interpreters, Presenters, BSL Teachers and Education Support Assistants, who use the language both personally and professionally.
This three day Course is running for the 29th time and continues to be hugely popular with our students.
Certificates will be awarded for 18 CPD points.
To register your interest, please email - training@bsl-link4comm.co.uk