Courses to improve communication skills  

Communication is essential to everyday life. It helps you builds relationships, and understand the world around you. We can communicate in many ways, from writing to speaking to using sign language. Improving your communication skills helps you connect with other people.  

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Find your voice

Find your voice with one of our adult education courses. From British Sign Languages courses to adult literacy classes - build your skills. Find fun and helpful courses to help reach your goals.  Learning with the WEA is not like school. It’s learning made for adults and you’ll be taught by supportive tutors. 

Boost your literacy

Boost your English skills, and get a better understanding of grammar. Learn the basics to move onto to a Functional English Skills course. Improve your spelling and gain confidence in reading, with an adult literacy course. Improving your reading and writing as an adult is not as hard as you might think.  

Hearing loss and signing

If you are losing your hearing or you know someone who is hearing impaired, you might need to find new ways to communicate. Develop lip-reading skills and find a supportive class to manage hearing loss. Find BSL signing courses for beginners. Learn to sign basic words then build your sign language skills to have conversations.  Whether you want to learn British Sign Language for yourself or so you can talk to others, take a course with us.  

Makaton signing is different to BSL. It is a way to communicate with people with speech difficulties or SEN. Over 100,000 children and adults use Makaton to communicate. It is very useful if you want to work with people with learning difficulties or you are a carer for a child with special needs. Our Makaton courses help reach people who need you most. If you want to learn Makaton signing, sign up for one of our courses today. 

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Makaton

Ever heard of Makaton? It's a unique language programme, and over 100,000 people are using it to communicate in the UK today. It combines symbols, signs, and speech to make conversation easier for people who have communication difficulties. This Makaton course is ideal for you if you want to learn an inclusive communication tool. It can help you interact with people who have speech, hearing, or learning difficulties. This Makaton sign language course covers the essentials of hand signals, fingerspelling, and signing. Learn to introduce yourself. Develop knowledge to be able to sign about basic topics such as numbers and colours.
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Course Information

Dates:
Tue 21/01/2025 -
Tue 08/04/2025
Times:
1:00pm - 3:00pm
Duration:
11 sessions
Location:
Easington Lane Community Access Point
Easington Lane
Houghton - le- Spring
DH5 0LE
Tutor:
Maria Hambley
Course code:
Q00019291
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee:
Free

Personal Development: Beginners British Sign Language

We welcome you to join our friendly and engaging introduction to British Sign Language course at Hayle Community Centre, Hayle. British Sign Language (BSL) is a language used by D/deaf people to communicate using hand shapes, facial expressions, lip patterns, gestures, and body language. It’s an entirely different language to English. BSL is the preferred language of over 87,000 Deaf people in the UK for whom English may be second or third. This course is suitable for beginners
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Course Information

Dates:
Wed 05/03/2025 -
Wed 23/04/2025
Times:
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
Hayle Community Centre
58 Queensway
Hayle
TR27 4NX
Tutor:
Janet Corbett Marston
Course code:
Q00012690
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £50.40

Healthy Living; Lipreading and managing hearing loss

The act of looking is so closely bound up with the act of writing. Novels depend upon those moments when an author presses the pause button and allows their characters to just stop and look at something. This course will explore how photos, especially, can be used as a vital stimulus for creative writing. Over two days, you will explore the work of some of the world’s finest photographers, from Andre Kertesz to Garry Winogrand, all projected upon the screen. You will then be encouraged to look even closer and see where these images take your own writing. The course will also consider how established writers have engaged with the art of photography, from John Berger to Susan Sontag, Tony Harrison and Geoff Dyer. Most importantly, you will encourage you to find a way of using your own photos as a way of unlocking your own hidden powers of writing and observation. Come along and join our friendly lipreading group at The Centre in Newlyn. This class is suitable for all levels of lipreaders and is ideal for those recently experiencing hearing loss. Our experienced tutor will guide you through the basics of lipreading and show you how to practice your lipreading skills in everyday life. Research has shown that attending a lipreading class can give you greater: • Confidence to communicate with others • Control over your hearing loss, as you develop new communication skills • Independence, as you’re less reliant on others to help you follow conversation (Source RNID.org.uk) You will learn in a supportive environment alongside other learners who will be able to share their experiences of hearing loss and learn how to overcome them together
View details

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 06/03/2025 -
Thu 10/04/2025
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
The Centre, Newlyn (Penzance)
Chywoone Hill
Newlyn
Penzance
TR18 5AR
Tutor:
Janet Corbett Marston
Course code:
Q00016904
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £50.40

Healthy Living; Lipreading and managing hearing loss

Learn essential skills for managing hearing loss with our Healthy Living: Lipreading and Managing Hearing Loss course. Develop your lipreading abilities and gain strategies for effective communication. Ideal for individuals with hearing loss and their loved ones.
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Course Information

Dates:
Thu 24/04/2025 -
Thu 05/06/2025
Times:
10:00am - 12:00pm
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
The Centre, Newlyn (Penzance)
Chywoone Hill
Newlyn
Penzance
TR18 5AR
Tutor:
Janet Corbett Marston
Course code:
Q00016920
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £50.40

Advanced British Sign Language

Learn to have in-depth interactions in BSL. Embrace inclusive communication and help dismantle communication barriers in society. Knowing how to sign can help you in a variety of situations where you need to interact with deaf people. This BSL course is suitable for you if you need to communicate with deaf people or people with hearing impairments. It can help you in a variety of contexts, for example in a voluntary or community role, or simply in social interactions. This course is aimed at advanced-level learners who have a solid base in British Sign Language (BSL). If you are not at an advanced level yet, you can take a beginner’s or improver’s BSL course.
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Course Information

Dates:
Mon 28/04/2025 -
Mon 14/07/2025
Times:
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Helen Watson
Course code:
Q00018017
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £74.00

Lipreading and Managing Hearing Loss

Come along and join our friendly lipreading group in Hayle. This class is suitable for all levels of lipreaders and is ideal for those recently experiencing hearing loss. Our experienced tutor will guide you through the basics of lipreading and show you how to practice your lipreading skills in everyday life. Research has shown that attending a lipreading class can give you greater: • Confidence to communicate with others • Control over your hearing loss, as you develop new communication skills • Independence, as you’re less reliant on others to help you follow conversation (Source RNID.org.uk) You will learn in a supportive environment alongside other learners who will be able to share their experiences of hearing loss and learn how to overcome them together
View details

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 08/05/2025 -
Thu 19/06/2025
Times:
7:00pm - 9:00pm
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
Hayle Community Centre
58 Queensway
Hayle
TR27 4NX
Tutor:
Janet Corbett Marston
Course code:
Q00017049
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £50.40


The courses below have already started, but are still available to book.

Personal Development: BSL Next Steps Developing Confidence to Sign

This is a fun and interactive course, ideal to follow on from the Beginners BSL. The intention of this course is to develop skills in BSL for community engagement, further learning and possibly employment in a school/work setting. The course will run for 14 guided learning hours and will be taught online using Zoom and Canvas as a Virtual Learning Platform. Learners will be fully supported in achieving the learning outcomes for the course and the intention is that the course will help them to further develop their confidence in order for them to engage in signed conversations with their peers.
View details

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 04/11/2024 -
Mon 16/12/2024
Times:
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Duration:
7 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Caroline Cleghorn
Course code:
Q00018083
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
In progress
Fee range
Free to £51.80

Personal Development: BSL Next Steps Developing Confidence to Sign

This is a fun and interactive course, ideal to follow on from the Beginners BSL. The intention of this course is to develop skills in BSL for community engagement, further learning and possibly employment in a school/work setting. The course will run for 14 guided learning hours and will be taught at St Mary’s Community Centre, Pontefract with the facilitation of Canvas as a virtual learning platform. Learners will be fully supported in achieving the learning outcomes for the course and the intention is that the course will help them to further develop their confidence in order for them to engage in signed conversations with their peers.
View details

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 07/11/2024 -
Thu 19/12/2024
Times:
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Duration:
7 sessions
Location:
St Marys Community Centre (PONTEFRACT)
The Circle
Chequerfield
PONTEFRACT
WF8 2AY
Tutor:
Caroline Cleghorn
Course code:
Q00012515
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
6 places remaining
Status:
In progress
Fee:
Free