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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Personal Development: Continuing to Progress in BSL

This course is intended to help existing learners that have previously attended BSL classes to progress further in their conversation building skills. The course will concentrate on the need for clarification and interrupting conversations to ask further questions to aid understanding. Learners will also increase vocabulary in the following three areas: Emotions, Employment and Homelife. This course will be taught face to face at St Mary’s Community Centre, Pontefract and will be facilitated through the use of Canvas a Digital Learning Platform. Learners will take part in various learning activities such as discussions, paired and group work and tutor led demonstrations

Course Information

Dates:
Tue 25/02/2025 -
Tue 06/05/2025
Times:
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Duration:
8 sessions
Location:
St Marys Community Centre (PONTEFRACT)
The Circle
Chequerfield
PONTEFRACT
WF8 2AY
Tutor:
Caroline Cleghorn
Course code:
Q00019981
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
6 places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee:
Free

Lip Reading

This course is designed to equip participants with essential lip-reading skills. You will learn to recognise common lip movements, apply practical strategies for daily communication, understand effective communication techniques, and explore technology solutions for emergency situations. Through hands-on exercises and online resources, you will develop the confidence to engage in conversations with ease. The course is only open for referred patients from the Audiology Department who fund these courses. Please quote the code that is stated in your letter to book on,

Course Information

Dates:
Fri 28/02/2025 -
Fri 04/04/2025
Times:
2:00pm - 4:00pm
Duration:
6 sessions
Location:
Shrewsbury LIbrary
Castle Gates
Shrewsbury
SY1 2AS
Tutor:
Alaina Allen Nnaji
Course code:
Q00020160
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee:
Free

Personal Development: 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 face to face at St Marys Community Centre in Pontefract. 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.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 06/03/2025 -
Thu 22/05/2025
Times:
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
St Marys Community Centre (PONTEFRACT)
The Circle
Chequerfield
PONTEFRACT
WF8 2AY
Tutor:
Caroline Cleghorn
Course code:
Q00019980
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee:
Free

Beginners British Sign Language (BSL)

Start, or continue, your BSL journey in this fun and interactive course. You will learn the basics; fingerspelling using the alphabet and numbers as well as a range of vocabulary covering everyday topics. You will be surprised how quickly you progress to holding short, signed conversations using BSL grammar.

Course Information

Dates:
Thu 13/03/2025 -
Thu 05/06/2025
Times:
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Duration:
10 sessions
Location:
Bensham Grove (Gateshead)
Sidney Grove
Gateshead
NE8 2XD
Tutor:
Joanne Liddle
Course code:
Q00020189
How you'll learn:
In venue
Availability:
4 places remaining
Status:
Available

WEA Membership

WEA membership is changing: more information is coming soon!

Membership Information

Duration:
12 months
Fee:
£15

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.

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

Personal Development: Beginners British Sign Language

This is a Basic BSL course that will cover a range of different topics to help to build the learners sign vocabulary, and perhaps evoke a desire to learn more sign, to enable more communication, with the deaf community!

Course Information

Dates:
Mon 28/04/2025 -
Mon 30/06/2025
Times:
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Duration:
7 sessions
Location:
Online
Tutor:
Caroline Cleghorn
Course code:
Q00012518
How you'll learn:
Online
Availability:
10+ places remaining
Status:
Available
Fee range
Free to £51.80