A signing system is different from a language. Someone using a signing system is usually speaking English and will add a sign borrowed from British Sign Language to some of the words as they say them (e.g some nouns and verbs but not the grammar).  

 

It is important to keep in mind that this option cannot give enough visual information for a deaf child to perceive a full language - either English or BSL – but it can be helpful in these ways:

 

• It can help the deaf child to perceive particular words more easily although their level of deafness alters the results:

 

i/ If they do not hear the spoken part, they will not necessarily learn the English word but can learn the sign which can have an equivalent meaning.

ii/ If they can hear the spoken part, they may learn the English word and the sign and use both to confirm the meaning.

 

(N.B if the speaker is also cueing the English word then it doesn’t matter if the receiver can hear the voice or not, they will have equal access to both the word and the sign)

 

 

• It can help hearing parents understand what their child is saying more easily.

• If someone’s first language is BSL, putting signs in English word order can help them see the difference between the two languages (although that doesn’t mean they can understand the English).

• Many BSL users like to use SSE themselves if they are communicating with an English speaker.

• Many hearing people begin learning to sign with noun vocabulary lists eg animals, colours, numbers, foods etc and unless they learn to sign these words in sentences using BSL grammar, they will be using a signing system.