Exciting news! DCAL will be at the Birmingham NEC for Deaf Expo on Fri 15 & Sat 16 May! Come visit us at stall 442 to chat about our research, get involved, and enter our prize hamper giveaway 🎁 See you there!

Happy National BSL Day! On 28 April 2022, British Sign Language (BSL) was recognised in law in the UK, following years of campaigning led by the Deaf community. Celebrating BSL, Deaf culture, and early access to language. #NationalBSLDay #BSL #DeafCulture

DCAL at BATOD 2026 🎉 Great to be at BATOD this week, sharing our work and connecting with teachers and researchers. Patrick Rosenburg and Fiona Kyle led a workshop, and Mairéad MacSweeney and Kate Rowley delivered the keynote. Thanks to everyone who came to chat with us 👀

DCAL will be there to celebrate BATOD’s 50th! We’ll be leading a workshop, giving a presentation, and hosting a stall throughout the conference— do swing by and say hello!

In our next Academic Spotlight Series video, Amy Hegedus, a CODA, reflects on her journey from studying Psychology at university, to completing a postgraduate qualification in mental health interventions in education, to her current role as a Research Assistant at DCAL. youtu.be/f74FfkRoh54

DCAL was invited by the Empowering Deaf Society to attend the parliamentary event “Deaf Voices: Breaking Barriers in Education” on Monday 16th March 2026. At the event, Elisabeth Taunton, a Research Assistant at DCAL, delivered a presentation outlining DCAL’s work and impact.

If you are a Year 12 student who is deaf or hard of hearing, Discover UCL offers the opportunity to experience student life, meet new people, and explore your future. Applications are now open and will close on Tuesday 16 June 2026. Apply now! www.ucl.ac.uk/widening-par...

New lay summary! Dr Patrick Rosenberg & Dr Victoria St. Clair share their study with Dr Evelyne Mercure on deaf parents’ lived experiences. The video highlights navigating resources, working with professionals, and accessing support during parenthood. youtu.be/vTjk5ndmLi8

Are you deaf and interested in research or professional services? DCAL is offering paid one-week placements! Gain hands-on experience in a world-class centre. Application deadline: 29 May at 5pm. Find out more and apply: www.ucl.ac.uk/.../dcal-pai...

BSL teachers: reminder that our BSL Linguistics for Teachers CPD course is open for registration. 🗓 Deadline: 12 February 2026. Places are limited. Full details and booking info below 👇

We’re resharing staff and student achievements from our 2025 end-of-year newsletter, including promotions, research funding and PhD completions. www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...

We’re launching a new CPD course: BSL Linguistics for Teachers. This update shares our plans for the BSL GCSE and the CPD courses being developed to support BSL teachers. Find out more and register: www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...

DeafATW and RNID are collecting evidence on Access to Work – including budget cuts and renewal issues. If you’re deaf, deafblind or have hearing loss and have used or applied for AtW since Oct 2024, please take or share this survey: connect.deafatw.com/ty/cl/eyJ2Ij...

🔍 Job opportunity: Research Assistant (50% FTE, 36 months) on an AHRC-funded project exploring multilingual experiences of deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the UK and Germany. Based at the University of Leeds. jobs.leeds.ac.uk/Vacancy.aspx...

New lay summary release! Dr Joanna Atkinson shares the development of the first screening test for detecting cognitive impairment and dementia in deaf signers: the British Sign Language Cognitive Screening Test (BSL CST). youtu.be/pm_TbR77wAc

Our DCAL 2025 Christmas Newsletter is out now 🎄 Read the newsletter and watch the BSL videos here: mailer.ucl.ac.uk/7SWP-2ECWZ-3... Thank you for your continued support. Wishing you a peaceful festive break and a positive New Year.

Congratulations to Brennan Terhune-Cotter on receiving a Newton International Fellowship from the Royal Society! He’ll be with us at DCAL until Nov 2027, working on neural mechanisms of reading in deaf adults: fingerspelling. royalsociety.org/news/2025/11...

Deadline extended to Friday 5 December. UCL DCAL is recruiting a PhD researcher on tactile BSL and DeafBlind communication. DeafBlind applicants especially encouraged. Apply: www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...

New lay summary! Dr Matt Brown shares key findings from his PhD on how BSL expresses “and”/“or” through signs, facial expressions, body movement and space and why this matters for linguistics, pragmatics, and deaf children’s language development. 🎥 youtu.be/6FbIw9aAslo

Some of our colleagues at DCAL attended the British Library’s Family Festival: Imaginary Worlds on Saturday 22nd November, where we hosted a DCAL stall. We had a fantastic time meeting everyone!

PhD opportunity at UCL on tactile BSL & DeafBlind communication. 3-year FT / 5-year PT, £27k stipend, start Feb 2026. UK students only. Deadline: 1 Dec 2025. More info + how to apply: www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...

Last call for the Bencie Woll Prize – apply by 8 December. £500 award for early-career researchers with a BSL-focused publication from the last two years. Send your CV, 500-word summary and publication link to [email protected]. Deaf researchers encouraged to apply: www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...

There’s still time to apply for the Deaf in AI & Technology workshop. The deadline’s this Sunday, 23 November. Re-sharing in case you haven’t seen it yet.

Meet Vernon, a final-year university student in Biomedical Sciences, who shares his internship experience at DCAL. His week at DCAL gave him insight into research, brain imaging, and better clarity about his future career - youtu.be/ylHW99wRuT8

In our next #AcademicSpotlightSeries, Prof. Kearsy Cormier shares her journey from studying ASL linguistics in Texas to leading DCAL. Her 20+ years at UCL exploring BSL structure, use & brain processing have shaped sign linguistics. Watch her story: youtu.be/7Pkq-qUpkUc?...

We’re joining the British Library’s Family Festival: Imaginary Worlds on Sat 22 Nov (12–4pm). Visit DCAL’s Fingerspelling Space Race to race friends and test your BSL skills. More info: events.bl.uk/events/famil...

Deaf in AI & Technology workshop – 9 Dec 2025, London. Find details and apply at www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...

PhD Opportunity at UCL – Tactile Sign Language & DeafBlind Communication. Funded PhD at DCAL exploring tactile BSL and DeafBlind interaction. UK only. Deadline 1 Dec 2025. www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...

Join UCL’s DCAL as a Research Assistant on the Tactile Language Project – exploring protactile and tactile forms of BSL with deafblind people across the UK. Full-time, 18 months. Apply by 17 Nov 2025 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...

New paper with Evelyne Mercure: hearing children of deaf mothers learn sign and speech – showing bimodal bilingualism as enriching and adaptive. 🔗 cambridge.org/core/journals/bilingualism-language-and-cognition/article/BB899E0B4FCB32AE0DEF5D160F2EA4AA

In our latest #AcademicSpotlightSeries, Dr Kate Rowley, deaf scholar & Deputy Director at DCAL, shares her inspiring journey from Deaf Studies to PhD, exploring sign linguistics, deaf culture & accessibility in education. Watch her story: youtu.be/BOSXQ6KwMiU

Applications open for the Bencie Woll Prize 2025 — celebrating top research in BSL linguistics. Early-career researchers welcome. £500 + talk at DCAL. Apply by 8 Dec: [email protected] 🔗 www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc... #BSL #DeafResearch

Recruiting deaf adults from Greater London (under 35yo) for a new focus group series (interpreters provided!) Help identify priorities and best practices for future research with deaf children & receive £200 for your time! Email Victoria at [email protected]

Thanks to everyone who joined us for #DCALx 2025 last week! Inspiring talks, great conversations, and a brilliant evening celebrating BSL, literacy & cognition. We can’t wait for the next one! ✨

Exciting news – Kate Rowley has been awarded a £1.4M European Research Council (ERC) grant (#ERCStG | @erc.europa.eu) for a 5-year project on tactile BSL in the UK. Starts Jan 2026. 🔗 www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...

Join us for #DCALx 2025 – an evening of bite-sized talks in BSL exploring sign language, literacy & cognition 📚🧠✨ 🗓 4 Sept | 🕕 6–8pm | 📍 UCL London Free & fully accessible 🔗 www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...

‘No evidence’ BSL harms speech or literacy – instead, early sign boosts language, memory and more! Hats off to @liamodell.com for the scoop. Read the full report: liamodell.com/2025/07/19/e...

💬 Powerful voices, proud community. We were thrilled to attend the BDA Conference and see so many brilliant people – from passionate presenters to an engaged audience. A celebration of deaf identity, advocacy, and connection. 📸 Photos by Charlie Swinbourne – thank you!

🎉 The Bencie Woll Prize is open for applications! Celebrating excellence in linguistic research on British Sign Language. 🔗 Apply by 8 Dec: www.ucl.ac.uk/brain-scienc...

Hi! I’m Zahra Nawab, a deaf PhD student at UCL. I’m looking for participants for my research on language, thinking & emotions in deaf adults. Interested or know someone who might be? Get in touch: [email protected] For more information, please watch this video: youtu.be/Iw-TiANQpY0

Exciting news! DCAL & UCL IOE launching CPD courses in early 2026 to help deaf teachers prepare to teach the new BSL GCSE in secondary schools. Please contact: [email protected] youtu.be/rBbO4VFchS0

SignGPT is a 5-year EPSRC-funded project by Uni of Surrey, UCL DCAL & Oxford, building AI tools with the deaf community. We're a deaf/hearing team looking for more deaf BSL signers to join us! youtu.be/_UMIBhgEQDI

Discover UCL this July! A free summer school for deaf and hard of hearing students - with BSL interpreters, live captioning, and a chance to explore university life. Apply now by Monday 10th June.

Watch Kearsy Cormier revisit her highly cited 2015 paper on constructed action in BSL, co-authored with Sandra Smith & Zed Sevcikova. She explains what it is, why it matters & how it ranges from role-shifts to facial expressions. youtu.be/2MbdKpP4RHY?...

Watch Kearsy Cormier revisit her highly cited 2015 paper on constructed action in BSL, co-authored with Sandra Smith & Zed Sevcikova. She explains what it is, why it matters & how it ranges from role-shifts to facial expressions. youtu.be/2MbdKpP4RHY?...

Happy Deaf Awareness Week! Check out our online course: Deaf Awareness: Working and Communicating Well with Deaf People. Build practical skills & learn at your own pace—no experience needed. Sign up here: www.ucl.ac.uk/short-course...

Today we mark National BSL Day – celebrating the BSL Act 2022, recognising British Sign Language across England, Scotland and Wales. We stand with the Deaf community in pushing for real accessibility and equality. ✊ #NationalBSLDay #BSLAct #DeafRights

The Bencie Woll Prize is open to early-career researchers (within 7 years of PhD or Master’s) whose work on BSL linguistics has been published in the last 2 years as a first or solo author. Applications close end of May 2025! Full details here: www.ucl.ac.uk/pals/news/20...

We had an amazing time at Deaf Day 2025! 🧡 Thanks to everyone who came by the DCAL stand to chat, learn about our research, and get involved. #DeafDay #DCAL #DeafCommunity #UCL

Are you deaf and interested in research or professional services? DCAL is offering paid one-week placements! Gain hands-on experience in a world-class centre. Apply by 30 April 2025. 📅 Find out more & apply: www.ucl.ac.uk/pals/news/20... #Deaf #BSL #Internship #UCL