Course overview

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.

Course description

Learn essential skills to use and understand Makaton. Gain knowledge and understanding of different learning and communication difficulties.

This is a safe environment to learn Makaton. The tutor will create a group dynamic where students will feel comfortable to practise their skills.

This course is aimed at adults who would like to learn how to communicate with individuals who use Makaton. It could be useful for you if you’re a teacher, health professional, carer, or family or friend of somebody who uses Makaton.

Depending on your needs, after this course you may be interested in courses in British Sign Language (BLS).

If you need to learn communication skills for professional reasons, you can also study for an accredited qualification. For example, you could take a level 1 award in deaf awareness.

You’ll need access to the internet to take this Makaton course. Your tutor will upload useful materials to Canvas, the WEA’s digital learning platform.

The WEA is committed to accessible adult education for all. If you have any accessibility requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Most of our courses are free for most of our learners. Please note that you need to get to the end of the enrolment process to see the discounts.

What financial support is available?

We don't want anything to stand in your way when it comes to bringing Adult learning within reach so if you need anything to support you to achieve your goals then speak to one of our education experts during your enrolment journey. Most of our courses are government funded but if you don't qualify or need alternative financial help to access them then let us know.

What other support is available?

All of our digital content, teaching and learning activities and assessments are designed to be accessible so if you need any additional support you can discuss this with the education experts during your enrolment journey and we will do all we can to make sure you have optimal access.

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