Strictly Star Promotes Growth in Sign Language Teaching
Written byTimes Magazine
The first Deaf participant in Strictly Come Dancing inspires more and more people to learn English Sign Language. The company's director that offers BSL courses told Radio 1 Newsbeat that subscriptions have increased by more than 2,000% since Rose Isling-Ellis joined the show.
Google Trends, which analyzes online search data, also shows that more and more people are interested in learning.
Rose, 26, is best known for his role as Frankie Lewis in Eastenders. However, this year's Strictly Competition won the title for repeatedly highlighting his attitude towards disability.
Russell Fowler, director of the BSL Courses website, says there's always a "jump" in people signing up to learn sign language after a new episode of Strictly.
"On Saturday, we had over 1,000, and another time we had 778," he said. "August we average about 20 to 30 registrants per day, November an average of 400." These statistics are supported by digital PR researchers Molly Jordan (21) and Maddie Peacey (23).
Both from Oxford and known to be big fans, both of them have been looking at Google Trends since the series began. It turns out that the demand for the terms "learn sign language" and "sign language courses" has increased by 300% and 222%, respectively, since November 2020.
Molly and Maddie decide to sign up for a class. "When people wear masks, this is a better time to start learning," Maddie said. "We learned the basics and how to say 'Good luck Rose.'"
Molly added: "It's exciting, and you take great pride when you've accomplished something and can communicate it. "We're also trying to teach it to friends and colleagues so it can spread."
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