Committee
The following executive committee was elected at the 2006 Annual General Meeting
Chairperson:- Melinda Napier
Secretary/Treasurer:- Charles Herd
Newsletter Editor:- Joanne
Thomson
Committee Members:- Shirley
Farthing, Aileen Cranwell,
Gillian Stringer &
Robert Adams
Website Administrator:-
Jackie Perkins
Melinda Napier - London (Chairperson)
I am the Programme Manager/ Deputy Head of Centre for the Deaf, City Lit in
Keeley Street, London
I taught Stage 1, 2 & 3 for 20 years. I am now teaching NVQ3, NVQ4 and City &
Guilds 7307 Stage 2 (Teachers' Training courses).
I am also running level 1 & 2 BSL Materials Workshops.
I was Secretary and have been involved with ABSLT from its inauguration in 1989.
In 1999 I was elected as Chairperson of ABSLT. I have been in committee right
from the start (commencing with the Steering Committee for the first year).
I have run workshops all over the country.
Charles Herd - London (Secretary/Treasurer)
I have been involved with ABSLT almost from its formation in 1988.
I have served on the committee for all that time, being chairman from 1991 -
1994 and again from 1999 - 2002 when I became treasurer. In 2004 I became joint
Secretary/Treasurer.
I was a full-time BSL tutor at the City Literary Institute in London for many
years and after gaining my Certificate of Education from Nottingham University
became the Tutor/Co-ordinator of the STTC (Signing Teachers Training Course) and
City and Guilds Tutor Training Courses - Parts 1 and 2.
I retired from full-time teaching in 2001 but still do occasional part-time work
on training courses at the City Lit.
I was an examiner for CACDP at BSL 1,2,3 and interpreter levels and also a
curriculum trainer for them at Levels 1,2 and 3. I also served on the CACDP BSL
Advisory Committee for a good number of years.
I am a passionate advocate of training and development for BSL tutors and have
“kept my hand in” as one of the tutors on the ABSLT training workshops that have
been held all over the UK in the past 4-5 years.
Joanne Thomson – Bedfordshire (Committee)
I teach BSL Level’s 1 & 2 and Deaf Awareness in various colleges in Bedfordshire
& Hertfordshire. I also run staff development training for Communicators in
schools.
Additionally I am an A1 assessor and work locally and in the Midlands assessing
BSL at NVQ Level’s 3 & 4.
I achieved the STTC at City Lit back in June 2000 and graduated with Cert Ed in
July 2002. I obtained my NVQ Level 4 in BSL April 2005.
I have been a member of the ABSLTA committee for a good few years. Although
having 2 young children I strive to help out with other ABSLTA events and
workshops where possible.
Shirley Farthing – Bedfordshire (Committee)
I have attended all the courses that are required to teach BSL and have been
teaching Stage 1 since 1998 and Stage 2 since 1999. I now teach in our local
college in Bedfordshire where I live with my husband and two children.
I obtained my NVQ Level 4 in BSL April 2005 and my PGCE in September 1999.
My full time job is a Training Development Officer working in Luton which
includes the training and development of new and existing tutors of BSL from
levels 1 to 4 and Deaf Awareness. I am also an A1 assessor.
Due to my increasing work load I have had to cease being the Workshop
Co-ordinator for ABSLT but I help out wherever I can.
I can assure you of my commitment to the continuing success of the Association
and will continue to support the Association.
Aileen Cranwell (Committee)
I am very happy to be elected on the committee and I will do my best. I am
currently teaching Level 1 and 2 and I am also an examiner for level 1 & 2. I
have recently passed my A1 Assessor exam and look forward to working with that.
Gillian Stringer (Committee)
I joined ABSLTA fourteen years ago when it was first set up and became a
committee member last year.
I have been a BSL tutor and examiner for over twenty years, focusing on Level
One and Deaf Studies, teaching in a variety of colleges in South London. I am
also part of a small team of tutors teaching Level Two. I have been teaching on
a Level Three course for the past five years and became an assessor in 2004.
I have worked in a number of primary schools as a Deaf Educational Instructor
and currently teach BSL and Deaf Awareness to hearing children in a mainstream
school which has a Deaf unit. I am in the process of developing a BSL curriculum
for primary school children and am piloting a Deaf Awareness course at the same
school. I also work as a Deaf Relay Interpreter for Deaf adults with special
needs.
I plan to teach BSL Level Two Deaf History as a new topic in the next academic
year. I have gained a wide range of experience over the years to pass on for the
benefit of all ABSLTA members.
Robert Adams (Committee)
BEd, BA, M.AppLing
I am a Deaf native signer who works as a postgraduate researcher at the Deafness
Cognition and Language Research Centre (DCAL), and am based at City University,
as a researcher on the Sign Segmentation Project, a three-year ESRC funded
project.
I have been involved with sign language teaching for many years, most recently
as Teacher Coordinator at City Lit, and now at the DCAL Research Centre. I
taught at the National Institute for Deaf Studies at La Trobe University in
Melbourne, Australia before joining the Australian Sign Language Lexicography
Project at Renwick College, The University of Newcastle in Sydney as a research
associate.
I have also been involved with writing sign language curricula, both in
Australia and the UK. I was recently involved with the NDCS Family Sign Language
Curriculum.
Jackie
Perkins (Website Administrator)