How Do Sign Language Students' Attitudes Toward Minority Languages Evolve Over the Course of Learning a Sign Language?

How do sign language learners’ language attitudes toward minority languages evolve over the course of learning a sign language? Students enrolled in the 4-year British Sign Language (BSL)/English interpreting degree at Heriot-Watt University in the UK present an interesting case study since they (1) are speakers of a majority language studying a minority language and (2) seek employment opportunities where they will work with the minority-language community (in this case BSL users) as they interact with majority- language users (in this case English) as interpreters upon completing their degree. To investigate shifts in language attitudes, this study explores how a small sample of students perceive their roles within signing communities and their attitudes toward BSL at different program stages. Year-2 students were interviewed following a service-learning project within the deaf community and before and after two-semester unpaid work-based placements in deaf charities across the UK that take place during their third year of university. These placements provided opportunities for interaction in multilingual environments using both English and BSL within the British deaf community. Year-4 students reflected on their university and program experiences while actively involved in unpaid/supervised interpreting placements as part of their final year. The findings from this study can be used as an evidence base to inform curriculum changes that lead students to consider language minority issues earlier in the program as preparation for their language immersion experience on placement. The findings can also be useful for educators of other (spoken) minority languages in considering how to embed positive language attitudes in their curriculum.