Moving to the left initiates a left hand turn and vice-versa. Speed is varied by pulling the pilot's weight forwards to go faster and backwards to slow down. Like paragliding and gliding in sailplanes, the hang glider pilot can pootle around in ridge lift on a hill, take the occasional thermal to gain height or leave the hill and fly cross-country. A hang glider's speed and performance allow many hours of air time and big distances to be flown. On completion of your training you might want to purchase a hang glider, harness, helmet and emergency reserve parachute.
Gliders come in different shapes and sizes and, of course, with varying performances.
Speak to your instructor, read the mags and generally chat with more experienced pilots to get advice. There are a number of good performing gliders for the low air time pilot on the market. You will not regret gaining flying time on a machine that is easy to fly and forgiving of mistakes. It has a visual display, but also an audio function so the pilot does not need to see the dial. The pitch of the tone increases with the climb rate.