Auslan (Version 8.4)

Understand how Auslan works

Introduction

As a native user of Auslan, and as an advocate for the language and for the Deaf community, I am thrilled to see a national curriculum in Auslan come to fruition. For the first time, deaf children will have access to a formal first language learner pathway for acquiring Auslan, acknowledging their status and strengths as visual learners and offering a ‘Deaf gain’ perspective to their lives.

Rationale

The formal study of Auslan contributes to the overall intellectual and social enrichment of both first language (L1) and second language (L2) learners by providing:

opportunities for engagement with the Deaf community and insight into its rich cultural heritage

Aims

The Australian Curriculum: Languages – Auslan aims to develop the knowledge, understanding and skills to enable students to:

communicate in Auslan
understand language, culture and learning and their relationship, and thereby develop an intercultural capability in communication

Learning Auslan

Some linguistic features of Auslan are similar to properties found in spoken languages and others are not. For example, the 26 fingerspelled letters of the Auslan alphabet are based on the 26 letters of English.

Learner diversity and learner pathways

Pathways
There is diversity in the background of learners of Auslan. Learners may be deaf, hard of hearing or hearing, and may be learning Auslan as a first language or as a second language.

Developing teaching and learning

Sequences of learning
The Australian Curriculum: Languages – Auslan has two learning sequences: one from Foundation to Year 10, and another from Year 7 to Year 10 (Year 7 Entry).

PDF documents

Resources and support materials for the Australian Curriculum: Languages – Auslan are available as PDF documents.
Languages - Auslan: Auslan glossing conventions and principles
Languages - Auslan: Auslan Glossary

Glossary

Context Statement

Years F–10 Sequence

The second language learner (L2) pathway caters for students learning Auslan as a second or additional language. This will usually be students who are not members of the Deaf community; typically, hearing students who may or may not already know a second language. The L2 pathway may also include deaf or hard of hearing children already fluent in another language, such as a different signed language in the case of a recent immigrant, or spoken English for some deaf children who have residual hearing or access to speech. These students are introduced to Auslan as a language to add to their existing linguistic repertoire. Teachers will use the curriculum to cater for learners of different backgrounds by making appropriate adjustments to differentiate learning experiences.

The first language of most L2 students will be a spoken language, and this pathway gives them an opportunity to study a language that is very different from a spoken language. If L2 learners are learning in a school attended by deaf students, they will have a unique opportunity to use their new language on a daily basis in an authentic context.

L2 programs occur with constant involvement from a variety of fluent signers from the community. A key expectation is that students will have opportunities to interact with elders and members of the Deaf community.

Years 7–10 (Year 7 Entry) Sequence

The second language learner pathway Years 7–10 sequence offers students the opportunity to learn Auslan as a second or additional language commencing in their first year of high school. These learners are typically hearing students with little prior exposure to the language or to the Deaf community; but many will have learnt an additional language in primary school and some have proficiency in different home languages. They consequently bring existing language learning strategies and intercultural awareness to the new experience of learning Auslan. This cohort also includes deaf or hard of hearing students already fluent in another language, such as different signed languages in the case of recent immigrants or spoken English for deaf children who have residual hearing or access to speech. These students are introduced to Auslan to add to their existing linguistic repertoire. Teachers will use the curriculum to cater for learners of different backgrounds by making appropriate adjustments to differentiate learning experiences.

The first language of most L2 students will be a spoken language, and this pathway provides an opportunity to study a language that is very different from a spoken language. L2 learners learning in a school attended by deaf students have a unique opportunity to use their new language on a daily basis in an authentic context.

Years 5 and 6

Years 5 and 6 Band Description

The nature of the learners

Learners at this level are expanding their social networks, experiences and communication repertoire in both their first language and Auslan. They continue to need guidance and participate in structured, collaborative tasks that both recycle and extend language. They are gaining greater independence and becoming more conscious of their peers and social context. They are gaining awareness of the world around them and of nature of the Deaf community in Australia. They notice similarities and differences between Auslan and Deaf culture and their own language(s) and culture(s).

Auslan learning and use

Learners use well-known phrases in Auslan to participate in classroom routines, presentations and structured conversations with the teacher and peers. They focus on aspects of their personal worlds and are introduced to content related to Auslan, the Deaf community and other learning areas. Learners develop their capability in Auslan through scaffolded tasks and texts such as descriptions and stories. They are learning to apply their knowledge of key signs and textual features to predict the meaning of unfamiliar language. They use modelled language to create texts such as narratives. They use Auslan to paraphrase; form questions to request information; interview others; plan, rehearse and deliver short presentations; and to compare interests and activities. They extend their language use by expressing ideas through expanding and connecting clauses.

Contexts of interaction

Learners use Auslan to interact with the teacher and their classmates, and may use technology to communicate with deaf peers in other contexts. Tasks are typically structured, collaborative and at times competitive, such as group performances, class displays or games. Language development and use are incorporated into collaborative and interactive learning experiences and activities. Learners may notice the use of Auslan in the community, such as in the media.

Texts and resources

Learners engage with a growing range of signers and videoed signed texts. They also engage with resources prepared by their teacher, including games, performances, presentations and language exercises. They may have additional access to Auslan and Deaf culture through resources created for the Australian Deaf community, such as children’s television programs, websites or video clips. In addition, they make use of texts from other signed languages that make extensive use of the ‘visual vernacular’.

Features of Auslan use

Learners are expanding their knowledge of vocabulary and sentence construction. With support, they use constructed action to show participants in a narrative, modify indicating verbs for non-present referents with increasing accuracy across a text, and use more complex entity depicting signs. Learners are developing a metalanguage for describing aspects of Auslan and how it is structured, such as how signers use different means to refer to things for cohesion in a text. They are increasingly aware of the connection between language and cultural practices and compare such connections to their own language and culture.

Discussion, reflection and explanation ensure the continued development of learners’ knowledge base and metalinguistic and intercultural capabilities. Understanding of the relationship between language, culture and identity is developed through guided investigation of how language features and expressions carry specific cultural meaning; through critical analysis of cultural stereotypes, attitudes and perspectives; and through exploration of issues related to personal and community identities. Students reflect on the relationship between language, culture and identity and how these affect communication and intercultural experience through the lens of their own bicultural experiences.

Level of support

Support provided by the teacher at this level includes explicit instruction, description, and comparison of Auslan and English; modelled language use and examples of texts; and feedback on and review of student work. Learning experiences incorporate implicit and explicit form-focused language learning activities and examples of texts and tasks. Learners need practice and guidance in using dictionaries, especially Signbank, and access to word charts, vocabulary lists and examples when translating and creating texts.

The role of English

Auslan is used for classroom routines and language learning tasks and may be used as the language of instruction for learning the content of other learning areas. The language of response varies according to task demands, with Auslan used primarily for communicating in structured and supported tasks and English for open-ended, comparative tasks that develop learners’ understanding of language and culture. English may also be used to research cultural issues where the source text is not available in Auslan.

Years 5 and 6 Content Descriptions

Communicating

Socialising

Share ideas and feelings about people they know, their daily lives, social activities and the school community

[Key concepts: experience, interaction, interests, relationship; Key processes: describing, discussing, responding, comparing, expressing feelings] (ACLASFC163 - Scootle )

Collaborate with peers to plan and conduct shared events or activities such as performances, presentations, demonstrations or transactions

[Key concepts: performance, presentation, Deaf culture; Key processes: planning, negotiating, organising] (ACLASFC164 - Scootle )

Communicate appropriately while involved in shared learning activities by asking and responding to questions, managing interactions, indicating understanding and monitoring learning

[Key concepts: agreement, clarification, protocol, reflection; Key processes: responding, agreeing, monitoring] (ACLASFC165 - Scootle )

Informing

Collect, classify and paraphrase information from a variety of Auslan texts used in school and community contexts

[Key concept: information, findings, concepts; Key processes: identifying, collecting, classifying, paraphrasing, responding, explaining, requesting, interviewing] (ACLASFC166 - Scootle )

Convey information in different formats to suit different audiences and contexts

[Key concepts: context, purpose, audience; Key processes: presenting, creating] (ACLASFC167 - Scootle )

Creating

Engage with a range of creative and imaginative texts, identifying and discussing ideas and characters and making connections with their own experiences

[Key concepts: narrative, theatre performance, emotional response, humour; Key processes: sequencing, comparing, shadowing, reflecting] (ACLASFC168 - Scootle )

Create or reinterpret simple imaginative texts that involve favourite characters or humorous situations, using a range of signs, gestures and supporting props to convey events, characters or settings

[Key concepts: constructed action, perspective, choreography; Key processes: adapting, performing, retelling, dancing] (ACLASFC169 - Scootle )

Translating

Translate familiar texts from Auslan to English and vice versa, noticing which words or phrases require interpretation or explanation

[Key concepts: equivalence, meaning, interpretation; Key processes: identifying, translating, shadowing, creating, comparing] (ACLASFC170 - Scootle )

Create their own bilingual texts and learning resources such as electronic displays, websites or digital newsletters

[Key concepts: bilingualism, meaning; Key process: composing, creating] (ACLASFC171 - Scootle )

Identity

Demonstrate understanding of the nature of identity in relation to themselves and to members of the Deaf community

[Key concepts: identity, community, history; Key processes: documenting, creating, sharing, evaluating, comparing] (ACLASFC172 - Scootle )

Reflecting

Reflect on how language and cultural background influence perceptions of other languages and communities, and on their experience of learning and communicating in Auslan

[Key concepts: influence, perspective, perception, self-reflection; Key processes: comparing, sharing, monitoring, identifying, analysing, explaining, reflecting] (ACLASFC173 - Scootle )

Years 5 and 6 Achievement Standards

Achievement Standard

By the end of Year 6, students discuss aspects of their daily lives, social activities and school experience and respond to each other’s comments. They describe relationships and characteristics of people and objects and express feelings and preferences, for example, POSS1 FRIEND CHANGE OTHER SCHOOL PRO1 SAD. They negotiate with each other to plan, organise and complete learning tasks and activities, using statements such as PRO1 DON’T-WANT DRAW, PRO1 WANT TAKE-PHOTO, THANKYOU PRO2 EXPLAIN CLEAR, or THAT FIRST IMPORTANT THAT SECOND. They follow more complex instructions and directions involving several steps. They compare experiences, routines, interests and activities, using signs associated with time, sequence and location. They follow protocols when interacting with each other or with interpreters or visitors to the classroom, for example by interrupting conversations appropriately or providing context for a new participant joining a conversation. They paraphrase the content of selected signed texts, such as community announcements, and relay the information to others. They plan, rehearse and deliver short presentations, taking into account context, purpose and audience. They respond to creative and imaginative texts, for example by discussing ideas and characters, shadowing signed elements of theatrical or cinematographic texts that use handshapes, and by making connections with their own experiences. They create or reinterpret simple imaginative texts using elements of constructed action (CA), such as body shift, eye gaze and head orientation change. They modify non-manual features and lexical signs to indicate manner. They translate familiar texts from Auslan to English and vice versa, identifying which words or phrases require interpretation or explanation.

Students discriminate between body-anchored and non-body-anchored signs, and recognise how non-body-anchored signs can modify their locations meaningfully. They know that the function of CA is to represent the words, thoughts or actions of a protagonist in a text, either themselves or others, and that spatial relationships between objects are typically expressed with depicting signs in Auslan. They understand different ways that English words are borrowed into Auslan and identify connections between Auslan and other signed languages, for example, BSL, ISL and ASL. They recognise the diversity of Auslan users in the community, including people who are deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing people such as CODAs or interpreters. Students recognise how Auslan has been transmitted across generations and describe different ways it has been documented and recorded, for example, by glossing and the use of technology such as ELAN. Students reflect on the ways culture is differently interpreted by others, for example by identifying how stereotypes about deaf and hearing people influence perceptions.