The nature of the learners

The transition to secondary schooling involves social and academic demands that coincide with a period of maturational and physical change. Learners are adjusting to a new school culture with sharper divisions between curriculum areas. There is a need for continuity through change in relation to their language learning. Students in this pathway are continuing to study Auslan, bringing with them a capability to communicate, with some assistance, about their immediate world and the Deaf community. They have experience in analysing the major features of the language system and in considering intercultural exchanges, including their role in these. However, learners at this level may find themselves in classes that include learners with a range of previous experience with Auslan and Deaf culture. A multilevel and differentiated approach to teaching and task design responds to this diversity of prior experience.

At this level, students bring a range of learning strategies to their language learning. They are increasingly aware of the world beyond their own and are engaging with broader issues of youth and society, land and environment, education and identity, while establishing a balance between increasing personal independence and social responsibilities. They are considering their future pathways and choices, including how Auslan might be part of these.

Auslan learning and use

Learners interact using Auslan in classroom routines and communicative tasks. They use Auslan to compare and contrast, sign instructions, problem-solve, make announcements, persuade, and recount experiences in increasing detail. They are able to express their feelings and emotions creatively in Auslan.

Contexts of interaction

The primary context for learning remains the Auslan class; however, there may be opportunities for interacting with deaf students from other schools and with other learners of Auslan, for example through technology and sister-school relationships. Learners may be exposed to Auslan signers from the Deaf community through visiting speakers, media and community events.

Texts and resources

Learners engage with a range of increasingly complex live and digital signed texts designed for learning Auslan in school. Authentic texts created for Deaf people, such as websites, provide extra opportunities to extend understanding of language and culture. Texts come from a range of domains or genres, such as community announcements, vlogs and stories, and serve a variety of purposes, such as informative, transactional, communicative, imaginative and expressive. The Deaf community is the most important resource for learning because it is the origin of most of the texts and communicative situations engaged with by learners.

Features of Auslan use

Learners are extending their grammatical knowledge, such as how language structures and features are used in texts. They are using more elaborate sentence structures, including conjoining clauses, and are increasingly making their texts cohesive by setting up and maintaining referents in signing space. Learners are exploring non-manual features (NMFs) and their relationship with clause types, and are beginning to use constructed action to represent multiple participants in a text. They are increasingly aware of connections between language and culture, comparing them to concepts in their own language and culture. They are learning to reflect on their own language and culture and on how identity impacts on intercultural experiences.

Level of support

Particular support is required at this stage of learning to manage the transition to secondary schooling and to encourage continued engagement with language learning. Opportunities to review and consolidate prior learning are balanced against provision of engaging and relevant new experiences and tasks that are more challenging. Learners require modelled language use and explicit instruction in grammatical knowledge, with comparison between English and Auslan. They need support in using dictionaries, particularly in determining base signs and choosing appropriate meanings for the context. Learners continue to access visual glossaries, charts and examples to support their receptive and productive language use. The teacher continues to provide implicit and explicit modelling and scaffolding in relation to meaningful language use in a range of contexts, and explicit instruction and explanation in relation to language structures, grammatical functions, vocabulary and abstract cultural concepts. Learners at this level are encouraged to self-monitor, for example, by keeping records of feedback and through peer support, and to self-review and adjust language in response to their experiences in different contexts.

The role of English

Auslan is used for classroom interaction, language learning tasks and experiences, and, with support, reflection on learning. Auslan may also be used for learning new content drawn from other learning areas. English is used for analysis, comparison and reflection in relation to abstract concepts and more substantive discussion. English may also be used to research cultural issues where a source text is not available in Auslan. Learners continue to develop a metalanguage for thinking and talking about language, culture, identity and about the experience of learning and using Auslan.