Years 5-6 Auslan Syllabus
Years 5-6 Syllabus
Years 5-6 Band Level Description
In Years 5 and 6, Auslan learning builds on each student’s prior learning and experiences with language. Students communicate and work in collaboration, and with support from teachers and peers, in purposeful, creative and structured activities involving signing and viewing. They interact in Auslan to exchange information and ideas relating to their interests, school and local environment, and engage with Auslan-using communities in person or via secure digital access. They may work independently and/or in groups, with support. They use signed, digital and multimodal resources to extend their learning.
Students engage with a range of visual and multimodal texts that may include stories, posters, notes, invitations and procedures. They may share resources from the Deaf community with their peers. They understand that some words and expressions are not easily translated, and that communication and identity reflect diverse cultural practices, behaviours and values.
Years 5-6 Achievement Standard
By the end of Year 6, students initiate and use strategies to maintain interactions in Auslan that are related to experiences of their personal worlds. They collaborate in activities that involve the language of planning and problem-solving to share information, preferences and ideas. They use strategies to locate and interpret information and ideas in texts, and demonstrate understanding by responding in Auslan or English, adjusting their response to context, purpose and audience. They create texts, selecting and using a range of signs, depicting signs (DSs), non-manual features (NMFs) and signing spaces. They sequence information and ideas, and use conventions appropriate to text type.
Students apply rules of signs, pace and signing space to develop fluency. They use modelled and formulaic structures when creating and responding in Auslan. They compare language structures and features in Auslan and English, using some metalanguage. They show understanding of how some language reflects cultural practices and consider how this is reflected in their own language(s), culture(s) and identity.
Content Descriptions
Interacting in Auslan
initiate and sustain exchanges related to students’ experiences and opinions of their personal worlds and school environment
encouraging each other, for example, making connections between actions and effects, such as
BA! BECAUSE POSS2 WORK HARD, PRO2 SUCCESS
Because of your hard work, you were successful! Hooray!
- participating in face-to-face or online exchanges with Auslan users in other contexts, for example, conducting an interview to discuss topics of shared interest, for example, sports, television shows or digital media they enjoy viewing
- engaging in both prepared and spontaneous questions within conversations and discussions, using active watching behaviours such as using NMF, eye gaze, head nodding, shaking, leaning back and forth in interest or surprise and contributing their own responses
exchanging views with their peers to identify values that they hold as important, for example, being part of the Deaf community or caring for the environment, for example,
PRO1 FULL DEAF
I am profoundly deaf.
LOOK-AFTER ENVIRONMENT, PRO1 WANT
I want to look after the environment.
comparing personal experiences and opinions, and expressing agreement or disagreement in a respectful manner, for example,
AGREE YES or PRO1 AGREE
Yes, I agree.
PRO1 KNOW WHAT MEAN, BUT …
I know what you mean, but …
DOUBT
I’m not sure.
AGREE-NOT …
I don’t agree …
contributing to discussions by clarifying and critiquing ideas/opinions and developing and supporting arguments, using statements such as
PRO1 FEEL PRO2 GOOD TALK OVER … BECAUSE …
I think it’s good you are talking about …, because …
discussing school experiences or events, using time markers, for example,
WEEK-AGO, ASSEMBLY GOOD, LONG DS:FAST-REPEAT
One week ago, assembly was good, but it was sooo long.
TODAY, SCHOOL SWIMMING RACE, GOOD BAD, PRO2 THINK WHAT?
What did you think about the swimming carnival today?
using interactional strategies such as paraphrasing, questioning and interpreting non-verbal cues when communicating with their teacher or peers, such as pointing and signing THAT, WHAT, WHAT-FOR, GO-BACK/BACKTRACK, WAIT, HOLD, PRO2 MEAN …, KEEP GOING, COME-ON, BACK-ON-TRACK
sharing information and providing direction, according to the context, for a new participant joining a conversation
PRO3 TELL US OVER MOVE HOUSE
He was just telling us about moving into his new house.
PRO1(PL) FINISH US TALK OVER BASKETBALL
We were just talking about the basketball.
participating in a structured debate, clarifying and summarising ideas, for example,
PRO3 EXPLAIN OVER WHAT? LBUOY(1):DEAF EDUCATION LBUOY(2):HISTORY LBUOY(3):DEAF FAMILIES
They talked about 3 things; Deaf education, history and Deaf families.
participate in activities that involve planning and negotiating with others, using familiar and modelled idiomatic language to agree, suggest and resolve
problem-solving in team activities, for example, working to reduce the use of plastic at home and school, using language such as
FIX/SOLVE, HOW?
How can we solve this?
WHAT DO?
What can we do next?
playing group games to categorise information, for example, students using DSs to describe animal features such as big ears or long tail, and asking questions such as with different animal cards and students using DS and asking
POSS2 ANIMAL LOOK LIKE WHAT?
What does your animal look like?
negotiating roles, responsibilities and priorities in activities such as cooking or designing a class garden, making suggestions, for example,
PRO1 THINK SHOULD FIRST THIS, WHEN DONE, FOCUS ON THAT
I think we should first do this, then when done, focus on that.
and using conditional language such as
IF NOT YET NMF:HEAD-SHAKE, CAN-NOT NEXT DS:INDICATE-NEXT-PART
If not yet finished, don’t do the next step.
- using strategies that support participation in shared activities, including signing clearly, pausing for others to respond, asking questions, linking their own contributions to those of others or waving to indicate they have something to contribute next
organising activities such as excursions or planning an imaginary trip, and deciding what they want to do and associated details, for example,
PRO1 WANT … PRO1 WANT-NOT
I want …, I dont want
PRO1 WILL … PRO1 WILL-NOT
I will …, I wont
TIME MEET?
What time should we meet?
THERE HOW?
How are we getting there?
creating a group presentation on a controversial proposition to present to teachers or parents, for example, ‘Phones should be banned’, using list buoys and formal signs such as FIRSTLY, SECONDLY, THIRDLY
- creating and presenting a language map identifying different languages used by Deaf communities around the world
Mediating meaning in and between languages
locate and process information and ideas in a range of signed, visual and multimodal texts, and respond in different ways to suit purpose
- viewing interviews or informal conversations between Auslan users in different situations and contexts, summarising key points and responding to this information, for example, interviewing a deaf adult about their educational experiences and comparing these with own experiences
- researching topics using a range of sources such as interviews with Auslan speakers, films and websites to share the information in face-to-face or secure digital format in Auslan, for example, researching and presenting about recycling, the water cycle or the solar system
- viewing a short news item or film clip in Auslan, about a topic such as a local community event, and describing or giving an opinion about the main aspects, for example, summarising a sports story video in Auslan
- reading or viewing First Nations Australian authors’ stories in Auslan or English and comparing words, formulaic expressions and sentences
compiling and presenting information from a survey of peers and displaying results, such as surveying their family and analysing and presenting results through short signed presentations or in chart, graph or table form, for example, asking
DEAF PEOPLE YOUR FAMILY HAVE, HOW MANY?
How many deaf people do you have in your family?
- comparing events from imaginative texts and making connections with experiences in their own lives, for example, reading a story about resilience and sharing their experiences of not feeling ‘heard’
- viewing expressions of Deaf experience through different visual art forms such as painting, photography, sculpture and sign poetry, and comparing with their own use of visual forms of expression of feelings and experience
- reflecting on the experiences of Deaf dancers and choreographers involved in VV, for example, learning the types of ways contestants in popular shows have been able to access and make adjustments to participate in a hearing world
- viewing Deaf performance activities, identifying how characters’ feelings and attitudes are expressed through NMFs
- retelling or enacting or using DSs, focusing on the importance of eye gaze and role shift in CAs to emphasise key points/punchline of the joke
- predicting the subsequent events of imaginative texts, for example, watching half of a story in Auslan and acting out a scenario of what might happen next
apply strategies to interpret and convey meaning in signed and visual cultural contexts
- reading and transcribing glossed texts, including indicating understanding that there are markings to show NMFs and spatial locations
identifying issues associated with translation, and the fact that meaning is not always literal, for example, where English uses the same word run for multiple contexts, Auslan will use different signs that vary according to the context
RUN BATH DS:HANDLING TAPS
To run the bath
RUN-OUT PEN
To run out of pens
RUN SCHOOL-CAPTAIN
To run for school captain
identifying and explaining multiple lexicalised signs that are not easy to translate into English directly because of culture-specific meaning and history, for example, BA-BA and PAH
- determining and translating the meaning of technical English words into Auslan with the support of fingerspelling patterns, using flow-shapes and rhythms
- identifying non-equivalent Auslan signs/cultural conventions used in Deaf theatre, such as maintaining eye contact and positioning of characters
- translating short texts with preparation, such as children’s fairy tales or a short imaginative film from English to Auslan
understanding how to modify iconic signs to depict aspect and manner, for example, SWIM fast or SWIM slow, demonstrated through NMFs and speed
understanding that not all words and expressions associated with figurative language are used in northern and southern dialect Auslan, for example, in Auslan TRAIN GONE, SORRY, and in English raining cats and dogs
- composing bilingual texts in Auslan and English for class or school assembly performances, events or displays, for example, National Week of Deaf People announcements or constructing a bilingual webpage for the school website
- comparing the differences between a child of deaf adults (CODA), interpreters, and their extended family’s sign name and identity-related signs used within the Deaf community, which differentiates individuals from others based on factors such as personality traits, physical characteristics, or notable skills
- conducting sight/spontaneous translation, for example, from an Auslan video into simple English text such as a blog or newsletter, or from an English text translated into Auslan
Creating text in Auslan
create and present a range of informative and imaginative signed, visual and multimodal texts using a variety of modelled language structures and features to sequence information and ideas, appropriate to text type
creating signed announcements that use persuasive techniques, using language such as MUST, SHOULD, CAN, PLEASE or NMFs to sway their audience, for example, promoting healthy eating habits or events such as a Deaf theatre and/or signed theatre performance or National Week of Deaf People
- using digital tools to create, for example, a class-news broadcast about important events in their lives, such as a recent school every weekend or participating in a Deaf Festival
- providing step-by-step instructions using CAs, DSs, NMFs and role shift to explain the rules to peers, for example, directions to a hidden location or explanations of how to make something such as craft or a favourite food
- creating a class presentation or video, locating and describing, in Auslan, a specific First Nations Country/Place location in a local or regional context, or elsewhere in Australia
- creating original stories or short plays for younger learners of Auslan, incorporating scene-setting, action/conflict and resolution, and including opportunities for audience participation
- creating and presenting a range of informative texts about topics such as climate change, for example, displaying and reporting recommended actions to slow climate change
- working collaboratively to create a filmed episode for a new Deaf sitcom, incorporating elements such as conflict, suspense or humour
- creating additional dimensions or changing the focus of a narrative, such as shifting focus by showcasing different manners, CAs, DSs, space and aspect, for example, modifying the boats size using entity and SASSs, and illustrating its movement, using NMFs to depict the boat capsizing in treacherous waters or gliding smoothly in calm sea
- performing a humorous story using elements of CA such as role shift, eye gaze and NMFs, and adapting the use of signing space and signing techniques
Understanding systems of language
apply knowledge of signs, pace and signing space to develop fluency in familiar contexts
identifying and comparing where and how a signer has established a location in space, through the use of points, non-body-anchored signs or fingerspelled words, for example, BOAT being signed in the neutral space in front of the signer’s torso area, or signing DREAM above their head space
- identifying, demonstrating and describing the various types of NMFs such as movements of the eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, shoulders and body, for example, considering which NMFs are used to express something that is heavy, far away, light, urgent or distressing
- producing signs using the correct HOLM and NMF in citation form
- creating a transcription of Auslan and English to identify what HOLMs and NMFs are used for DSs through the use of entity, SASSs and/or handling
recognising that 2-handed signs can occur with a standard mouth gesture and that these are sometimes called multi-channel signs, for example, BA-BA and PAH
- developing the strategic use of speed and pacing to build anticipation and captivate an audience, for example, when recounting an event or telling a story to the class
identifying signs that are arbitrary and have the same movement of the hands, for example, SISTER and BOY, and others that are derivative, such as SHOWER and FOOD
- understanding that many features of fingerspelling and signed languages occur simultaneously, such as using CA and entity at the same time, for example, use of CA to mimic an angry wolf bearing down on a lamb which is depicted through the use of a finger (entity), compared with spoken language features which typically occur sequentially
noticing how deaf and hard of hearing Auslan users code-switch when signing from fully-lexical signs to partially lexical signs, impacting the formality of their signing movement and location, for example, signers in an informal conversation with someone familiar may use the non-citation sign for KNOW, moving the sign to the chin rather than its usual place at the temple
- identifying and classifying examples of HOLM in an Auslan text, for example, watching a story and identifying examples of when DSs such as entity, handling and SASSs as well as CAs are used in the story
use knowledge of modelled grammatical structures and formulaic expressions to compose and respond to texts, using appropriate textual conventions
developing fluidity in signed word order, with a focus on visual and key elements of a story, through the use of signing space, movement, CAs, DSs and NMFs
PRO1 SWIM CA:EXERTION AND DETERMINATION, BUT WIN? DS:HEAD-SHAKE NO
I swam really hard but didn’t win.
- identifying examples of DSs in an Auslan text, and recognising and using handshape and movement to represent different things in each type of DS, for example, entity DSs, handling DSs and SASS DSs
- using CA to represent the words, thoughts or actions of different characters in a text, for example, shifting from one role into another through eye-gaze change, role shift, head orientation change, and matching facial expressions
recognising that in many clauses, signers ‘tell’ with fully-lexical signs at the same time as ‘show’ with CAs, DSs and other gestural elements, for example, using CAs to depict a child tapping her mother, signing WATER PLEASE depicts the full meaning of The child asked her mother if she could have some water.
- using directional and locational indicating verbs and noticing that verbs differ based on movement modification at the start of a sign, the end of a sign, or both
joining clauses and creating cohesion by using conjunctions such as PLUS, ALSO, IF or BUT
recognising that clauses can be linked equally or unequally, where one clause depends on another, for example,
STUDENT BORED, TRY FOCUS
The student was bored and tried to focus.
versus
FS:IF BORED, OPEN-BOOK READ
If you are bored, read a book.
giving information about how a verb happens over time by changing the movement, for example, signing WATCH versus WATCH DS:SLOW-REPEAT watch again and again
recognising that quantifiers such as FEW or LOTS, MANY, TOO MUCH, are also types of adjective signs, while also recognising that multiples can be expressed through reduplication, for example, CATS CATS (moving sign in across the signing space) to express ‘lots of cats everywhere!’
using adverbs to modify adjectives using NMFs, for example, REALLY or VERY, whereby changes in mouth patterns and movement of signs can intensify adjectives, for example,
RED NMF:EYES-WIDENING
bright red
PLEASE NMF:SMILING-HEAD-NODDING
Please! (with emphasis)
TALL NMF:EYES-WIDENING
sooo tall
distinguishing between the citation form of a noun, verb and the overlaid adverbial NMFs, and the meaning each part carries, for example, MAN SPRINT (base form), MAN SPRINT NMF:INTENSITY (manner added)
compare Auslan structures and features with those of English, using some familiar metalanguage
keeping a class poster to record the different ways that English words are borrowed in Auslan, for example, the use of fully fingerspelled words such as FS:NOUN, the fingerspelling of the first letter of the corresponding English words, such as F for Friday, or abbreviations of English words, such as state names FS:SA, FS:TAS
- building metalanguage to comment on grammar and vocabulary, for example, comparing adverbs used to express emotions in Auslan, such as raising an eyebrow to show questioning or lowering the eyebrows to show surprise, with equivalent English terms
- recording and using metalanguage to share similarities and differences in structure and language features in Auslan and English texts, for example, a recount or a narrative in both languages
creating class lists of fingerspelled words which have become lexicalised, such as HOW, CHOC, IF, BUT and ABOUT, and looking at how this process has changed the form of words over time, for example,
MOTHER = MX2
FATHER = FX2
PARENTS = M-F
FRIDAY = F
TOILET = TX2
using different NMFs, eye gazing and mannerism to distinguish between minimal pairs in Auslan, and comparing with minimal pairs in English, for example, in Auslan, BATH and EXCITED have a handshape difference to change the meaning of each sign compared with, in English, the one-letter difference in the minimal pairs pin and pun
- observing Auslan signers, recording and describing examples of their use of space and features, such as topographic space, diagrammatic space and viewer space
- researching and presenting a report or poster on the origins of Auslan and its influence, and including possible influences today, for example, expressions related to social media or expressions that have come from alternative versions of sign language such as ASL and BSL
Understanding the interrelationship of language, culture and identity
recognise that language reflects cultural practices, values and identity, and that this impacts on communication
- identifying markers of social and cultural identity that are significant in the Deaf community, for example, using expressive movements to emphasise deafness and associated identity
- building a personal profile of their own journey as a member of the Deaf community, including, for example, school, youth camps, social networking through Deaf sports and Deaf events, and recognising Deaf Gain in relation to their personal identity
- understanding the importance of the Deaf way’, such as relying on visual cues to determine and predict what is happening in their environment and comparing how this is achieved in a hearing world, for example, understanding what is happening at the train station after there has been an audio announcement regarding scheduling changes
- exploring, in Auslan or English, how First Nations Australians’ languages and cultures are expressed, and considering similarities and differences in the cultural expressions of the Deaf community
- investigating and presenting an aspect of Deaf history, for example, the achievements and influences of Thomas Pattison, FJ Rose or William Thomson
- creating a poster for the school library about the tools and strategies used to navigate the hearing world, for example, outlining the technologies and software applications used to improve accessibility and inclusivity in communication, such as a speech to text app, closed/open/live captioning software, and bluetooth streaming technology
- presenting in a school assembly the importance of sustaining and maintaining Auslan
identifying cultural aspects of deaf and hearing culture, such as differences between the use of personal names in Auslan and other languages, for example, the fact that Auslan signers often use ellipsis or indicative verbs instead
DRINK WANT? = use of ellipsis
Does she want a drink?
ASK (sign moves in direction of referent) = use of indicative verb
Ask her.