FL 5-6 Strand - Communicating meaning in Auslan

Interacting in Auslan

initiate and sustain exchanges related to students’ experiences and opinions of their personal worlds and school environment

AC9L1AU6C01

  • 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

AC9L1AU6C02

  • 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

AC9L1AU6C03

  • 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

AC9L1AU6C04

  • 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

AC9L1AU6C05

  • 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
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