Years 7-8 Auslan Syllabus
Years 7-8 Syllabus
Years 7-8 Band Level Description
In Years 7 and 8, Auslan learning builds on each student’s prior learning and experiences. Students use Auslan, in person or via secure digital access, to interact and collaborate within and beyond the classroom. They sign and view to exchange information, ideas and opinions about their world. They work increasingly independently and in groups, and continue to receive feedback and support.
Students access signed, visual and multimodal texts from an increasing range of authentic sources, which may include advertisements, articles, stories and video clips. They may source texts and other resources from the Deaf community to share with peers. They use their Auslan and/or English literacy knowledge of metalanguage in an increasing range of contexts to reflect on similarities and differences between Auslan and English language structures and features. They recognise that language choices reflect cultural identity, beliefs and values.
Years 7-8 Achievement Standard
By the end of Year 8, students initiate and maintain interactions in Auslan in familiar and unfamiliar contexts related to a range of experiences and perspectives. They use Auslan to negotiate solutions and adjust language in response to others. They interpret and analyse information, ideas and opinions in texts. They demonstrate understanding of similarities and differences between languages and in cultural contexts, by reorganising responses to suit context, purpose and audience. They select and use features of signing, structures and expressions, manipulating language to create texts.
Students apply the conventions of signing to enhance fluency. They demonstrate understanding that signed, visual and multimodal texts use different language conventions, structures and features to convey meaning. They explain structures and features of Auslan text, using metalanguage. They reflect on how Auslan language, culture and identity are interconnected, and compare this with their own language(s), culture(s) and identity.
Content Descriptions
Interacting in Auslan
initiate and sustain exchanges in familiar and unfamiliar contexts related to students’ experiences, feelings and opinions, adjusting their language in response to others
- using consistent patterning of fingerspelling for proper nouns and lexicalised fingerspelling, with DSs used more frequently to convey meaning
participating in conversations with peers, using strategies to sustain interactions such as turn-taking, and asking for repetition, clarification or confirmation, for example,
WHAT? PLEASE AGAIN
Could you repeat that, please?
STILL GO-AHEAD
Go ahead …
SO PRO2 SAY PRO1 FIX THAT?
So, you want me to fix that?
using persuasive language and NMFs to discuss topics of interest or present points of view, for example,
PRO1 THINK SCHOOL UNIFORM GOOD BECAUSE ALL STUDENT ALIKE FEEL MATTER-NOT RICH POOR ALIKE
I think school uniforms are good because they keep students equal, and it doesn’t matter if they are rich or poor.
encouraging peers to join a conversation, using strategies to initiate and sustain discussion by providing the context of a conversation, for example,
PRO3 SAY …
She was saying that …
using appropriate NMFs to enhance clear communication through backchannels and exclamations, for example,
SURPRISE
Oooh (with appropriate intonation)
INCREDIBLE
No way!
UM
um …
HOLD …
Hang on a minute …
using evaluative language to acknowledge strengths in others’ arguments or to challenge others’ views in a courteous manner, for example,
YEAH, PRO2 DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. PRO1 NEVER THOUGHT
Oh yeah, that’s a different take on it. I never thought about it that way.
G:WELL YEAH, BUT PRO1 WANT ADD COMMENT
Well, yes, that’s true but I’d like to add something.
retelling events using time markers to sequence information, and using a variety of DSs to represent people, animals, transport and objects, for example,
RECENT LUNCH, WHAT HAPPENED? WELL...
What just happened at lunchtime was …
explaining or justifying an opinion using conditional statements such as if … then … or when, for example,
PT+f COURT, FS:IF DS:PLACE-PERSON DEAF PERSON INCLUDE FS:JURY DS:PANEL PT+lf, MEANS DEAF PERSON FS:DEFENDANT PT+r FEEL PANEL VIEW EQUAL EVERYONE
If there was a deaf person on the jury panel, then the defendant would feel more fairly heard.
- developing a set of instructions to encourage peers to use appropriate protocols outside the classroom with an unfamiliar audience, such as maintaining eye gaze, flashing lights, hand waving, for example, standing on a stage, waving hands to gain audience’s attention
- exchanging information appropriately in secure online interactions with deaf students from different schools, for example, using the raised hand function
collaborate in activities that involve the language of transacting, negotiating and justifying, to plan projects and events
- working with others to solve simple unfamiliar tasks such as how to use video editing, online dictionaries and/or captioning programs
- collecting specific information from peers, with restrictions such as a time limit or banned signs, for example, sign 5 questions in 30 seconds, then recall the responses
negotiating roles, responsibilities and priorities in activities that involve 2 or more people, providing justifications, for example,
PRO2 LOOK-AFTER DRONE WHY? GOOD TECHNICAL
You look after the drone because you’re good at technical things.
working with a peer to explain the rules of a sport or board game, or instructions on caring for animals using 3 types of signed statements, for example,
TODAY PRO1 EXPLAIN RULES
Today I will explain the rules.
MUST CAREFUL FEED
You must be careful when feeding.
IF SUGAR NONE TASTE NMF:SOUR-EXPRESSION
If you don’t add sugar, it will taste sour.
- participating in improvisation games that require spontaneous and imaginative responses to a stimulus
- discussing and planning what to include in instructional or procedural texts that demonstrate and explain school activities, for example, how to buy or order food for lunch
giving and following sequenced directions that involve the use of DSs, for example,
SEE DS:WAVY-SURFACE KNOW WHERE SCRATCH? FS:SAND POLISH MORE DS:THICK-TO-THIN MM(TWO) SMOOTH
See where the surface is uneven? You sand that back 2 mm and it gets smooth.
- participating in visits or virtual interactions with members of a Deaf club or organisation and sharing key features of the visual elements used to convey information, such as variation in signs and DSs
Mediating meaning in and between languages
interpret and analyse information, ideas and opinions in a range of signed, visual and multimodal texts, and respond appropriately to cultural context, purpose and audience
- collecting and comparing information from a variety of signed sources to inform discussions on topics of interest
- categorising information in signed texts from the Deaf community and deaf-related organisations, such as emergency announcements or information, or advocacy texts
- following more complex procedural signed texts such as directions to follow in an unfamiliar environment, for example, at a school camp or on an excursion
- reading or viewing First Nations Australian authors’ stories in English or Auslan and responding to them in Auslan
- viewing live or recorded interviews or informal conversations between Auslan users in different situations and contexts, and analysing language features such as pace and pauses, use of space, signing space and NMFs
- researching information on a selected topic such as recycling or protecting the environment, and presenting information in a persuasive signed speech designed to invite action or support
- analysing examples of signed performance poetry, identifying patterns and conventions, such as repetition of handshapes and movement paths of signs to create rhyme and to convey meaning
- evaluating Deaf performances or art forms that manipulate technology, and use colour and light to create special effects, for example, in performances by Ian Sanborn
- comparing their interpretations of or responses to performances by Deaf comedians, storytellers or poets
interpret and adjust signed, visual and written language to convey meaning in a range of familiar and unfamiliar cultural context
- exploring the translation of popular English idioms and phrases with non-compositional meaning, for example, ‘Its raining cats and dogs’
- considering why one language may use more words/signs than another to convey meaning, for example, when Auslan uses spatial concepts or DSs
- considering approaches to interpreting, such as simultaneous or consecutive, and the uses of each approach
- analysing the translation of Auslan poems or short stories into English captions, with a focus on how people’s appearance and movements are described
- exploring the role of Deaf interpreters and differences between Deaf interpreters and hearing Auslan-English interpreters and how they use NMFs to depict aspect and manner
- exploring different types of communicating and interpreting, such as the use of tactile signing, haptics and visual frames
- analysing how elements of creative performance, such as translation choices, are communicated through interpreters in a live setting such as music concerts or theatre events
- transcribing part of a text using glossing, including the signs and NMFs used
Creating text in Auslan
create and present signed, visual and multimodal, informative and imaginative texts, manipulating language to suit context, purpose and audience
- developing a digital signed presentation of a typical school or weekend day in their life to present to a class of younger students learning Auslan
- creating a filmed and captioned bilingual text that informs the school community about important issues in the Deaf community or about local events
- presenting a biographical report about a prominent deaf person, using visual prompts such as a slideshow to describe their life and achievements, incorporating some commentary and personal opinion
- creating an advertisement in Auslan to promote travel to a significant cultural First Nations Country/Place location, including what to see and do
- providing instructions in an engaging or entertaining style, utilising clear use of space, to create interest in an activity such as a game or a recipe
- composing and presenting a handshape or signed poem on a selected theme such as friendship or love
- responding to stimuli such as an image or a statement to improvise a short response or skit
- creating and presenting a signed interpretation of an animation using CAs to represent entities shifting between close and distant focus
- creating the visual or written text of a signed role-play for a simulated visit to a restaurant and recording the role-play to share with peers
- composing a signed scenario or short story involving a favourite television or film character to present during Book Week
- creating a short film or skit adding CAs, DSs and lexical signs, moving between ‘showing’ and ‘telling’ information, and exploiting the visual-spatial properties of Auslan
Understanding systems of language
apply knowledge of conventions of sign production to enhance fluency, and respond to and create texts in familiar and unfamiliar contexts
identifying and applying movements of signs, such as local and path movements, for example,
local movement – HAVE, path movement – DAY (sideways)
- applying the various types and functions of NMFs, such as movements of the eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, shoulders and body
- using DSs that represent a whole object or part of an object such as the body or the legs
- modifying dominant and non-dominant hands for effect or using one hand only to convey the same meaning as the original 2-hand sign
- understanding and applying the need to modify pace for emphasis, in familiar and unfamiliar texts, such as when recounting an exciting event
understanding that the elements of a sign can be arbitrary, such as the handshape or movement of the sign WHY, or that the handshape and movement may be meaningful, such as in the sign GIVE
- applying the fluid patterns of fingerspelling rather than speed, and the use of exaggerated fingerspelling for emphasis, for example, when clarifying a name
- recognising that Auslan has fully-lexical signs that may be found in the dictionary, and standard HOLM and partly-lexical signs that cannot be listed in a dictionary in all forms, for example, when gesture changes the form each time they are signed
- comparing the production of a signed discourse with and without mouth morphemes
apply understanding of grammatical structures and expressions to compose and respond to a range of texts
- applying various types of clauses such as questions, topicalised sentences, negation or conditionals and recognising that these often co-occur with particular NMFs
- identifying the ways that signers add spatial elements to communication, for example, using DSs from a viewers perspective to refer to the same referent throughout a text
- applying the knowledge of where and how DSs are used, through close and distant focus, to move from one frame of reference to another, for example, zooming in or showing the whole scene
- describing real or imagined experiences at a different time, using CAs to shift from one role into another, through eye-gaze change, body shift, head orientation change, and matching facial expressions
- applying citation form of plain verbs and indicating that verbs change when depicting more than 2 people
- recognising that nouns can be pluralised by locating them repeatedly, regardless of their original location
using both directional and locational indicating verbs, for example, GIVE PRO3 and GIVE PRO1; and OPERATION (cochlear implant versus appendix operation)
intensifying adjectives using NMFs, for example, signing HOT with great emphasis and depicting wide-eyed expression for EXTREMELY HOT, or signing TOUGH with great exertion to show VERY TOUGH
knowing that, typically, signers use DSs to show spatial relationships/prepositions, not separate signs such as ON or UNDER
using conjunctions such as PLUS, IF or BUT to create cohesion in a narrative, recount or procedural text
identifying when and how some verbs and nouns use the same sign but change the movement in a regular way making noun-verb pairs, such as SCISSORS versus CUT-WITH-SCISSORS
reflect on similarities and differences between Auslan and English language structures and features, using metalanguage
recording and sharing examples of how languages expand to include new signs and expressions due to influences such as technologies and digital media, for example, COMPUTER, MOUSE (COMPUTER), INTERNET, WI-FI, SELFIE
- discussing how signers can compare or contrast ideas by locating things in the same or opposing sides of signing space, and how this compares with English
evaluating the production of reciprocal forms of some indicating signs, such as LOOK, GIVE and INVITE, and comparing this with how it is expressed in English
- developing a chart or poster comparing DSs with English adjectives, such as a small, sleek, new car or a large, battered, old ute
- comparing Auslan and English dictionaries and how each language is represented, for example, nouns, adjectives and verbs
- explaining how sign languages borrow from each other due to technology, for example, signs that refer to different nations, states and cities around the globe, and the ASL vehicle handshape in DSs
- comparing commonly used metalanguage in Auslan and English, and explaining similarities and differences in the terms used
- using metalanguage to communicate about features of Auslan, such as talking about the use of fingerspelling, CAs, DSs and NMFs
comparing expressions of periods and sequences of time in Auslan and English, for example,
FORWARD WEEK(TWO)
In 2 weeks
LONG-AGO
A long time ago
FIRST-LAST
First to last
Understanding the interrelationship of language, culture and identity
reflect on and explain how identity is shaped by language(s), culture(s), attitudes, beliefs and values, and how these impact on communication
- reflecting on identity and their experience of sign language use when growing up
- discussing examples of how increased use of Auslan has positively changed mainstream society’s understanding and perception of the Deaf community
- reflecting on the concepts of Deaf Gain, Deafhood and different perspectives of various people in the Deaf community.
- reflecting on how First Nations Australians’ languages have strong connections to Country/Place and how these can be compared with language variation and sense of place and space in the Deaf community
- considering cultural explanations for conversational strategies used by Auslan signers to avoid conflict and to maintain privacy, for example, changing signing space and style, using indirect language such as signing lower or under the table, or fingerspelling instead of signing
- creating an annotated timeline of key events in the education of deaf children, such as the Milan Congress in 1880 and the Signed English movement in the 1970s and 1980s, and presenting on how the attitudes, identity and values of Auslan were influenced and shaped
- discussing the diversity of the Australian population, including Auslan users who are deaf, hard of hearing, Deafblind and/or a child of deaf adults (CODA)
- researching and presenting profiles of deaf people who have been recognised in wider Australian society such as Dr Alastair McEwin AM or Drisana Levitzke-Gray, and identifying how such recognition contributes to broader awareness and value of Auslan
- analysing ways in which deaf people’s jokes and humorous narratives reflect cultural values about deaf/hearing relationships and how deaf people navigate the world
- explaining ways in which deaf people interpret cultural meanings of sound and reactions to sound, for example, a door slamming
- reflecting on how international sign choice is established, for example, for congresses such as World Federation of the Deaf (WFD), the number of participants from different language families is taken into account