FL 7-8 Content Descriptions - Communicating meaning in Auslan

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

AC9L1AU8C01

  • 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

AC9L1AU8C02

  • 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

AC9L1AU8C03

  • 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

AC9L1AU8C04

  • 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

AC9L1AU8C05

  • 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
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