Skip to the main content

FL 9-10 Strand - Understanding language and culture

Understanding systems of language

apply features and conventions of sign production to extend fluency in response to a range of contexts, purposes and audiences

AC9L1AU10U01

  • applying path movements of signs, such as primary-path and local movements and secondary-repeated local movements during a path movement or when a hand is staying still
  • using subtle NMFs to convey meaning effectively, such as a slightly raised eyebrow or quick eye-gaze change in a role-play or in narrating an event
  • applying variation in handshapes and one-handed, 2-handed and double-handed signs
  • identifying and keeping a class record of how signs are classed into 3 categories: manual, non-manual, multi-channel
  • modifying pace and signing space for emphasis in different contexts such as a large group presentation or small group to share a secret
  • applying signs with different levels of iconicity, for example, those that are fully transparent, translucent or arbitrary
  • using different types of fingerspelling depending on the context, purpose and audience, for example, tactile fingerspelling and international forms of fingerspelling
  • exploring best-practice strategies for capturing partly-lexicalised signs for digital or online dictionaries or resources

  • applying knowledge of iconicity in signed languages, for example, how the path movement of a verb can show the timing of an action, for example,

    PRO1 WAIT DS:FAST-REPEAT PRO2,

    observing that English can do the same with changes to the length of words, for example, Ive been waiting a loooooong time for you

  • explaining the use of mouth morphemes to add meaning to a discourse, by commenting on a recorded interview in Auslan or signed news bulletin
  • analysing and discussing a signer’s use of pausing in a signed description or information report and how it can modify the meaning of a signed phrase

Personal and social capability

apply knowledge of grammatical structures and features to predict meaning and compose a range of texts that contain complex structures and ideas

AC9L1AU10U02

  • applying signs as interjections or discourse markers, including fillers and conjunctions, for example, using spread handshape to pause, hold or replace voicing um or the sign COINCIDENCE

  • describing how short, signed texts use space – real space, topographic space, abstract space, viewer space and diagrammatic space – and recognising locations for present referents, non-present referents or abstract referents that do not exist in space
  • developing the use of composite utterances, that is, those that have elements of CAs, DSs, points and fully-lexical signs in the same utterance
  • identifying instances of DSs and their type, such as entity, handling or SASSs in increasingly complex Auslan texts and using these in own creation of texts
  • using appropriate CAs according to the context in an example of constructed dialogue
  • applying the different types of verb modification, such as spatial and directional, number of referents, the action over time, manner and intensification
  • understanding how verb modifications work as part of referential cohesion, for example, a signer establishes one referent on the left and then looks that way

  • applying modal verbs and NMFs to express possibility, obligation and ability, for example, MIGHT and SHOULD

  • applying knowledge of how meaning or emphasis in phrases can be changed by reordering clauses or parts of clauses

Literacy

Personal and social capability

reflect on and evaluate Auslan texts, using metalanguage to analyse language structures and features

AC9L1AU10U03

  • investigating and presenting to the class, examples of Auslan signs that have changed over time due to changing experiences, for example, the sign for APPRENTICE modified to refer to TAFE

  • observing and explaining how the words, thoughts or actions of a protagonist in a text are represented in English and comparing this with the use of CAs in Auslan

  • comparing some of the ways that modifications to verbs occur in an Auslan and English text, such as using DSs in Auslan to indicate durational or habitual aspects and comparing with English, for example, WORK DS:FAST-REPEAT work for a long time or GO-TO DS:FAST-REPEAT go regularly

  • comparing how a range of emotions can be described through NMFs in Auslan narratives and through facial expressions in written English narratives
  • reflecting on why people might adapt language according to situation of use, such as when signing to a large audience, the use of one hand or 2, clarity of sign production, size of signing space, pace, NMFs, pauses and amount of fingerspelling
  • presenting a report or creating a chart to show how Auslan has been influenced by the use of Signed English in education settings, and cultural attitudes towards Signed English
  • analysing a signed text for examples of character and observer space, and describing why the signer has chosen that viewpoint
  • evaluating how their knowledge and understanding of metalanguage has broadened through the study of Auslan and presenting their reflections in a signed monologue to teacher and peers

Critical and creative thinking

Intercultural understanding

Understanding the interrelationship of language, culture and identity

reflect on and evaluate how identity is shaped by language(s), culture(s), attitudes, beliefs and values, and how these affect ways of communicating

AC9L1AU10U04

  • reflecting on experiences of moving between Auslan and English, comparing how this feels and considering changes in their sense of identity when communicating in either language

  • identifying changes to Auslan that reflect positive changes in community attitudes towards Deaf people, for example, in relation to words/signs such as DISABILITY, HEARING^IMPAIRED/FS:HOH, DEAF^COMMUNITY, HUMAN^RIGHT

  • reflecting on their experience of living and communicating in general society and how they interpret visual language using ‘Deaf eyes’
  • reflecting on and explaining the protocols required to authentically co-create an Acknowledgement of Country/Place with a First Nations Australian, to present in Auslan to a group of Auslan-using visitors at a school assembly
  • preparing a presentation to promote an Auslan or Deaf culture event, for example, NWDP, Deaf Festival, Australian Deaf Games or Deaf art exhibitions, and explaining how these help shape identity
  • reflecting on the labels ‘Deaf/deaf/hard of hearing’ and ‘hearing’, considering what they mean to different people and their implications in terms of status, access, opportunity and privilege
  • researching and preparing a presentation for the class or school assembly on the behaviours, rights, roles and responsibilities of the Deaf community in relation to ownership and maintenance of Auslan
  • creating a poster or set of instructions on the protocols for interacting with sign language interpreters in various contexts in and out of school

Critical and creative thinking

Intercultural understanding

Back to top of page