Years 9-10 Auslan Syllabus
Years 9-10 Syllabus
Years 9-10 Band Level Description
In Years 9 and 10, Auslan learning builds on each student’s prior learning and experiences. Students use Auslan to initiate and sustain interactions that communicate their own and others’ experiences of the world. They sign and view to communicate with users of Auslan through community and online events. They access and create signed, visual and multimodal texts, increasingly of their own choosing. They continue to receive guidance, feedback and support.
Students access an increasing range of authentic and purpose-developed resources which may include feature articles, social media, television programs, textbooks and video clips. They expand their knowledge and control of Auslan signs, structures and features. They acknowledge that there are diverse influences on ways of communication and cultural identity, and that these influences can shape their own behaviours, beliefs and values.
Year 9-10 Achievement Standard
By the end of Year 10, students contribute to and extend interactions in Auslan in increasingly unfamiliar contexts related to a wide range of interests and issues. They interpret and respond to texts by evaluating and synthesising information, ideas and perspectives. They show understanding of how features of language can be used to influence audience response. They create texts, selecting and manipulating language for a range of contexts, purposes and audiences. They use complex structures to enhance meaning and cohesion.
Students apply features and conventions of Auslan and adjust signing to extend fluency. They demonstrate understanding of the conventions of texts and the connections between them. They apply knowledge of language structures and features to make and predict meaning. They support analysis of Auslan texts, using metalanguage. They reflect on their own cultural perspectives and identity, and draw on their experience of learning Auslan to evaluate how this learning influences their ideas and ways of communicating.
Content Descriptions
Interacting in Auslan
initiate, sustain and extend exchanges in familiar and unfamiliar contexts related to students’ own and others’ experiences of the world, adjusting their language in response to others
- explaining or justifying positions in discussion or debate, for example, by using space and NMFs to contrast views
- elaborating on opinions in relation to social, community or educational matters, for example, exchanging views on a newspaper article about deaf people
- using researched information to contribute to formal group interactions, for example, panel discussions on issues such as the roles and responsibilities of interpreters
creating hypothetical situations to contextualise a discussion or debate, for example,
FS:IF PRO2 BOSS WILL CHANGE WHAT?
What would you change if you were boss?
using strategies to initiate and support discussion such as by providing the context of a conversation to a new participant, for example,
PRO3 SAY …
She was saying that …
demonstrating awareness of social sensitivities or conventions, for example, by using euphemistic signs or allusions for concepts such as TOILET, BIRTH
- discussing current affairs or justifying a position in relation to issues of interest to their group, such as conservation, gender equity or social media
making connections between ideas, actions and effects, using reflective language, for example,
SOMETIMES POSSIBLE HAPPEN WHY? FS:IF PRO2 PAST THINK (CONTEMPLATE) WILL TRUE HAPPEN
Sometimes things happen because you think they will, so it comes true.
CAR CRASH BECAUSE TEXTING
The car crashed because he was texting.
using secure digital format demonstrating culturally appropriate behaviours when engaging with unfamiliar members of the Deaf community, for example, waiting to be introduced to new people, knowing how to introduce themselves as L2 Auslan learners, for example, HELLO MY NAME …, Hello my name is …, PRO1 LEARN AUSLAN. I learn Auslan, POSS1 TEACHER WHO? (SIGN NAME or FS), What is my teachers name?
- contributing to discussions that consider different perspectives on selected issues, for example, differences in views on Deaf education, the environment, or the influence of social media on their lives
- signing announcements, instructions, advice or information in relation to an event or emergency
- demonstrating moving body position to navigate lines of sight for a communication exchange such as light pressure of hand to shoulder to push student to lean back so students in the row can see the person signing
contribute to discussions that involve diverse views to negotiate outcomes, address issues and compare experiences
- managing shared learning experiences that involve differences in opinion or cultural perspectives such as a class debate about climate change, or homework being compulsory
- navigating multistep directions and decisions in pairs or small groups in learning activities that offer alternatives or choices, such as creating a website, or the process of applying for a learners permit for driving
- negotiating hypothetical scenarios involving members of the Deaf community to highlight issues associated with diversity, culture and identity, for example, experience in domains such as education or sport
- planning and promoting cultural events such as a cake stall, or a school performance at a Deaf festival or advertising the activities during the National Week of Deaf People
- planning action on an issue, such as captioning and funding support for Deaf organisations or organising a campaign to celebrate diversity
- organising real or simulated transactions that involve financial or service exchanges, for example, planning the budget and food items for catering for an Auslan class celebration, or ordering books or digital resources for the school library
- negotiating how to best promote participation in community programs such as volunteering at the local Child Daycare Centre or Aged Care facility
Mediating meaning in and between languages
evaluate and synthesise information, ideas and perspectives in a broad range of signed, visual and multimodal texts and respond appropriately to cultural context, purpose and audience
- accessing information from a variety of signed sources to inform class discussions on current issues concerning the Deaf and their local community
- reviewing signed texts about a social or cultural issue of relevance to their peer group, and creating questions to prompt evaluative responses from their peers
- researching signed information about significant movements associated with Deaf rights across different times and contexts, such as the Milan Congress and Deaf President Now, and using information to present a signed comparison, review or evaluation
- reading or viewing First Nations Australians’ stories in English or Auslan, and creating a profile of them in Auslan
- viewing signed documentaries, interviews or speeches and commenting on how presentation of information can shape opinion and provide different perspectives
- searching the internet for examples of work by Deaf dancers, musicians or performers of physical theatre and discussing effectiveness of performance in relation to entertainment, emotion or skill, for example, performances by Bernard Bragg, Evelyn Glennie or Elvin Lam
- responding to forms of Deaf art that challenge perceptions and stimulate discussion, and writing a summary of viewpoints
- comparing responses to creative texts that present personal or controversial points of view in powerful ways, for example, Deaf slam poetry performances
- responding to signed poems that use extended metaphor to communicate values and ideas or to express emotional experience, for example, ‘Butterfly hands’ by Walter Kadiki
- analysing information contained in different signed texts produced by or about the Deaf community, or issues that concern young people, identifying examples of bias and distinguishing between fact and opinion
- responding to animations created by or about deaf people and discussing the effectiveness of conveying all parameters of signing
- reading 2 reviews of the same deaf theatre performance and comparing the different interpretations in a digital summary
- researching aspects of available interpreting services in the area, for example, qualifications required for employment, ethical considerations, the impact of interpreting and translating accuracy in specialised contexts, and presenting information in a multimodal format
interpret and translate signed, spoken, visual and written interactions and texts to convey intercultural understanding in familiar and unfamiliar contexts
- experimenting with literal Auslan translations of popular English idioms such as hit the hay, noticing when this creates confusion, and recognising the nature and function of cultural elements of communication and their impact on language use
- comparing different translations of online Auslan and English public announcements or government policy/information texts in terms of approaches to translation, for example, free versus literal translation
- comparing individual translations with a back-translation by a peer, and reviewing useful references such as an online Auslan dictionary
- considering why one language may use more words/signs than another to communicate a particular meaning or concept, for example, Auslan uses spatial concepts or DSs to describe the scenes, which may take longer to explain in a spoken language
- translating songs, poems or short stories from English into Auslan, for example, ‘I am Australian’, recognising challenges in transferring meaning, expression, culture or mood
- evaluating video annotation software options as a tool to assist in the transcription and analysis of signed languages, and provide a summary of the pros and cons of the software
- creating a bilingual glossary by recording various Auslan phrases and expressions used by Auslan signers, and attaching English captions with appropriate translations, for example, PAH! (finally), BA-BA (bizarre)
- creating collaborative translations of Auslan texts or captioning selected signed texts
- exploring the role and function of Deaf interpreters and the differences between Deaf interpreters and Auslan-English interpreters
- glossing a text, including identifying which signs are used, and transcribing CAs and DSs
Creating text in Auslan
create and present informative and imaginative texts for diverse contexts and purposes, selecting vocabulary, expressions, grammatical structures and a range of features and conventions, to engage different audiences
- creating a film clip, vlog, signed post or a brochure, with tips and strategies to assist in learning Auslan
- creating persuasive texts such as vlogs or advertisements, for example, to convince others of the value and relevance of learning Auslan or to promote a social stance on an issue important to the students
- creating a video report of a significant event in Deaf history, such as the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- reflecting in Auslan on the impact of a visit to a significant cultural First Nations Country/Place location, and, with permission, referring to cultural knowledge of the site
- creating and presenting explanations about simple biological or mechanical phenomena or processes, such as how the ear, hearing aids and cochlear implants work, or how a car engine works
- creating a handshape story using a base formation such as point handshape to sign a short story exclusively using only that one handshape
- creating a piece of art such as a sculpture, collage or film clip that reflects their experience of learning about a significant world event
- creating a bilingual Auslan-English virtual tour of the school for use on a school website
- developing a signed and captioned film presentation about the role of interpreters in school or about significant members of the Deaf community such as Colin Allen, Dr Breda Carty or Dr Robert Adam
- creating a signed interpretation of a wordless animation to entertain younger students, for example, short cartoon clips with no volume
- creating and presenting a signed monologue of an exciting or humorous real or imagined event
- creating an imaginative interaction incorporating communicative styles and social behaviours observed in Auslan texts, for example, a digital persona or avatar in a fantasy world, or imagining they are the ‘characters’ in a painting and creating a scenario and dialogue
Understanding systems of language
apply features and conventions of sign production to extend fluency when responding to and creating texts in familiar and unfamiliar contexts
- using 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
- understanding that the elements of a sign can be arbitrary, such as the handshape or movement of the sign WHY, or they can be meaningful, such as the handshape and movement of the sign GIVE
- 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, I've been waiting a loooooong time for you
- modifying dominant and non-dominant hands for effect or use one hand only to convey the same meaning as the original 2-hand sign
- understanding the need to modify pace for emphasis in familiar and unfamiliar texts, such as narrating exciting events in a story
- applying fingerspelling restricted to proper nouns and DSs used more frequently to convey meaning
- capturing non-citation forms of signs in a text, such as KNOW, and understanding reasons why such signs may be reduced or displaced for efficiency in conversation
- identifying and describing metaphorical iconicity, for example, LOVE, AVOID/RESIST, and discussing how it relates to metaphors in English
- 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 one letter difference in the minimal pairs ‘pin’ and ‘pun’ in English
- noticing limitations on production and perception of signed languages, such as staying seated or standing in one location compared with a wider use of space and movement of whole body and feet for mime
apply knowledge of grammatical structures and features to predict meaning and compose texts that contain some complex structures and ideas
- using signs that function as interjections or discourse markers, such as WHAT? or THEN, FS:SO, ANYWAY
- experimenting with referents in signing space such as character space, for example, using a BC handshape (use of non-dominant hand) to indicate putting a glass on a table, using 5-claw in 2 locations to represent 2 houses
- 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
- producing reciprocal forms of some indicating signs, such as LOOK, GIVE and INVITE, in conjunction with CA elements
- using modal verbs and NMFs to express possibility, obligation and ability, such as MIGHT, WILL and SHOULD
- applying the different types of verb modification, such as spatial and directional, number of referents, the action over time, manner and intensification
- understanding and using conditional forms with a main and dependent clause and associated NMFs, for example,
TOMORROW FS:IF RAIN NMF:EYEBROWS RAISED FOOTBALL CANCEL
If it rains tomorrow the football will be cancelled. - applying knowledge of how meaning or emphasis in phrases can be changed by reordering clauses or parts of clauses, understanding that the presence of CAs or DSs affects how a clause is structured
reflect on and evaluate Auslan texts, using metalanguage to analyse language structures and features
- presenting examples of Auslan signs that have changed over time due to changing experiences, for example, the sign for APPRENTICE modified to refer to TAFE
- analysing specific types of text by identifying characteristic language features, for example, storytelling will contain more CAs and DSs than a formal presentation to the class
- comparing how a range of emotions can be described through NMFs in Auslan narratives and through facial expressions in written English narratives
- reviewing a videoed class debate to see how language is used to justify opinions and persuade others, in Auslan and English texts
- conducting an in-depth analysis of a selected signed text, taking into account audience, purpose and topic to explain language choices made by the signer, for example, a persuasive text about the benefits of buying a second-hand car as a novice driver, rather than a new car
- noticing how signers can compare or contrast ideas by locating things in the same or opposing signing space in Auslan to illustrate similarities and differences, and noting how this is handled in English
- analysing the ways in which Auslan uses NMFs to link clauses and achieve textual cohesion, and compare with devices used in English to achieve similar cohesion
- observing and comparing the features of poetry in Auslan and English in a familiar text, documenting the similarities and differences in rhythm, pace, stress and overall expression between the languages
- evaluating how their knowledge and understanding of metalanguage has broadened through the study of Auslan and presenting their reflections is a signed monologue to teacher and peers
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
- using photographs or digital images to create stories with elements that influence identity, such as diversity, disability, ethnicity or gender
- sharing personal stories of deaf people and considering the impact of additional factors in individual stories, such as the impact of exclusion and inclusion in the wider community and in the Deaf community
- presenting to the class or school assembly, how attitudes and values in the wider community have changed towards Auslan in recent years, and the reasons for this evolution in perception and increased positive profile
- 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
- developing a survey of deaf people’s perspectives on the significance of Deaf places that contribute to a shared sense of identity, for example, the Deaf Club, Deaf schools or sites of historic significance
- analysing notions of Deaf Gain and Deafhood, and reflecting on how these concepts apply to students as second-language learners of Auslan, considering how a first-language user of Auslan may experience Deaf Gain and Deafhood
- researching and evaluating the work of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) in supporting the Deaf community in developing countries, and the projects that have impacted on local attitudes and values towards sign languages, deaf people and Deaf culture
- reflecting on how deaf people around the world build shared-group identity, for example, through international community gatherings such as WFD Congresses, World Association of Sign Language Interpreters (WASLI) conferences, or sporting events such as the Deaflympics, and how these contribute to language building, language preservation and greater awareness of signed languages
- investigating successful enterprises and businesses initiated by Deaf people or communities and considering how they support a positive perception of Deaf people and their achievements
- discussing the concept of ‘language health’ and how it applies to Auslan, for example, designing a chart of relevant factors such as social, economic or historical status, demography, and institutional support such as media, government or educational support