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SL 7-8 Content Descriptions - Communicating meaning in Auslan

Content Descriptions

Interacting in Auslan

interact with others using modelled language to exchange information in familiar contexts about self and personal worlds

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  • using fingerspelling for their name and the names of others, and sign names where appropriate, and patterning for commonly fingerspelled short words

  • exchanging greetings, thanks and apologies, adjusting language to suit context, for example, HELLO, GOODBYE, HOW-ARE-YOU? PLEASED-MEET, SEE-LATER, GOOD-LUCK, THANKS, SORRY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CONGRATULATIONS, DEAF, HEARING? MY NAME …, WHERE-FROM?

  • sharing information about themselves, family, friends and peers, for example,

    PRO3 HAVE DOG(ONE) CATS(TWO)

    He has a dog and 2 cats.

    THAT BABY POSS2 SISTER?

    Is that baby your sister?

    PRO1 LIVE WITH WHO? POSS1 AUNT

    I live with my aunt.

    WHO PRO3? POSS1 FRIEND FS:MARY

    Who is she? That’s my friend, Mary.

  • asking and responding to closed questions to interact with others and using appropriate NMFs such as lowered eyebrows/head tilt, for example, PRO2 WHO, WHEN, WHERE, WHAT, HOW-OLD, HOW-MANY

  • using backchannelling such as nodding and signs when interacting with NMFs, for example,

    KNOW NMF:HEAD-NOD

    I know.

    UNDERSTAND

    I understand.

    KNOW-NOT DS:HEAD-SHAKE

    I don’t know.

  • expressing feelings using lexical signs and affective NMFs, for example,

    PRO1 FRUSTRATED

    I’m frustrated.

    PRO3 EXCITED

    She’s excited.

  • asking for repetition, help, clarification or permission, for example,

    PLEASE SLOW SIGN?

    Could you sign that slowly please?

    PLEASE REPEAT

    Please repeat.

    PLEASE PT+c HELP?

    Can you help me, please?

    G:HANDS-UP PLEASE PRO1 NEED TOILET

    Can I go to the toilet please?

    THANK-YOU PT+C HELP

    Thank you for helping me.

  • asking and responding to questions about familiar topics such as shared school experiences, for example,

    PRO2 LIKE AUSLAN?

    Do you like Auslan?

    SUBJECT PRO2 STUDY WHAT?

    And you, what subjects do you study?

    SCHOOL, PRO2 LIKE?

    Do you like school?

  • using DSs and lexical signs to represent people, animals, transport and objects, showing locations and movement when interacting

    POSS1 SISTER TALL DS:LONG-WAVY-HAIR

    My sister is tall and has long wavy hair.

    MY HOUSE PT+lf FRIEND HOUSE PT+rt

    My house is over there and my friend’s house is over there.

  • expressing likes, dislikes, preferences, agreement and disagreement, using negation and associated NMFs, for example,

    PRO1 LIKE WATERMELON. LIKE-NOT ORANGE

    I like watermelon; I don’t like oranges.

    MATH OR ENGLISH? RATHER MATH PT+c

    I prefer maths to English.

    PRO2 LIKE RUGBY? PRO1 DISAGREE. SOCCER BETTER

    You like rugby? I think soccer is much better!

  • discussing plans using time markers such as TODAY, YESTERDAY, TOMORROW, NEXT-WEEK, LAST-WEEK, NUMBER OF WEEKS, WEEKEND

    REGULAR SUMMER PRO1(PL) GROUP MOVE BEACH STAY WEEK(THREE)

    We go to the beach for 3 weeks in summer.

  • sharing information about routines, interests and leisure activities

    WEEKEND PRO1 GO-TO DS:FAST-REPEAT CAMP

    I go camping on weekends.

  • exchanging information about celebrations and special events

    TOMORROW, AUSLAN DAY. PRO2 FS:DO WHAT?

    What are you doing for Auslan Day tomorrow?

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY!  YOU HOW-OLD?

    Happy birthday for yesterday! How old are you?

  • giving, accepting or declining invitations, such as

    SORRY PRO1 CANT DS:GO WHY? PRO1 HAVE BASKETBALL TRAINING

    Sorry, I can’t go because I have basketball training.

  • following appropriate classroom protocols when interacting in Auslan, for example, tapping, pointing and waving for attention, maintaining eye gaze

Literacy

Personal and social capability

engage in modelled signed and visual exchanges with peers to organise activities related to daily life and school environment

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  • giving and following instructions for class routines, for example,

    WE PLAY GAME. PLEASE STAND UP

    We’re going to play a game; please stand up.

    PT+C LOOK-AT PRO1

    Eyes to the front.

    PLEASE WITH TWO

    Please find a partner.

    DS:TAP-ON-SHOULDER

    Get attention of person next to you.

  • giving and following directions or instructions in sequential order, using ordinal numbers and list buoys, for example,

    BUOY:(1)PAPER LBUOY:(2)DRAW-CIRCLE LBUOY:(3)COLOUR

    Firstly, get some paper. Secondly, draw a circle. Then colour it in.

  • negotiating turn-taking in activities and discussions, for example,

    POSS1 TURN FIRST POSS2-TURN

    It’s my turn first, then your turn.

  • discussing roles and responsibilities that involve organising, negotiating and prioritising tasks, such as devising an activity or game for the class, for example,

    DEAF HISTORY PROJECT AGREE, MAKE LBUOY(1):PRESENTATION LBUOY(2):GAME

    For the Deaf history project, I agree, we will make a presentation, then a game.

    PRO2 TYPE PRO1 WRITE

    You type and I’ll write.

  • participating in games, activities or role-plays such as enacting scenarios involving being lost and asking for or giving directions, or playing Sign circle to practise new vocabulary or passing on a sign shape
  • exchanging information about daily activities and individual schedules to determine agreed date/time for an event
  • reviewing peer work in pairs, providing feedback and encouragement or praise on aspects and features of the signed text
  • considering adaptations to Auslan use when communicating in different physical environments such as across a large yard, or when one or both hands are occupied, for example, variations in vocabulary, size of signing space, clarity of signs, use of fingerspelling and NMFs
  • managing visual noise such as background, glare from windows, filming and online protocols regarding signing space on camera

Literacy

Personal and social capability

Mediating meaning in and between languages

locate and process information and ideas in familiar signed, visual and multimodal texts, responding in ways appropriate to cultural context, purpose and audience

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  • interviewing peers about their experiences of and opinions about secondary school compared with primary school, and working collaboratively to represent findings in a multimodal presentation
  • gathering information from signed texts or their peers about interests, hobbies, sports, holiday plans, food preferences, home or school routines, and summarising findings in formats such as tables, pie charts, dot points or graphs
  • collecting and sequencing information from signed texts about people, schedules or events, and using the information in new ways, for example, creating a timeline, timetable or diary entry
  • reading or viewing First Nations Australian authors’ stories in Auslan or English and responding to them in Auslan
  • viewing and following procedural signed texts such as ‘how to’ craft activities, or following signed directions, for example, to label a school map with key locations or to create a route at the zoo to see specific animals
  • observing informative signed texts such as weather reports or simple announcements about events and celebrations, identifying key points of information to inform others
  • investigating how Auslan and Deaf culture are promoted in the wider community by Deaf Australia, individuals or through events such as the National Week of Deaf People (NWDP), Auslan Day, Australian Deaf Games, or Deaf art exhibitions
  • watching a range of skits such as Rob Roy’s sports story and then collaboratively representing the story or characters using constructed actions (Cas), DSs and NMFs
  • viewing and responding to visual texts such as handshape art, and art produced by and about Deaf people, Deaf culture or signed languages, such as Gonketa
  • viewing Auslan stories, poems and performances and responding to ideas, characters and events, for example, accessing the online work of Australian Deaf artists and storytellers, or inviting Deaf artists to visit the class, in person or virtually
  • accessing different versions of imaginative signed texts, for example, viewing versions of ‘The timber joke’ and ‘Deaf jokes’, and indicating which they prefer and why
  • responding to signed poems and VV descriptions of a character’s appearance or events, for example, shadowing a sample of the VV work of well-known Deaf poets and artists
  • viewing and comparing representations of deaf people in different media forms, for example, reality television shows with deaf contestants or movies with deaf characters

Literacy

Intercultural understanding

develop and begin to apply strategies to interpret, translate and convey meaning in Auslan in familiar contexts

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  • noticing how signs can convey rich, multilayered meaning which might not have a direct match in English, for example, in stories or fairytales
  • noticing that simple phrases in English can be signed in several different ways

  • demonstrating the use of online sign dictionaries, for example by reviewing the various meanings of the word ‘run’, and comparing the signed concepts

  • using online dictionaries to assist with short translations of Auslan into English, and vice versa
  • shadowing a simple story in Auslan and retelling it as a pre-interpreting skill to a different audience, noticing which phrases and concepts create more challenge than others
  • translating simple filmed texts from Auslan to English, and adding captions
  • translating short, simple written or spoken texts into Auslan, for example, instructions for a game or a procedure such as recipes
  • recording and translating into English some simple Auslan ‘identity stories’ filmed by members of the Deaf community

Literacy

Intercultural understanding

Creating text in Auslan

create signed, visual and multimodal informative and imaginative texts using modelled fingerspelling (FS), lexical signs, depicting signs (DSs), non-manual features (NMFs) and signing space

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  • recounting events from the weekend or a special occasion, demonstrating sequencing
  • designing a multimodal presentation to explain home or school routines, or the events at a school camp or sports day
  • sharing information from their home or local community using visual infographics or diagrams, for example, family traditions or cultural events
  • creating an advertisement in Auslan to promote travel to a significant cultural First Nations Country/Place location, including what to see and do
  • creating and comparing individual biographies, including elements such as family origins, traditions, beliefs and experiences, and considering how these influence their sense of identity
  • re-enacting short stories or wordless animations that include 2 characters and their interactions, through the use of CAs and depiction
  • creating a signed skit to tell a story, using a variety of NMFs, and without lexical signs
  • describing items of school equipment such as those used in woodwork, science or sports, and giving simple signed explanations of how they work

  • creating short sequences of signs using a fixed handshape, such as the index finger ‘point’, for example,

    PRO1 SEE PT+f SNAKE! DS:TRAVEL-ON-GROUND DS:WIND-UP-TOP-TREE

    I saw a snake on the ground over there. The snake then slithered across and up to the top of the tree.

  • creating a signed music video clip or poem in Auslan based on a source text
  • developing digital glossaries of new sign vocabulary, which can be used to share their personal learning with family members or as a resource

Literacy

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