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• Auslan - Second Language Learner - 7–10 Sequence: Levels 9 and 10 achievement standards

  By the end of Level 10, students interact with peers, teachers and others using Auslan to communicate about personal interests and broader issues relating to the Deaf community. They participate in class discussions, explaining and clarifying positions, asking follow-up questions, using non-manual...

  Level description | Languages | Auslan | Second Language Learner | 7–10 Sequence | Levels 9 and 10

• Auslan - Second Language Learner - 7–10 Sequence: Levels 7 and 8 achievement standards

  By the end of Level 8, students use Auslan to share information, experiences, interests, thoughts and feelings about their personal and immediate worlds. They use modelled constructions, ask for repetition or clarification, such as please slow sign, and use strategies such as fingerspelling to...

  Level description | Languages | Auslan | Second Language Learner | 7–10 Sequence | Levels 7 and 8

• VCASFC226

  Demonstrate understanding of the nature of identity in relation to themselves, the Deaf community and the wider hearing community

  Elaborations

  • using visual representations such as concept maps, posters or captioned slide presentations to identify groups that they each identify with, for example, friends, family, sporting, interest and community groups, discussing how these group associations contribute to their sense of identity
  • discussing how their upbringing and personal experience impact on assumptions or attitudes that they bring to interactions with people who have different backgrounds or experiences, considering concepts such as communication, personality, family and community
  • noticing and comparing their own and each other’s ways of communicating and interacting, identifying elements that reflect cultural differences or influences of other languages
  • viewing a series of Auslan identity stories, such as those found in the Griffith University Introduction to Deaf Studies Unit 1 set, comparing their experiences to those described by deaf children and adults in the footage
  • investigating the identity of deafblind people and their connection to the Deaf community by inviting deafblind guests into the classroom to share their personal journeys
  • exploring ideas about identity through journal writing, documenting challenges and rewards related to second language learning and identity change
  • analysing ways in which Deaf people design and adapt spaces in cultural ways (‘Deaf space’), for example, by eliminating visual obstacles to signed communication, using circles or semicircles for meeting and learning spaces, using open-plan areas, lighting and window placement to maximise visual access to information, for example, Gallaudet University’s deaf space design principles
  • surveying deaf people about their experiences and perspectives on the importance and significance of Deaf places that contribute to a shared sense of identity, for example, the Deaf Club, Deaf schools or sites of historic significance such as original Deaf Society/Mission buildings or other former meeting places
  • identifying and researching Deaf community identities associated with significant historical places, such as William Thomson establishing the first deaf school in WA

  VCASFC226 | Languages | Auslan | Second Language Learner | 7–10 Sequence | Levels 7 and 8 | Communicating | Identity

• VCASFC203

  Contribute to presentations, reports, reviews, discussions and debates that focus on selected social and cultural issues

  Elaborations

  • working in groups to create multimedia texts that invite consideration of social or cultural questions, such as the medical versus cultural view of deafness
  • creating persuasive texts such as vlogs or advertisements to convince others of the value and relevance of learning Auslan
  • 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 to contribute to an e-book resource for other learners of Auslan
  • providing appropriate explanations for a younger audience of concepts associated with other curriculum areas, such as global warming or social justice
  • contributing to discussions that consider critically different perspectives on selected issues, for example, differences in views on Deaf education or the influence of social media on their lives
  • creating and presenting explanations about simple biological or mechanical phenomena or processes, such as how the ear, hearing aids and cochlear implants work
  • presenting a critical review of media representation, for example by analysing media profiles of respected/high-profile members of the Deaf community
  • presenting a summary of information on a selected topic, for example, by interpreting graphs and statistics relating to the Deaf community, discussing findings and making predictions about future changes or patterns

  VCASFC203 | Languages | Auslan | Second Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 9 and 10 | Communicating | Informing

• VCASFC047

  Reflect on how different language and cultural backgrounds and experiences influence perceptions of Auslan and of the Deaf community and also of the hearing community

  Elaborations

  • reflecting on and providing possible explanations for assumptions that hearing people might make about deaf people or about signed languages
  • examining some misconceptions about hearing people and culture held by members of the Deaf community, for example, that hearing people hear and understand everything, or that hearing people can hear from a distance
  • identifying how various emotions and attitudes, such as respect, shyness, exuberance or embarrassment, are expressed and may be perceived across different languages and cultures, comparing their experience of such differences in their own interactions with speakers of English or other spoken languages
  • explaining how their assumptions about users of other languages and ways of understanding the world are changing as a result of intercultural language and experiential learning
  • reflecting on language and cultural differences in forms of address in signed and spoken languages that need to be taken into account when interacting interculturally, for example, the frequent use of a person’s name when addressing them directly in Australian English but not in Auslan
  • reflecting on the role of personal storytelling in teaching and supporting deaf children to navigate a hearing world

  VCASFC047 | Languages | Auslan | First Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 5 and 6 | Communicating | Identity

• VCASFC238

  Engage with a range of signed texts to locate and evaluate information, infer or interpret meaning and to present key points in new forms

  Elaborations

  • interviewing an Auslan user, using prepared questions to find out about their experiences or opinions on selected topics, such as early language learning for deaf babies or their experience of education, selecting key elements of their commentary to produce a digital profile to share with the class
  • observing informative signed texts from the Deaf community and deaf-related organisations, such as emergency or advocacy texts, and rephrasing key points in a form suitable for a younger audience
  • collecting information from a variety of signed sources to inform class discussions on current affairs, for example the prevalent use of social media by young people, and access to this by deaf students
  • following more complex procedural signed texts, such as directions to follow in an unfamiliar environment, such as a school camp or excursion
  • watching and summarising information provided by a guest speaker and comparing their noted ideas and opinions with those of their peers
  • viewing texts such as interviews, news reports or vlogs and selecting points of information or details to use in their own texts or opinion pieces
  • viewing Auslan texts from other content areas, using depicting signs to explain key concepts, such as states of matter or climate variation
  • forming and signing questions to request information from a deaf organisation or person, in order to produce a digital information text such as a brochure or web page
  • obtaining information about high-profile members of the international Deaf community to create profiles for an e-magazine

  VCASFC238 | Languages | Auslan | Second Language Learner | 7–10 Sequence | Levels 9 and 10 | Communicating | Informing

• VCASFU088

  Investigate and analyse the nature of and community attitudes to variation in the use of Auslan

  Elaborations

  • recognising that there is a greater degree of flexibility and variability in ‘oral’, face-to-face languages such as Auslan compared to spoken/written languages passed on from parents to children, for example, less standardisation and minimal ‘frozen texts’, and considering reasons for such differences
  • researching different aspects of variation in the use of Auslan, considering influences such as geographical location, social groupings, history, educational experience, age of learning, family background and contact with Signed English or other languages
  • debating the merits and disadvantages of creating a standard form of Auslan, for example the benefits of mutual comprehensibility versus the practical problems involved in who decides on the standard and how to get signers to comply
  • considering the effect that expanding sign language interpreter services might have on standardising Auslan, especially in the areas of education and medicine
  • noticing ways people might adapt language according to situation of use, such as when signing to a large audience, the use of one hand or two, clarity of sign production, size of signing space, pace, NMFs, pauses and amount of fingerspelling
  • considering how Auslan has been influenced by the use of Signed English in education settings (especially from the 1970s to the 1990s) and cultural attitudes towards Signed English

  VCASFU088 | Languages | Auslan | First Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 9 and 10 | Understanding | Language variation and change

• VCASFU144

  Notice that people use language in ways that reflect their culture, such as where and how they live, who they live with and what is important to them

  Elaborations

  • recognising that people from different places and backgrounds may use different languages and have ways of living and communicating that differ from their own
  • appreciating that culture and cultural difference means that people may value different things or live differently, noticing observable examples of such difference, such as ways of greeting (bowing versus shaking hands) or conveying information (through words versus signs)
  • exploring how learning Auslan involves entering into a visual world or culture, for example by exploring different connections with physical space, such as being able to communicate through windows, or from a distance
  • exploring how deaf people live in ways that may be different from how hearing people live, for example by responding to stimulus questions such as How do deaf people ensure they can always see other people who are signing? How do deaf people watch movies or television programs?
  • recognising the importance of facial expression, eye gaze and NMFs in conveying information in a visual-gestural language and culture
  • recognising the importance of community and culture in relation to their own lives and communities and in relation to other language groups and their communities

  VCASFU144 | Languages | Auslan | Second Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Foundation to Level 2 | Understanding | Role of language and culture

• VCASFU049

  Identify different types of verbs based on their ability to integrate space into the sign, and recognise types of depiction available to a signer, namely, entity, handling and SASS depicting signs and constructed action

  Elaborations

  • identifying where and how a signer has established a location in space, for example through the use of points, non-body-anchored signs or fingerspelled words
  • distinguishing, with support, between directional and locational indicating verbs, and noticing that verbs differ depending on whether modification of movement happens at the start, end or start and end of a sign
  • identifying examples of DSs in an Auslan text, and recognising that handshape and movement represent different things in each type of DS, for example:
    • entity DSs: the handshape is an object or person, and the movement is the movement or location of that object or person
    • handling DSs: the handshape represents a person’s hands touching or moving another object, and the movement shows how the hands move
    • SASS DSs: the handshape and movement outline the shape or size of something
  • learning that the function of CA is to represent the words, thoughts or actions of a protagonist in a text, either themselves or another
  • knowing that in CA a signer can shift into the role of another, or themselves at a different time, through eye gaze change, body shift, head orientation change, and matching facial expressions

  VCASFU049 | Languages | Auslan | First Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 5 and 6 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCASFU214

  Investigate and analyse the nature of and community attitudes to variation in the use of Auslan

  Elaborations

  • recognising that there is a greater degree of flexibility and variability in ‘oral’, face-to-face languages such as Auslan compared to spoken/written languages passed on from parents to children, for example, less standardisation and minimal ‘frozen texts’, and considering reasons for such differences
  • researching different aspects of variation in the use of Auslan, considering influences such as geographical location, social groupings, history, educational experience, age of learning, family background and contact with Signed English or other languages
  • debating the merits and disadvantages of creating a standard form of Auslan, for example the benefits of mutual comprehensibility versus the practical problems involved in who decides on the standard and how to get signers to comply
  • considering the effect that expanding sign language interpreter services might have on standardising Auslan, especially in the areas of education and medicine.
  • noticing ways people might adapt language according to situation of use, such as when signing to a large audience, the use of one hand or two, clarity of sign production, size of signing space, pace, NMFs, pauses and amount of fingerspelling
  • considering how Auslan has been influenced by the use of Signed English in education settings (especially from the 1970s to 1990s) and cultural attitudes towards Signed English

  VCASFU214 | Languages | Auslan | Second Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 9 and 10 | Understanding | Language variation and change

• VCASFC181

  Interact appropriately with people in different contexts, sharing experiences, interests and opinions about current events or school and community experience

  Elaborations

  • using signs to agree or disagree on relevant topics, such as:
    AGREE YES HOMEWORK SHOULD
    Yes, I agree we should do homework.
    PRO1 KNOW WHAT MEAN, BUT….
    I know what you mean, but …
    PRO1 DOUBT
    I’m not sure.
    AGREE-NOT, PRO1 THINK…
    I don’t agree; I think …
    
  • participating in videoconferencing exchanges with deaf children or other Auslan students from another state to compare and contrast aspects of their school and learning experiences
  • contributing to online videoconferencing with other Auslan users to compare and contrast aspects of their school and learning experiences
  • using appropriate NMFs when turn-taking, for example:
    HOLD
    Hold that thought.
    QUICK INTERRUPT
    Can I just interrupt you quickly?
    WAIT….COME
    Can you just wait a moment … Right, what did you want?
    
  • clarifying meaning, for example by using fingerspelling to explain unfamiliar vocabulary, as in, PRO2 MEAN [fingerspell word]?
  • using appropriate protocols to join or leave conversations, for example, waiting for eye gaze or for the signer to finish and not asking for a full recount
  • engaging with deaf visitors from different groups and backgrounds and creating a vlog about the visits

  VCASFC181 | Languages | Auslan | Second Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 7 and 8 | Communicating | Socialising

• VCASFC164

  Collaborate with peers to plan and conduct shared events or activities such as performances, presentations, demonstrations or transactions

  Elaborations

  • working collaboratively to plan a performance or presentation for a younger class, for example on aspects of Deaf culture or Auslan
  • expressing preferences in relation to roles and responsibilities in shared learning activities, using statements such as:
    PRO1 HANDWRITING PRO1 DON’T-LIKE RATHER TYPING
    I don’t like handwriting; I prefer to type it.
    PRO1 DON’T-WANT DRAW, PRO1 WANT TAKE-PHOTO++
    I don’t want to do the drawing; I’d rather take photos.
    
  • negotiating with a partner to prioritise or sequence tasks when planning a learning activity, using language such as:
    PRO2 THINK BEST THIS FIRST, FINISH, NEXT
    Do you think we should do this first and when that’s done, next
    THAT FIRST IMPORTANT THAT SECOND
    That’s more important than this.
    
  • organising activities such as excursions or talent shows, using expressions related to place, time and numbers, for example:
    THAT THEATRE WHEN WHAT DAY?
    What date is the show?
    HOW-MANY PEOPLE WILL DS:many-move?
    How many people will be there?
    
  • playing games that involve detailed information exchange, such as ‘Guess Who?’, asking for and supplying descriptions, for example:
    POINT HAVE GLASSES?
    Does yours have glasses?
    DON’T-HAVE
    No.
  • allocating responsibilities for the completion of shared tasks, such as following a recipe or building a model
  • carrying out simulated transactions in different contexts, for example, playing a ‘restaurant’ game, or a food shopping game

  VCASFC164 | Languages | Auslan | Second Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 5 and 6 | Communicating | Socialising

• VCASFC218

  Collaborate with peers to plan and conduct shared events or activities such as presentations, demonstrations or transactions

  Elaborations

  • participating in games and activities such as enacting scenarios involving being lost and asking for or giving directions
  • following and giving instructions in groups on topics such as how to use video chat, Signbank or Auslan dictionaries
  • working collaboratively on learning activities that involve organising, negotiating and prioritising tasks, for example, in devising an activity or game for the class
  • working collaboratively on tasks that involve assigning and reviewing roles and responsibilities, offering feedback, support and encouragement, for example:
    PRO2 TYPE PRO1 WRITE
    You type and I’ll write.
    GOOD TYPING-_hard WORK-_hard
    Great typing up; looks like lots of work.
    G:FLOP-HAND DOESN’T MATTER NOT WORRY
    Oh, it doesn’t matter, don’t worry about it.
  • giving, accepting or declining invitations, including making excuses to avoid causing offence or embarrassment, such as:
    SORRY PRO1 STUCK, BASKETBALL TRAINING
    Sorry, I can’t go because I have basketball training.
  • participating in hypothetical scenarios that involve transactions, for example, preparing for or participating in a Deaf World workshop

  VCASFC218 | Languages | Auslan | Second Language Learner | 7–10 Sequence | Levels 7 and 8 | Communicating | Socialising

• VCASFU121

  Understand that signs can include different information, including a gestural overlay, and identify how signers establish spatial locations, types of depicting signs and ways of showing constructed action

  Elaborations

  • noticing that meaning is created in Auslan from fully-lexical signs, partly-lexical signs and non-lexical signing and gesture
  • understanding that fully-lexical signs are in the dictionary and have a standard handshape, movement and location, and partly-lexical signs can be changed to show information such as location or who is involved in indicating verbs
  • noticing that single-digit numbers can be separate lexical items or merged into other signs (numeral incorporation) such as those for ages, for example, 5-YEARS-OLD or adverbs of time, for example, 3-WEEKS-AGO or pronouns, for example, WE3, WE4
  • identifying where and how a signer has established a location in space (through pointing, modifying the movement of a verb, or locating a non-body-anchored noun sign)
  • recognising that signers must make explicit which referent is associated with a location
  • recognising that signers can set up referents in the signing space close to them (viewer space), for example, using a bC handshape (use of non-dominant hand) to indicate putting a glass on a table or distant (diagrammatic) for example, using 5claw in two locations to represent two houses
  • identifying independently instances of DSs and their type
  • learning that the function of CA is to represent the words, thoughts or actions of a protagonist in a text, either themselves or another
  • knowing that in CA a signer can shift into the role of another, or themselves at a different time, through eye gaze change, body shift, head orientation change, and matching facial expressions

  VCASFU121 | Languages | Auslan | First Language Learner | 7–10 Sequence | Levels 9 and 10 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCASFU053

  Explore the current status and profile of Auslan and of the Deaf community in contemporary Australian society, considering issues such as language transmission, usage and documentation

  Elaborations

  • discussing the diversity of Auslan users in the Australian community, including people who are deaf, those who are hard of hearing and hearing people such as CODAs and interpreters
  • investigating the signed languages used by deaf and hard of hearing members of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
  • exploring variation in Auslan fluency among classmates and members of the Deaf community, considering the relevance of factors such as where and when individual users learnt to sign and whether they are from a Deaf or hearing family
  • mapping sign language use around the world using data from Ethnologue, for example by identifying and labelling countries with correct naming of the sign language used, such as France = LSF: Langue des Signes Française; Germany = DGS: Deutsche Gebärdensprache
  • finding representations of signing deaf people in the media or in literary texts, and evaluating how they and the language are represented
  • investigating the profile and distribution of members of the Deaf community, for example across states of Australia or by age or gender, using data from censuses and other sources to summarise and represent information in graph/visual forms, and to suggest possible explanations of patterns or statistics
  • understanding the role and function of Auslan–English interpreters and Deaf interpreters and the access and opportunities they provide to language users
  • recognising that many languages are well-documented, strong, healthy and widely used by many people across generations while others are less documented and robust
  • recognising that some languages have no written form and have historically been passed on face to face/orally, which means that they are less well recorded or documented
  • recognising language documentation as an important means of recording, maintaining, transmitting and revitalising a language
  • understanding the nature of transmission of Auslan, for example, that in most cases Auslan is not passed on from parent to child but from peers, or is learnt by children from adults outside the family, and that some deaf people learn Auslan later in early adulthood
  • describing how Auslan has been transmitted across generations and how it has been recorded, investigating reasons for the ‘oral’ tradition language transmission
  • using the UNESCO atlas to map the world’s minority languages and those that are in critical endangerment and to document the vitality of signed languages

  VCASFU053 | Languages | Auslan | First Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 5 and 6 | Understanding | Language awareness

• VCASFU030

  Identify and demonstrate how the formational elements of handshape and its orientation, movement, location and non-manual features can be arranged in signs which may be iconic, and explore ways of recording Auslan

  Elaborations

  • noticing the orientation of handshapes in signs
  • identifying and demonstrating signs with a change in handshape, for example FIND or BEST
  • identifying and demonstrating signs with a change in orientation, for example CAN-NOT or HOW
  • distinguishing between single, double and two-handed signs, and identifying which hand is dominant and which is non-dominant in two-handed signs
  • thinking of body-anchored signs, such as HEAD or WHY, and signs that are not body anchored, such as HAVE or STOP and recognising that non-body anchored signs can be located in space around the signer
  • understanding that NMFs can also be an element of a sign and can show emotional states such as a happy expression or grammatical information, for example, a frown to mark a negative
  • comparing iconic signs that provide visual images of referents, such as DRINK, ELEPHANT, with English words that map to the sound images of the referents, such as animal noises, or words for sounds such as bang
  • describing how the movement changes between groups of related numbers, for example, 5, 15, 50, 5th
  • learning to film themselves and analyse the video or to read simple glosses produced by the teacher, and understanding that the English word used is often not an exact match for the meaning of the sign

  VCASFU030 | Languages | Auslan | First Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 3 and 4 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCASFU216

  Understand that Auslan and Deaf culture are interrelated, that they shape and are shaped by each other and that their relationship changes over time and across contexts

  Elaborations

  • analysing language used in pathological and sociocultural models of deafness, and the impact that each model, the philosophy that frames it and the language used to express it may have in regard to services for deaf people
  • appreciating the complexity of the relationship between language and culture, for example by discussing distinctions between Deaf cultures and other cultural minorities, such as the fact that most deaf people are born to hearing parents and typically access and experience Deaf culture through communicating with peers and other Auslan users in and out of school, in addition to their cultural experience in their families of origin
  • recognising the cultural significance of symbols and language features used in Auslan, for example the use of light and darkness in stories, poetry and performance, as in stories featuring gaslight
  • considering cultural explanations for conversational strategies used by Auslan signers to avoid conflict and to maintain privacy, such as changing signing space and style, using indirect language such as signing lower or under the table, or fingerspelling instead of signing overtly
  • understanding that Auslan plays an important role in the expression and maintenance of Deaf culture, that each deaf person has the right to learn and use Auslan as part of their birthright, along with their membership of the Deaf community, and that they become custodians and owners of the language
  • appreciating the cultural value and importance of festivals and events in the Deaf community, such as NWDP, as celebrations of language, history, culture and identity
  • understanding that sign language literatures recount significant journeys and events associated with the beginnings of Deaf education and the development of Deaf communities, and that they embody history and values of Deaf culture, for example, the Gallaudet and Clerc meeting or US Civil War stories that validate and reference shared Deaf identity, culture, language and experience
  • recognising that Auslan signs change over time due to shifting cultural values and experiences, for example, the modification of the sign for APPRENTICE to refer to TAFE, and shifting values around the sign DEAF^DEAF as the sign for DEAF (culturally Deaf reference for deaf-mute) and unsuccessful attempts to reframe this with an audiological focus

  VCASFU216 | Languages | Auslan | Second Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 9 and 10 | Understanding | Role of language and culture

• VCASFU175

  Understand that signs can include different information, including a gestural overlay, identify types of depicting signs and how signers establish spatial locations and show constructed action

  Elaborations

  • recognising that Auslan has fully-lexical signs that are in the dictionary and have a standard handshape, movement and location, and partly-lexical signs that cannot be listed in a dictionary in all forms as they change their form each time they are signed, such as DSs
  • noticing that fully- and partly-lexical signs can include grammatical information not included in a ‘citation’ form, for example, the sign TELL-_me is not listed separately to TELL (towards neutral space) and GO-TO includes GO-TO-_often
  • identifying where a signer has established a location in space (for example, through points, non-body-anchored signs, fingerspelled words or verb movement changes)
  • recognising that signers must make explicit which referent is associated with a location
  • identifying examples of each type of DS in an Auslan text: entity DSs, handling DSs and SASS DSs
  • learning that the function of CA is to represent the words, thoughts or actions of a protagonist in a text, either themselves or another
  • knowing that in CA a signer can shift into the role of another, or themselves at a different time, through eye gaze change, body shift, head orientation change, and matching facial expressions

  VCASFU175 | Languages | Auslan | Second Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 5 and 6 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCASFU250

  Understand that Auslan has evolved and developed through different periods of influence and cultural and societal change

  Elaborations

  • recognising that there is a greater degree of flexibility and variability in ‘oral’, face-to-face languages such as Auslan compared to spoken/written languages passed on from parents to children, for example, less standardisation and minimal ‘frozen texts’, and considering reasons for such differences
  • researching different aspects of variation in the use of Auslan, considering influences such as geographical location, social groupings, history, educational experience, age of learning, family background and contact with Signed English or other languages
  • considering the effect that expanding sign language interpreter services might have on standardising Auslan, especially in the areas of education and medicine
  • interviewing older members of Deaf families or Deaf communities and reporting back to the class about any differences in signing they noticed, such as more use of fingerspelled words, less use of NMFs and depicting signs, or the use of different signs, such as FILM (old sign), TOILET (old sign)
  • recognising that languages constantly expand to include new words, signs and expressions due to influences such as changing technologies and digital media, for example, COMPUTER, COMPUTER-MOUSE, INTERNET, FACEBOOK, WIFI, SELFIE
  • understanding that greater contact between signers internationally has led to increased borrowing between sign languages, for example, signs that refer to different nation states and cities around the globe (for example, the old Auslan sign for America versus the current sign), or the ASL vehicle handshape in DSs
  • identifying changes to Auslan that reflect changes in social relationships and community attitudes, for example in relation to words/signs such as DEAF^DUMB, DISABILITY, HEARING^IMPAIRED/H-O-H, DEAF^WORLD/DEAF^COMMUNITY, HUMAN^RIGHT

  VCASFU250 | Languages | Auslan | Second Language Learner | 7–10 Sequence | Levels 9 and 10 | Understanding | Language variation and change

• VCASFC046

  Consider the influence of the Deaf community on identity development, focusing on language, social systems and sense of space and place

  Elaborations

  • identifying markers of social and cultural identity that may be important across cultures as well as in the Deaf community, for example, elements of language or behaviours associated with family, community, location, age or gender
  • building a basic understanding of the concept of Deafhood and of how individual journeys of identity contribute to social relationships and community, for example, by describing their own journey of identity development, including elements such as family, the influence of Deaf role models, significant life events or personal connections with the local Deaf community
  • working with elders to map relationships and connections within their community, for example by identifying links between notable deaf families, and by considering how personal connections with the community contribute to their sense of identity
  • investigating the historical origins of signs linked to identities, for example, the signs for LIBRARY and ADELAIDE were derived from original name signs for people
  • considering how the relationship between language and identity plays a role in contributing to individual, peer group and community wellbeing
  • exploring how different technologies are used by deaf people to support social networks and strengthen their sense of shared identity
  • explaining the significance of stories linked to Deaf social history and the responsibility of the Deaf community to convey shared experiences that relate to Deaf space, for example through stories about school days by past pupils
  • exploring the role of personal narratives in teaching and supporting deaf children to develop strategies to navigate a hearing world, such as carrying paper and pen or smart phone to type notes
  • learning from Deaf elders about roles and responsibilities with respect to caring for their culture’s places and spaces and preserving a sense of shared identity, for example, by maintaining and passing on artefacts, images and stories, creating new uses for Deaf places or participating in Deaf festivals, fair days and National Week of Deaf People activities
  • recognising that their first language is a birthright that contributes to their identification with the Deaf community and its traditions
  • identifying examples of deaf people who have been recognised for different reasons in the wider society, for example, Alastair McEwin, and discussing whether such recognition contributes to their own sense of identity and belonging
  • interviewing local Deaf elders about their experiences in Deaf schools and other Deaf places and discussing how their experiences create a collective sense of identity
  • discussing the concept of ‘Deaf gain’ in relation to their personal identity, for example, in using a visual language and being able to communicate from a distance

  VCASFC046 | Languages | Auslan | First Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 5 and 6 | Communicating | Identity