1st L (F–10) 3-4
Understanding

Role of language and culture - Elaboration 7

- exploring culture as an essential part of human life, understanding that it is shared and passed on between generations and is closely connected to language and to identity

- understanding that culture is more than the visible aspects of people’s lives; that it also includes invisible elements such as beliefs and values, how people think about themselves and others, how they relate to their social and physical environments, and how these understandings apply to themselves as users of Auslan and members of the Deaf community

- recognising that in each culture there are general rules for what to say and do, when, where and with whom, and that these rules differ from culture to culture, for example, the Deaf culture places greater importance on eye contact than cultures that communicate through spoken languages

- recognising that language reflects values and beliefs, such as in expressions of personal identity or in the recognition of others (sameness and difference), for example by identifying deaf family members as part of introductions, and by relaying cultural information about background and context and shared knowledge when interacting with others

- appreciating the social and cultural nature of deaf humour in a visual language