2nd
L (Yr 7 Entry) 9-10
Understanding
Language awareness - Elaboration 6
- understanding that strong and healthy languages are those used by many
people across generations in most domains to communicate about most topics
- mapping the distribution of Auslan users across Australian states and
demographics, using data from censuses and other sources to present findings in
graph/visual representation forms
- describing the role religion has played in influencing the usage and spread of
Auslan, for example, through religious orders, early Deaf Societies and Bible
translation projects
- considering the impact of historical international events such as the Milan
Congress (1880) and the linguistic recognition and documentation of signed
languages in the 1960s and 1970s on the use of signed languages in education,
and on deaf people’s feelings of ownership and pride in their languages
- analysing the impact of migration and the settlement of deaf people from the
UK and other countries on the development of Auslan
- investigating the geographical location, origins and history of deaf schools
in Australia and the impact of these institutions on the transmission, use and
status of Auslan
- exploring how Auslan is used by deafblind people and their role in the Deaf
community
- investigating historical patterns of employment of deaf people in certain
trades and fields of employment, and the impact these traditional domains have
on the development of Auslan
- reflecting on the role of Auslan interpreters in raising awareness and
understanding of Auslan in the wider community, and considering ways in which
they influence the function and nature of Auslan, for example by the
introduction of neologisms
- identifying language documentation as an important way of recording,
transmitting and maintaining the vitality of languages
- recognising that some languages have no written form and have historically
been passed on face to face/orally, and so are less well recorded and documented
- understanding that some languages used in Australia, such as English, have
large numbers of users, while others, such as many spoken and signed Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander languages, are endangered or in the process of being
revived or reclaimed
- recognising that languages may be perceived as ‘weak’ or ‘strong’ based on
community values and the existence of documentation and literature in the
language
- exploring the vitality of different languages by obtaining information from
the UNESCO interactive online atlas and/or Ethnologue to compare numbers of
speakers/signers of different languages
- considering ways that Auslan is evolving due to various influences, including
the capacity for new technologies to store, record and share sign languages
internationally
- exploring the role of globalisation in terms of what technology offers signed
languages in terms of maintaining their vitality, for example, the use of ELAN
for capturing and documenting Auslan
- understanding the importance of advocating for Deaf rights to address existing
gaps in services, for example in relation to issues such as the increased
provision of Auslan interpreters, Deaf interpreters or captioning
- responding to Deaf elders' guidance on how cultural values, beliefs and
traditions are connected through shared life experience, language and visual
ways of being, and how they are demonstrated in community behaviour and
interactions with the wider community
- comparing strategies used by deaf and hearing adults to negotiate physical
environments, for example, different behaviours at a bank of lifts, and
identifying how deaf people draw on additional perceptual resources in ways
hearing people are unaware of
- exploring technologies such as videoconferencing apps used by deaf people to
communicate visually, to support social networks, to strengthen a sense of
individual or shared identity as sign language users and to promote language
vitality
- considering likely contemporary influences or pressures on Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander signed languages and the possible impact on their future
- understanding how and why some deaf children face challenges with
communication in hearing families or in social settings
- recognising the important role of deaf families and deaf schools in preserving
and maintaining Auslan and cultural identity
- identifying behaviours, rights, roles and responsibilities in relation to the
ownership and maintenance of Auslan and how such ownership rests with the Deaf
community and is determined by traditional social groupings/families,
significant places, history and stories
- describing the visibility and use of Auslan in the wider community, for
example in television programs, on the news, at community events, sporting
fixtures and in emergency announcements
- 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
- identifying examples of deaf people who have been recognised for different
reasons in wider Australian society, for example, Alastair McEwin or Drisana
Levitzke-Gray, and discussing how such recognition contributes to broader
awareness of Auslan in Australia
- researching the status and recognition of signed languages in other countries,
for example, New Zealand, the USA, the UK or the Scandinavian nations,
considering issues such as language rights, language documentation and
development efforts
- identifying the changing status of significant sites in different
international Deaf communities, for example, the loss of Deaf clubs or the
closure of deaf schools in some countries, comparing this to the Australian
context and reflecting on how such changes impact over time on Deaf communities
and on Auslan
- recognising different philosophical and social views about deafness,
considering the impact of varying attitudes on a deaf person’s understanding of
their rights and how they are represented and perceived in wider society