At Springfield Primary, learning a language enables students to communicate with others in Auslan. Auslan is short for Australian Sign Language, a language developed by, and for, Australians who are deaf or hearing impaired. It’s a visual form of communication that uses hand, body and facial expressions to convey meaning. The Auslan curriculum focuses on both communication and understanding.
Learning Auslan benefits students because it:
- uses the visual pathways of your brain in communication.
- is great for students with visual and kinaesthetic (physical) learning styles
- Strengthens the memory and brain function of students.
- Promotes inclusion and communication opportunities for deaf people in society to also be viewed in a positive light.
- is a valuable tool for communicating with deaf people or hard of hearing.
- Teaches outward thinking about the language, culture and needs of others.
The communicative approach to teaching Languages ensures that meaningful communication such as asking questions, gathering information, describing objects is the focus of classroom learning. The teacher also uses Auslan as much as possible, to give students the maximum opportunity to see Auslan used in everyday situations.