Auslan 

coAuslan in Action!

It has been wonderful to see our Prep, Grade 1 and Grade 2 students engaging so positively with this new language. They have continued to build confidence in both their signing skills and their understanding of Deaf culture. Auslan’s dynamic, movement-based nature keeps them actively involved in every interaction.

Many children told me a highlight of the term was the opportunity to perform at the Thrive Family Afternoon. They confidently took to the stage to share their “Hello song” and “I Can Sing a Rainbow”, demonstrating their growing skills in Auslan. I was incredibly proud of their confidence, expressive signing, and careful attention to correct technique in front of an audience.

Back in the classroom, we have built beyond our colours and greetings knowledge to the Auslan alphabet, with a strong focus on using correct hand shapes and clear signing techniques. Students have enjoyed practising to sign their own names and we’ve been singing a catchy alphabet song to help us learn different letters, playing games where students decode signed words and are starting to have simple conversations with each other in sign language. 

Students have also been introduced to everyday classroom signs such as sit down, stand up, cushion, chair, table, cushion, pack up, wait, line up, toilet, and watch me. We’ve incorporated please and thank you signs with another catchy song, helping students practise polite communication in both spoken English and Auslan. Our “voices off” (moose countdown!) has been an effective way to reinforce visual communication and attentive behaviour.

In developing conversational skills, students can now ask and respond to “What is your name?” and “My name is…”, using the Auslan sentence structure. We’ve extended this learning into family vocabulary with a song "People in my family", learning signs for mum, dad, sister, brother, and people, before then extending ourselves to learn aunty, uncle, grandma, grandpa, and cousins. Watching the signed story My Family Lunch helped students recognise familiar signs in context, which was an exciting milestone.

Next term, we look forward to building on these foundations by learning to sign numbers, expanding conversations to include age, counting and emotions, and exploring new topics such as animals.

I look forward to sharing more learning from your children again soon!

Sarah Bailey

Sarah.Bailey2@education.vic.gov.au

(Work days: Tuesday and Thursdays)