All students in Foundation to Year 2 will receive weekly one half hour lessons delivered by a LOTE – Auslan specialist teacher. All students in Years 3 to 6 will receive weekly one hour lessons delivered by a LOTE – Auslan specialist teacher.

At Camp Hill we actively promote our students’ ability to use a Language Other Than English (LOTE) and to understand and/or move between different cultures is important for full participation in the modern world, especially in the context of increasing globalisation and Australia’s cultural diversity.

What is Auslan?
Auslan is Australian Sign Language, the native language of the Australian Deaf community, and is a visual-spatial, natural language with its own grammar and vocabulary. Auslan has linguistic elements, such as hand shapes (including orientation, location and movement), non-manual features (including eye gaze, facial expressions, arm, head and body postures) and fingerspelling. Auslan also has its own grammar, which is different from English. Auslan grammar is composed of precise hand shapes, facial expressions and body movements that convey concrete and abstract information.

Why is it important to teach children sign language?
Sign language provides children with an alternative way to make themselves understood. This extra tool enables them to express how they feel, their thoughts and wants, so that they can take part in learning and social activities. This not only gives a child a ‘voice’ but is also important when building relationships. Children exposed to sign language early gain visual attention and processing advantages. This produces stronger vocabularies, language competence and world knowledge, and literacy and reading skills.

Through learning an additional language at our school students will:

  • Learn to communicate in Auslan sign language for many purposes and in many contexts; extend their social contacts, and have direct access to knowledge, ideas and information signed in the targeted language
  • Learn to use the language effectively and develop an understanding of the cultural contexts in which the language is used, as well as the shared meanings, values and practices of the community as embodied in that language
  • Develop an understanding of the way language works (its structure, the role it plays, and its effects), which they can apply to other languages, including English
  • Use technology appropriately and effectively to support the learning of Auslan, and in carrying out  activities in context
  • Gain knowledge of and make connections across a range of concepts drawn from other Victorian Curriculum areas through Auslan

Resources