St Martins showing silence can be golden

Students embrace Auslan as part of their learning

Things were a little quieter at St Martins Lutheran College last Thursday as the Reception to Year 3 cohort marked National Auslan Day.

Head of Junior School Wellbeing Robyn Teakle said many students had already been exposed to Auslan during their time at childcare and kindergarten.

“It has been wonderful to build on that, as well as drawing on their prior knowledge of literacy, language and numeracy as they expand their nonverbal vocabulary,” Mrs Teakle said.

The national day is all about celebrating Auslan, encouraging others to learn Auslan and shining a light on the culture, history, and community of the Australian Deaf community. Auslan Day was created to celebrate the first publication of the Auslan dictionary.

Students in Reception to Year 3 at St Martins Lutheran College have embraced the opportunity to learn Auslan which is offered through the Australian Curriculum as a second language to all students.

As a visual language, Auslan reinforces the development of neural pathways, cognitive processes, memory and brain function. Students feel engaged and take on personal challenges to learn visual vocabulary relevant to their own context. They demonstrate a high level of interest and enjoyment as they strengthen their overall literacy.

Year 1 teacher Marita Vivian said students enhanced their literacy skills and have great opportunities to form social connections with peers, friends and family members as they communicate in Auslan.

In addition to the signing, learning Auslan is also about developing an understanding and respect for those in our community with hearing impairment and deafness. Auslan is key to daily functioning and understanding about what is happening in their community. As students and staff become more familiar with Auslan, the school hopes to integrate it into daily school life and key occasions throughout the school year.

Learning any additional language is great for brain development, and this is absolutely true for Auslan – as a visual language, different neural pathways are stimulated as children engage in signing.

Junior School Director of Teaching and Learning Christine Ware welcomed the addition of Auslan to the St Martins learning environment.

“Sharing a language with others fosters a sense of belonging,” she said. “Auslan instruction also provides a great opportunity for awareness and inclusion of people in our community who are deaf or hard of hearing.”

SIGNING ON: (Top left) Scarlett signs ‘eat’; (bottom left) Billy offering a ‘strong no’; (below from left) Xavier, Harper & Jack showing their Auslan skills