Years 5 to 6
Languages
ASLANAUSSLLF10Y56
Years 5 to 6 Auslan Achievement Standard
9 statements aligned to content descriptors and elaborations
Achievement standard (as ACARA publishes it)
Achievement standard
Click any sentence to jump to its statement and linked content descriptors.
By the end of Year 6, students initiate and use strategies to maintain interactions in Auslan that are related to their immediate environment. They collaborate in activities that involve the language of planning and problem-solving to share information, preferences and ideas. They use strategies to locate and interpret information and ideas in texts, and demonstrate understanding by responding in Auslan or English, adjusting their response to context, purpose and audience. They create texts, selecting and using a variety of signs, depicting signs (DSs), non-manual features (NMFs) and signing spaces. They sequence information and ideas, and use conventions appropriate to text type.
Students apply rules of signs, pace and signing space to develop fluency. They use modelled structures when creating and responding in Auslan. They compare language structures and features in Auslan and English, using some metalanguage. They show understanding of how some language reflects cultural practices and consider how this is reflected in their own language(s), culture(s) and identity.
Second language learners · Foundation to Year 10 sequence
The 9 achievement standard statements
Open a statement to see the content descriptors ACARA links to it, then open a descriptor's elaborations.
By the end of Year 6, students initiate and use strategies to maintain interactions in Auslan that are related to their immediate environment.
Content descriptorAC9L2AU6C01 Communicating meaning in Auslan
initiate and sustain modelled exchanges in familiar contexts related to students’ personal worlds and school environment
Elaborations (11)
- Elaboration discussing aspects of their school experience, using familiar lexicalised fingerspelled signs, for example, FS:MON MR SMITH GIVE PT+c BOOK THAT NEW On Monday Mr Smith gave me a new book.
- Elaboration discussing opinions in pairs or in groups, using NMFs and eye gaze to gain and hold attention or to finish a turn, for example, THEATRE GOOD, LONG DS:FAST-REPEAT NMF:EYES-WIDENING I liked the theatre performance, but it was sooo long. SCHOOL SWIMMING RACE, GOOD BAD, PRO2 THINK WHAT? What did you think about the swimming carnival?
- Elaboration discussing experiences and their associated feelings, for example, DEAF PERSON WILL VISIT SCHOOL PRO1 EXCITED MEET I am excited to meet the deaf visitor. POSS1 FRIEND DIFFERENT SCHOOL PRO1 SAD I am sad because my friend moved to a different school.
- Elaboration comparing weekend or holiday routines, interests and activities, using signs associated with time, sequence and location, for example, REGULAR SUMMER PRO1(PL) GROUP MOVE BEACH STAY WEEK(THREE) We go to the beach for 3 weeks in summer. WEEKEND PRO1 GO-TO DS:FAST-REPEAT CAMP I go camping on weekends.
- Elaboration expressing preferences in relation to places or things using abstract space, for example, PT+lf PAST SCHOOL OKAY PT+rt NEW SCHOOL BETTER My previous school was okay, my new school is better.
- Elaboration describing relationships between members of their families or between classmates, for example, PRO3 POSS1 COUSIN PRO1(PL) GOOD FRIEND She’s my cousin; we’re good friends.
- Elaboration using discourse markers in conversation to indicate understanding, attention or consideration, for example, SURPRISE oooh (with appropriate intonation) INCREDIBLE No way! WOW Wow! UM um
- Elaboration interviewing deaf peers or other Auslan users, showing agreement or disagreement or asking for clarification, for example, PRO1 AGREE I agree. PRO1 AGREE-NOT I don’t agree … THAT RIGHT (CORRECT)? Is that right? RIGHT (CORRECT) PRO1? … am I right?
- Elaboration gaining the attention of an individual or a group, for example, by flashing classroom lights, waving tapping or pointing to alert third parties
- Elaboration following protocols for interrupting conversations, for example, when to walk between signers, waiting for eye contact and pauses in signing and using language such as EXCUSE or SORRY INTERRUPT
- Elaboration monitoring their own and each other’s learning, for example, by making comments such as SURPRISE KNOW-NOT PRO1 I didn’t know that … THANK-YOU PRO2 EXPLAIN CLEAR Thank you – that was really clear.
They collaborate in activities that involve the language of planning and problem-solving to share information, preferences and ideas.
Content descriptorAC9L2AU6C02 Communicating meaning in Auslan
participate in activities that involve planning and negotiating with others, using language that expresses information, preferences and ideas
Elaborations (6)
- Elaboration working collaboratively to plan a performance or presentation, for example, on aspects of Deaf culture or Auslan or a presentation about cyber safety
- Elaboration allocating responsibilities and organising the completion of shared tasks, such as the creation of an online game or board game or a class project PRO2 THINK BEST THIS FIRST, FINISH, NEXT … Do you think we should do this first and when that’s done, next … THAT FIRST IMPORTANT THAT SECOND That’s more important than this.
- Elaboration expressing preferences in relation to roles and responsibilities in shared learning activities, using statements such as PRO1 HANDWRITING PRO1 LIKE-NOT RATHER TYPING I don’t like handwriting; I prefer to type it. PRO1 WANT-NOT DRAW, PRO1 WANT TAKE MANY PHOTO I don’t want to do the drawing; I’d rather take photos.
- Elaboration organising real or imagined activities or an event such as a class party, talent show or a trip overseas, using expressions related to place, time and numbers, for example, THAT SHOW WHEN WHAT DAY? What date is the show? PEOPLE THERE, HOW MANY? How many people will be there?
- Elaboration playing games that involve detailed information exchange, such as 'Guess who?', asking for and supplying descriptions, for example, PT+f HAVE GLASSES? Does yours have glasses? HAVE-NOT No.
- Elaboration carrying out simulated transactions in different contexts, for example, playing a ‘restaurant’ game or a food shopping game
They use strategies to locate and interpret information and ideas in texts, and demonstrate understanding by responding in Auslan or English, adjusting their response to context, purpose and audience.
Content descriptorAC9L2AU6C03 Communicating meaning in Auslan
locate and process information and ideas in a range of signed, visual and multimodal texts, and respond in different ways to suit purpose
Elaborations (9)
- Elaboration identifying key information in procedural or descriptive Auslan texts and responding to signed comprehension questions, for example, watching a signed video about the water cycle and then participating in a game show style quiz to answer questions
- Elaboration collecting information from peers about interests, preferences and routines, and presenting findings to the class using visual supports/graphic organisers, for example, presenting about how students get to school each day
- Elaboration paraphrasing the content of selected Auslan texts such as community announcements and relaying the information to others
- Elaboration reading or viewing First Nations Australian authors’ stories in Auslan or English and comparing words, formulaic expressions and sentences
- Elaboration finding information about events such as a meeting to discuss creating more community green spaces or details of an upcoming Deaf community event and creating a signed advertisement or promotional video with English captions
- Elaboration viewing a narrative signed text and responding by drawing a storyboard that identifies and sequences key events
- Elaboration viewing Auslan stories and providing a signed summary of the plot, main characters and key message of the story
- Elaboration comparing different kinds of Deaf expression, such as handshape poems or art, indicating with which they connect more and why
- Elaboration engaging with different examples of Deaf humour, such as Deaf jokes, and comparing them with examples of humour in spoken English or in silent films or mime
Content descriptorAC9L2AU6C04 Communicating meaning in Auslan
apply strategies to interpret and convey meaning in familiar signed and visual cultural contexts
Elaborations (7)
- Elaboration reading and transcribing short, glossed texts, including indicating understanding that there are markings to show NMFs and spatial locations
- Elaboration translating segments from popular children’s texts such as fairytales or short stories into Auslan, considering why some elements cannot be translated literally
- Elaboration demonstrating the use of a bilingual online dictionary such as Signbank by looking up various meanings of a word, for example, ‘run’ and comparing variation in signs for the concept in different contexts, for example, BATH DS:HANDLING TAPS RUN To run the bath AND To run out of pens RUN WANT SCHOOL-CAPTAIN To run for school captain
- Elaboration using resources such as Signbank to identify words which might not have a direct sign equivalent, for example, jewellery, pets and other collective nouns
- Elaboration finding and using phrases that have direct translations between Auslan and English, for example, Goodnight or Happy birthday
- Elaboration creating bilingual texts for younger children such as a digital Auslan-English dictionary of school-specific vocabulary or online vocabulary games
- Elaboration shadowing a story in Auslan, noticing phrases and concepts which do not translate directly
They create texts, selecting and using a variety of signs, depicting signs (DSs), non-manual features (NMFs) and signing spaces.
Content descriptorAC9L2AU6C05 Communicating meaning in Auslan
create and present a range of informative and imaginative signed, visual and multimodal texts using a variety of modelled structures to sequence information and ideas, and using fingerspelling (FS), lexical signs, depicting signs (DSs), non-manual features (NMFs) and signing space, appropriate to text type
Elaborations (7)
- Elaboration presenting information in Auslan to the wider school community, for example, a short skit to promote healthy habits, Harmony Day in the school, promoting community events such as a Deaf Festival or an upcoming swimming carnival using visual support
- Elaboration assembling a signed information pack about their school to support newly arrived deaf students, including a signed glossary of key people and places and simple directions to navigate the school website
- Elaboration explaining a favourite game, highlighting key Auslan terms and supporting information with pictures, gestures and demonstrations
- Elaboration creating a class presentation or video, locating and describing, in Auslan, a specific First Nations Country/Place location in a local or regional context, or elsewhere in Australia
- Elaboration planning, rehearsing and delivering short presentations about a topic of their choice, taking into account context, purpose and audience, for example, promoting recycling or a dream holiday
- Elaboration creating the next scene, a new character or an alternative ending for a signed fable, short story or cartoon
- Elaboration creating and performing an adaptation of a story with 2 or more characters, using elements of CAs such as eye-gaze change, body shift and head orientation change
They sequence information and ideas, and use conventions appropriate to text type.
Content descriptorAC9L2AU6C05 Communicating meaning in Auslan
create and present a range of informative and imaginative signed, visual and multimodal texts using a variety of modelled structures to sequence information and ideas, and using fingerspelling (FS), lexical signs, depicting signs (DSs), non-manual features (NMFs) and signing space, appropriate to text type
Elaborations (7)
- Elaboration presenting information in Auslan to the wider school community, for example, a short skit to promote healthy habits, Harmony Day in the school, promoting community events such as a Deaf Festival or an upcoming swimming carnival using visual support
- Elaboration assembling a signed information pack about their school to support newly arrived deaf students, including a signed glossary of key people and places and simple directions to navigate the school website
- Elaboration explaining a favourite game, highlighting key Auslan terms and supporting information with pictures, gestures and demonstrations
- Elaboration creating a class presentation or video, locating and describing, in Auslan, a specific First Nations Country/Place location in a local or regional context, or elsewhere in Australia
- Elaboration planning, rehearsing and delivering short presentations about a topic of their choice, taking into account context, purpose and audience, for example, promoting recycling or a dream holiday
- Elaboration creating the next scene, a new character or an alternative ending for a signed fable, short story or cartoon
- Elaboration creating and performing an adaptation of a story with 2 or more characters, using elements of CAs such as eye-gaze change, body shift and head orientation change
Students apply rules of signs, pace and signing space to develop fluency.
Content descriptorAC9L2AU6U01 Understanding language and culture
apply knowledge of signs, pace and signing space to develop fluency in familiar contexts
Elaborations (9)
- Elaboration identifying body-anchored signs, such as HEAD or HAND , and signs that are not body-anchored, such as HAVE or STOP , and understanding that non-body-anchored signs can be located in space around the signer
- Elaboration identifying where a signer has established a location in space, for example, through pointing, non-body-anchored signs, verb movement changes, or use of referents
- Elaboration noticing that in a suite of connected signing, a sign will often be produced differently to the way it is shown in a dictionary
- Elaboration recognising the different handshapes used by each hand in 2-handed signs
- Elaboration recognising the use of dominant and non-dominant hands in other Auslan users
- Elaboration identifying some NMFs in a signed text such as movements of the eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, shoulders and body
- Elaboration signing at a constant speed with pauses for emphasis, for example, when recounting an event or giving instructions
- Elaboration using some patterning in non-lexicalised fingerspelling
- Elaboration applying variations in iconic signs such as BANANA , which can be the iconic shape or the movement of peeling
They use modelled structures when creating and responding in Auslan.
Content descriptorAC9L2AU6U02 Understanding language and culture
use knowledge of modelled grammatical structures and formulaic expressions to compose and respond to texts, using appropriate textual conventions
Elaborations (8)
- Elaboration identifying and using examples of each type of DS in an Auslan text; entity DS, handling DS and size and shape specifiers (SASS) DSs
- Elaboration experimenting with the use of CAs to represent words, thoughts or actions of a referent, through eye-gaze change, body shift, head orientation change, and matching facial expressions
- Elaboration using fully-lexical signs that are in the dictionary and have a standard handshape, movement and location to compose signed texts
- Elaboration understanding that some partly-lexical signs cannot be listed in a dictionary in all forms as they change their form each time they are signed, such as DSs
- Elaboration understanding that sometimes Auslan signers have information about how a verb happens through NMFs not separate signs, for example, WRITE -carelessly, and this is known as manner
- Elaboration using adverbs to modify adjectives using NMFs, for example, REALLY or VERY , whereby changes in mouth patterns and movement of signs can intensify adjectives, for example, RED NMF:EYES-WIDENING , PLEASE NMF:SMILING-HEAD-NODDING, TALL NMF:EYES-WIDENING
- Elaboration expressing timing of verbs such as signing WATCH versus WATCH DS:SLOW-REPEAT , or using lexical signs WATCH AGAIN
- Elaboration understanding that parts of a sentence can be signed simultaneously in Auslan, making it hard to establish word order
They compare language structures and features in Auslan and English, using some metalanguage.
Content descriptorAC9L2AU6U03 Understanding language and culture
compare some Auslan structures and features with those of English, using some familiar metalanguage
Elaborations (6)
- Elaboration keeping a class poster to record different ways that English words are borrowed in Auslan, for example, the use of fully fingerspelled words, such as FS:NOUN , the fingerspelling of the first letter of corresponding English words, for example, FS:F for father, or abbreviations of English words, for example, state names such as FS:SA, TAS
- Elaboration building metalanguage to comment on grammar and vocabulary, for example, comparing adverbs used to express emotions in Auslan such as raising an eyebrow to show questioning or lowering the eyebrows to show surprise with equivalent English terms
- Elaboration recognising that Auslan signs have been influenced by international signed languages, in a similar way to English borrowing words from other languages
- Elaboration identifying and comparing features of particular types of Auslan and English texts, for example, comparing language that expresses emotion in a narrative text
- Elaboration analysing samples of types of text noticing choices signers have made in the production of their text, for example, the amount of CAs they use
- Elaboration comparing the use of gestures across signed and spoken languages and discussing similarities and differences
They show understanding of how some language reflects cultural practices and consider how this is reflected in their own language(s), culture(s) and identity.
Content descriptorAC9L2AU6U04 Understanding language and culture
recognise that language reflects cultural practices, values and identity, and that this impacts on communication
Elaborations (10)
- Elaboration recognising that using Auslan impacts on the cultural experiences, perspectives and identity of Deaf and hard of hearing people
- Elaboration preparing a presentation on the use of Auslan in the wider community, for example, in news broadcasts, live theatre and emergency announcements, the visibility of Auslan-English interpreters and Deaf interpreters
- Elaboration exploring how different technologies are used by deaf people to support social and community networks including direct or mediated communication through the use of interpreters
- Elaboration exploring, in Auslan or English, how language and culture are expressed through First Nations Australians’ song, dance or artworks, considering similarities and differences with an aspect of the cultural expressions of the Deaf community
- Elaboration investigating the signed languages used by deaf and hard of hearing members of First Nations Australians’ communities
- Elaboration identifying the diversity of the Australian population, including Auslan users who are deaf, deafblind, those who are hard of hearing and hearing people such as a child of deaf adult (CODA) and interpreters
- Elaboration describing how Auslan has been passed down through generations, including that Auslan is often passed on through schools and social settings rather than from parents, and how it has been recorded, for example, video footage
- Elaboration recognising that the ownership of Auslan rests with the Deaf community who are the Custodians of the language and that signs evolve naturally
- Elaboration researching and presenting a biography, profile or pictorial report on people or places significant to the Deaf community, for example, Eugene Salas and the original South Australian Deaf Society/Mission building
- Elaboration identifying sign language use around the world using data from Ethnologue, for example, by identifying and labelling countries on a world map with correct naming of the sign language used, such as France = LSF
This achievement standard describes the expected learning for Years 5 to 6 Auslan · Second language learners · Foundation to Year 10 sequence. Use it to plan teaching and assessment with the Australian Curriculum v9.
At a Glance
| Strand | Substrand | CDs | Elaborations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communicating meaning in Auslan | Interacting in Auslan | 2 | 17 |
| Communicating meaning in Auslan | Mediating meaning in and between languages | 2 | 16 |
| Communicating meaning in Auslan | Creating text in Auslan | 1 | 7 |
| Understanding language and culture | Understanding systems of language | 3 | 23 |
| Understanding language and culture | Understanding the interrelationship of language, culture and identity | 1 | 10 |
| Total | 9 | 73 | |
Frequently Asked Questions
What should students know by the end of Years 5 to 6 Auslan?
By the end of Year 6, students initiate and use strategies to maintain interactions in Auslan that are related to their immediate environment. They collaborate in activities that involve the language of planning and problem-solving to share information, preferences and ideas. Read the full standard
How many Content Descriptors support this standard?
9 Content Descriptors support this Achievement Standard (Communicating meaning in Auslan: 5, Understanding language and culture: 4).
How does this compare to Years 3 to 4?
The Years 3 to 4 Auslan standard (ASLANAUSSLLF10Y34) covers the preceding curriculum level. Standards build progressively, with Years 5 to 6 expectations extending what was introduced in Years 3 to 4.
Is this from the latest Australian Curriculum?
Yes, this Achievement Standard is from the Australian Curriculum version 9.0 (AC v9), the most current version published by ACARA.