Aurora School has been offering a Bilingual/Bicultural program in Auslan (Australian Sign Language) and English since 2013.  Auslan is the sign language of the Australian Deaf community and has its own grammar and vocabulary. It is quite distinct from English.  There is no written form of Auslan.

At Aurora School, children and their families are immersed in a language rich community where they have an opportunity to thrive socially and in their learning.  They have opportunities to mix with children who are deaf, hard of hearing (HoH), and hearing.

Bilingualism is an approach to teaching young Deaf children that uses both Auslan, the language of the Deaf community and English. We value these languages equally and want our children to be competent in both. We acknowledge and value children’s home language which may be other than English and understand this supports a positive identity and sense of wellbeing. We know how important it is for children to be able to code switch to match their use of language to suit different audiences and situations.

Auslan

Every child and their family has the opportunity to be exposed to and develop Auslan. As well as supporting their language acquisition, Auslan allows all deaf children and adults to communicate with each other and forms part of their Deaf identity.  We strive for children and families to be bilingual so that they feel included in both deaf and hearing communities.

Our Auslan program aims to develop children’s receptive and expressive skills, and understanding of how the language works. This enables each child to develop language for interacting, learning and socialising.

English

We actively promote the development of literacy (speaking, listening reading and writing) skills in order for children to learn across the curriculum.  We use spoken English, Sign Supported Speech and Auslan as appropriate for each individual child to ensure the development of literacy and communication skills. Speaking and listening skills are developed through collaboration and in partnership with families.

Programs are developed to maximise each child's potential to apply these skills and to enable them to communicate with hearing people to the best of their ability.   Exposure to spoken English is designed to meet the particular needs of the child and their family.

Enhancing a child’s environment

Staff working with our deaf children must also take into consideration a range of other factors. This includes.

• Ensuring eye contact is established before starting a conversation
• Teaching children how to gain a deaf person’s attention by tapping or waving
• Using facial expression and body language
• Not standing in front of windows or with light behind. This puts shadows in front of faces and makes seeing signing and facial expressions difficult
• Using visuals as much as possible – pictures, objects, charts
• Teaching children to take responsibility for their listening devices, including how to take them off, put them on and how to change batteries.

https://www.auroraschool.vic.edu.au/