Auslan

All of the students attend a one hour a week Auslan lesson.

Auslan is Australian Sign Language, 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.
 
We have incorporated Auslan into Marysville Primary School curriculum as our language program because it has many benefits.

Sign language can:

• enhance children’s educational and personal development
• increase memory retention and motion processing
• stimulate brain development and mental flexibility
• increase enjoyment in communicating