The Victorian Department of Education supports Auslan (Australian Sign Language) programs across early childhood services, primary and secondary schools, and adult education.
Languages education in schools
All Victorian schools are required by legislation and as a condition of their registration with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority to provide instruction in an accredited language.
Victoria has led the way on a national level in developing Auslan as part of the school curriculum, having developed an Auslan curriculum for the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) level in 1994.
Over 20 languages are taught in mainstream Victorian government primary and secondary schools, with Chinese (Mandarin), Italian, Japanese, Indonesian, French, Auslan, Spanish and German the most studied languages.
More than 73,000 students are currently studying Auslan in over 330 Victorian government primary and secondary schools. Auslan is consistently one of the most popular languages offered in the Department of Education’s Language Education program
Typically, languages in Victorian schools are taught as a separate subject by a qualified teacher who is also accredited to teach the language; the programs focus on the teaching and learning of the target language and understanding the connections between language and culture. In the case of Auslan, due to the scarcity of language teachers who are fluent in Auslan, schools may consider employing an Auslan-fluent Deaf person who work alongside the class teacher.
For more information about teaching Auslan in schools, see:
Early Childhood Language Program - Auslan
The Victorian Government has invested $53.8 million to help preschool children learn in a language other than English. The Early Childhood Language Program(opens in a new window) is operating in kindergartens from 2019 to 2027.
Each year, the language program serves around 7,000 children and employs around 200 teachers across Early childhood services.
As part of the Early Childhood Language Programs, early childhood services in Victoria offer children the chance to learn Auslan in the year before school. There are currently more than 27 early childhood services providing Auslan programs.
Learning Auslan increases memory retention and motion processing and stimulates brain development and mental flexibility while increasing enjoyment in communicating for both hearing and deaf children.
The Early Childhood Language Programs are delivered in a way that reflects the local community context and incorporates children's interests, aligned with the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework(opens in a new window). Auslan teachers will collaborate with kindergarten teachers to integrate Auslan into everyday learning and routines.
How to implement the Early Childhood Language Program for Auslan
For useful Auslan resources and links, see
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