Understanding the benefits of Auslan for deaf and hard of hearing children

In this presentation, Dr Gabrielle Hodge examines the benefits of Auslan (Australian Sign Language), with specific reference to deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children's communicative repertoires.

Dr Hodge begins her presentation by discussing the diverse profiles and communication practices of DHH individuals and the prevalence of Deaf sign language users in Australia. The presentation focuses on the use of Auslan, including its path to recognition as a natural community language. Dr Hodge describes some of the key factors influencing individual language learning trajectories and the development of semiotic repertoires through signing.

In examining the benefits of Auslan for DHH children’s language development, Dr Hodge provides a brief history of Auslan and insight into some of the important features of the language. Dr Hodge also discusses the value of bilingualism in the education of DHH children, highlighting the importance of Auslan in supporting DHH children to acquire a robust and resilient first language.

VDEI recommend the use of Google Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari (Macintosh users only) as the preferred web browsers to seamlessly register and access this learning.

Please note – Victorian Department of Education staff can access this professional learning offering free of charge. Enter your @education.vic.gov.au email address during the registration process to ensure the registration fee is waivered.

This on-demand presentation is delivered by Dr Gabrielle Hodge in Auslan. An English voice over has been added to the presentation. Captioning is also available.

Dr Gabrielle Hodge is a deaf researcher specialising in the linguistics of signed languages. She is currently a post-doctoral researcher working with Dr. Kearsy Cormier on the BSL Corpus Project at the Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre at University College London.

Her research interests include corpus linguistics and the semiotics of multimodal interaction.

Participants will:

• Gain an understanding of the diverse communication practices used by deaf and hard of hearing children in Australia
• Learn about Auslan as a natural community language and the specific features of Auslan
• Understand the benefits of Auslan for deaf and hard of hearing children and the value of bilingualism in education

Download on-demand flyer

Participants who successfully complete this On-Demand Presentation will receive a certificate noting 2 hours of professional learning.