Let's say you've been meaning to learn Auslan. But then, like so many of us, your good intentions took a backseat to everything else going on in your life. You might have to work, go to school or take care of kids. You may not know where to find Auslan courses. And maybe you don't have the time to sit in a classroom for however long it will take you to learn how to sign. Or maybe you aren't prepared to commit to a years-long learning program.
Nobody could fault you for any of that. We only want to point out that those reasons shouldn't stand in your way of learning Auslan. You could learn at home, on your own time, via the web. Read on to find the best self-paced Auslan lessons.
How to Learn Auslan
The best way to learn Auslan is through an accredited course. Such courses have been vetted and approved by the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). They meet all of the criteria for further and higher education. You can find accredited Auslan courses at your nearest Technical and Further Education (TAFE) campus. Most of these courses are also offered over the web.
Why accredited courses? If you want to build your career around Auslan to English interpreting, you must attain a level of certification. Which level you aim for depends on what type of work you'd like to do. If you want to work in a government office or do social work, becoming a Certified Interpreter is the least distinction to strive for. Conversely, for legal and/or medical interpretation, you'll need a higher level of certification.
The National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) will authenticate your Auslan skills. First, they will examine your documentation and verify your Diploma of Auslan. Then, they will test your interpreting abilities. Should you meet or exceed their standards, NAATI will award you a certification that corresponds to your level of interpretation ability and experience.
Maybe you're simply interested in learning how to sign and fingerspell. Or perhaps you have a friend or relative who is deaf or hard of hearing. It could be that you want to work with pre-verbal children, in which case you would learn baby Auslan. If you want to learn Auslan for personal reasons such as these, you don't need to undergo certification. You may take Auslan courses through any for-profit venture that offers them. Or you could turn to deaf support organisations such as Deaf Connect or Expression Australia. They also offer courses via webcam.
Whether or not you need accredited Auslan courses, TAFE would be the best path to learning how to sign. There are TAFE learning facilities across Australia, most of which offer Auslan courses online. Also, these courses are free but for the student amenities fee. Who could beat that bargain? Still, there's no shame in looking beyond what TAFE has to offer. Should TAFE Auslan courses not suit you, you still have plenty of options for learning Auslan remotely.
Learn Auslan App
Like spoken tongues and sign languages all over the world, Auslan is region-specific. Not just specific to Australia but to discrete cities within Australia. That has a lot to do with this language's decentralised nature. As deaf communities formed around the country, they developed their own signs with no consensus from any other community. Thus, there is some disparity from one territory to the next about what signs represent. To wit, the Melbourne sign for 'hungry' represents 'sexy' in Sydney-sign.
Even though you could take Auslan lessons remotely from anywhere in Australia, you must be mindful of regional differences in signing. Fortunately, the Auslan Tutor 2 application takes regional signing variations into consideration. This app, developed by NextSense.org, allows you to choose the Auslan signed in your region. You may also learn signs from other areas around Australia. Should you forget to set your region, the default setting will show you which region(s) a particular sign applies to.
NextSense is a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provider. They are a not-for-profit company that delivers innovative solutions for the visually impaired as well as the deaf and hard of hearing. If this learn Auslan app is anything to go by, they certainly make good on their mission statement! Auslan Tutor 2, or AT2 as they call it, is loaded with over 1,400 signs and instructions for how to make them. It has a hand shape catalog and each sign's body location - the part of the body involved in making the sign. Crucially, it displays a map showing which part of Australia that sign belongs to.
Naturally, AT2 is packed with features that go far beyond an Auslan dictionary. Each sign has a video clip that you may pan to the left or right to better see how the sign is formed. You may also select different ways words are signed. Each sign's region is indicated and you may switch between regions without interrupting your learning. And you can learn how to sign individual words or complete phrases.
Fingerspelling is an integral part of Auslan. Proper names are finger-spelt, as are words for which there is yet no sign for. Tech-specific words typically require fingerspelling. And if you want to emphasise a word, you would fingerspell instead of signing it. If you're an absolute beginner at learning Auslan, you should use AT2's fingerspelling tutorial as soon as you download the app.
Learn Auslan Online With Asphyxia
Despite the variety of signs across Australia, the Australian sign language alphabet is constant. So, as Auslan signers travel around the country, they can make themselves understood by fingerspelling. As a beginner Auslan learner, you might, in fact, fingerspell your way into the deaf community. According to Asphyxia, there's nothing wrong with that provided you also learn how to sign.
Asphyxia is an author, artist and deaf activist. She has been deaf since she was three years old but didn't learn to sign until she was 18. Her story underscores the disparity of education and services for the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities across Australia. These days, she spends much of her time advocating for equality for the deaf and hard of hearing. To help mainstream deaf culture and sign language, she put together a course for anyone interested in learning Auslan.
As others advocate, Asphyxia recommends mastering fingerspelling before learning how to sign. Once you've got fingerspelling down pat, try fingerspelling your name. And then, try other names - of friends, family and pets. Once you can fingerspell their names fluently, broach more complex efforts. Maybe your favourite song's lyrics or a poem you wrote.
Asphyxia offers a three-tier course, the last module of which is targeted at medical issues. This is an issue of grave concern for deaf people. Just because Australia declared Auslan a legitimate language nearly 40 years ago doesn't mean that it is widely known. Usually, people who are deaf have trouble making themselves understood. Not being understood is even more frustrating when you're in pain or feeling terrible. If you can learn signs related to medical issues, all the better.
How to Learn Auslan Online With Lisa Mills
Unlike Asphyxia, Lisa Mills was born deaf but that didn't stop her frenetic joie de vivre or desire to learn. Ever curious and questing, she noticed something lacking in remote education. There were few resources to learn Auslan online. Lisa immediately set her formidable élan to the task. She wanted to give students the chance to learn Auslan without having to worry about finding someone to mind the children so they could rush off to class.
Lisa Mills Online debuted in 2015 to resounding success. As her web page proclaims, she has taught thousands of students around the world how to sign. Admittedly, she does so primarily to promote deaf awareness and deaf culture. But she has another, more driving reason for creating Auslan learning materials.
Mentions of the deaf community makes it sound like an inclusive place. Indeed, one would be hard-pressed to not feel welcome and included if they could sign in Auslan. However, the inverse is often not the case. Historically, society and services - governmental, educational and commercial, cater to the hearing world. That is true today, too. The absence of Auslan interpreters in government offices is the most prevalent example of such.
The lack of services and accommodations for people who cannot hear often leads to frustration. It also provokes a sense of isolation. Even an act as commonplace as asking to try on a pair of shoes becomes a challenge. Let alone navigating the bureaucracy to take care of official matters.
Lisa Mills aims to highlight the unfairness deaf people face in their daily life. She needs the wider world to understand that, more than just provoking isolation, the status quo harms deaf people's mental health. Believe her when she says it won't take you long to learn Auslan. And then, you too can be more inclusive of deaf people going about their lives.
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Hi there
I am interested AUSLAN 2 certificate course
Online. With accreditation after this course
I will start my career
Regards
Hello, we recommend looking for an Auslan tutor on Superprof, if you have any trouble finding one, we invite you to send your questions to our customer care team at the email gday@superprof.com. Have a lovely day!