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Week 9 in Review

Hello fabulous Level 1 Graduands!

Congratulations on the completion of Auslan Level 1!  It’s been wonderful to journey with you as you’ve learnt about my beautiful language and culture.  I have loved seeing your language skills develop and your capacity to communicate in Auslan grow.  Thank you for your interest in, and commitment to learning Auslan.

Congrats Emily, Tanya, and Jessica on each adding 5 mins of free private Auslan tuition to your tally, and to Joanne on adding 10 mins, and to Demi and Gemma on adding 15 mins each!  

Here are the handouts for this week:

• Summary of all we covered this week
• Summary of the entire Level 1 course

I hope you have found it interesting and enjoyable, and that you have learnt a lot!

If you haven’t already, would you mind taking 3 minutes to complete this survey monkey?  It helps me improve and shape the courses to the needs of the students.  Thanks heaps! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MJV6G56

I will email everyone shortly with their certificates and accumulated free private Auslan tuition minutes =).

Moving forward, there are a few options available to you.

You are welcome to jump online and purchase the Level 2 vocab recordings and all handouts for $50 (I will credit this $50 off your next live course). This will be available shortly…I have just finished packaging it all together, and just need a couple more days to finish setting up the backend for the website so you can purchase and access these. I will send an email out once this is completed.

1. Once I resume live classes, you can join the Level 2 class live – benefit of doing this is that having pre-learnt the vocab and reading the grammar handouts and having a bit of an idea/grasp of the concepts, you will then be able to utilise the course to practice and consolidate your skills and focus more on the incorporation of the vocab and grammar into communication/conversation/story-telling.
2. If you feel like the Level 2 vocab recordings and the handouts have been substantial enough and you want to skip to joining the Level 3 live classes, you can book a private 1-on-1 session with me (or use some of your accumulated free minutes) to assess/check your competency, and I can help fill in any gaps there may be etc. You can also use this time to do your ‘I am going/I really like slop’ story if you like.
3. If you complete the Level 2 vocab and handouts and feel ready for more of a challenge, you are welcome to purchase the Level 3 pack as well (Level 3 has substantially more vocab in it), and begin to work through that one as well. Then, when live classes resume, you can decide whether you want to join the Level 2, or the Level 3, or both the Level 2 AND 3 classes simultaneously. If you want to do both the Level 2 and 3 live classes simultaneously, I am happy to provide a substantial discount…contact me for more info.
4. Well, I’m putting in number 4 here as there are always more options than we initially conceive of, so if you have an option/idea that you’d like to propose to me, you are more than welcome to do so =)

In a couple weeks’ time, the Level 1 class recordings will need to be deleted from the server in order to free up storage space. However, you should be able to download the videos to your device for your own personal revision. Just click on the little video image – the little rectangle with the triangle – at the top left of centre. When you open the recording, on the top right hand side of the screen, you should see 2 little arrows in a circular shape, and if you click on that it will make the video the largest thing on the screen and move the slides to a small box on the left. Please do not upload these videos to other platforms (e.g. YouTube) or make them available to others. This is primarily due to privacy and confidentiality issues as they are simply recordings that were done for the existing level students, and additionally, well, it’s my bread and butter and puts food on the table for my kids haha.

Again, congratulations, and thank you for your participation in Auslan Level 1.  It has been wonderful to meet you all and I hope to see you again soon!

Warm regards,
Sarah

Week 8 in Review

Hello wonderful Auslan students!

Well done on another great class!  Congratulations to Jan, Joanne, Jessica and Nicolle who have each added another 5 mins of private Auslan tuition to their tallies!

We looked at emotions and the Deaf world this week. I hope it was interesting and that you learnt something new =) This coming week is our final class and will be one giant review and opportunity for consolidation and conversational practice.  There will be lots of games and activities and lots of fun!  And there will be more opportunities for you to win private tuition minutes with me. Any questions you may have, bring them along!

Here are the handouts for this week:

1. Summary of all we covered this week. 
2. HOC 9 – Culture Close-Up – an overview of the information we covered on the Deaf world, including organisations, groups, arts, sports, clubs, education, etc etc.

Hope you all have a truly wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing you next week!

Cheers,

Sarah

Note to Split Class (Tues/Fri) – Week 7

You can scroll down to ‘Week 7 in Review’ for your handouts and information as you are a week behind the other classes. If you have missed any classes thus far, please endeavour to watch the recordings to catch up =). If you have any issues, please let me know.

Reminder that the remaining Tuesday classes have been shifted to half an hour earlier at 12pm…so both Tuesday and Friday will be from 12 til 12.45pm. See you then =D

Cheers,

Sarah

Week 7 in Review

Hello fabulous Level 1ers!

Wow…we are nearly at the end of your level 1 course!  Only 2 classes to go!!! 

We looked at colours and verbs this week, along with sentence structure in Auslan and improving our fingerspelling receptive skills. I hope it was helpful and I look forward to continue building on these skills with you.
If you have missed a class or 2, I encourage you to watch the recordings to catch up, but even if you don’t get a chance to before the next class, come anyway as we’ll be looking at a new vocab topic ’emotions’.

Congrats to Anne, Jan, Joanne, and Jessica for taking out this week’s review games…Anne and Jess – you’ve each added 5 mins and Jan and Joanne, you’ve each added 10 mins of free private Auslan tuition to your tallies! More opportunities up for grabs this week.

Here are the handouts for this week:

• A summary of this week’s class
• HOG 8 – Grammar Guidance – the English/Auslan sentence reconfigurations slides we workshopped on
• HOV 12 – Vital Vocab for next week’s class – Emotions

This coming week, in addition to looking at emotions, we will be exploring the Deaf world, how you can link in, engage, and connect with the Deaf community in your area, Deaf organisations, groups, arts, sports, education, businesses and more.

Hope you have had a fabulous weekend and I look forward to seeing you all this week!

Cheers,

Sarah

Note to Split Class (Tues/Fri) – Week 6

You can scroll down to ‘Week 6 in Review’ for your handouts and information as you are a week behind the other classes. If you have missed any classes thus far, please endeavour to watch the recordings to catch up =). If you have any issues, please let me know.

Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow at 12.30pm (AEST)!

Cheers,

Sarah

Week 6 in Review

Hello lovely level 1 students!

Well done on another great week!  Congratulations Jan and Joanne on winning this week’s revision games 😉  You’ve each added 5 mins to your free private Auslan tuition.  Everyone else, there’ll be more opportunities next week =).  

We looked at the rest of the timelines vocab last week, so please watch the recording to catch up if you missed the class, as this week we will be moving on to colours. Continue to pay particular attention to your ‘yesterday’, ‘tomorrow’, ‘last week’ and ‘next week’ as these are often the foundations of your time markers in Auslan.

If you’d like to do some fingerspelling receptive skills practice, here are 2 websites where you can adjust the speed of the fingerspelling and type your response in etc.  The first one is a race to see how many you can accurately read in a 2-minute time slot.  Remember, they are not a substitute for the natural fingerspelling a Deaf person would use, but it’s a bit of fun to practice on.  Next week we will be looking at improving our fingerspelling receptive and expressive skills in a bit more detail.

• https://www.signlanguageforum.com/bsl/fingerspelling/fingerspelling-game/
• https://www.auslan.org.au/spell/practice.html

Here are this weeks handouts:

• Week 6 summary
• HOC 8 – Culture Close-Up Handout on Technology
• HOG 7 – Grammar Guidance Handout on Inflection
• HOV 10 – Vital Vocab for next week (Verbs)
• HOV 11 – Vital Vocab for next week (Colours)

I look forward to seeing you all this coming week where we will look at sentence structure in more detail, as well as looking at colours and verbs.  We’ll also be starting with a game of Connect Four as a revision of all the vocab we’ve done this far =)

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend.

Cheers,

Sarah

Note to Split Class (Tues/Fri) – Week 5

You can scroll down to ‘Week 5 in Review’ for your handouts and information as you are a week behind the other classes. If you have missed any classes thus far, please endeavour to watch the recordings to catch up =). If you have any issues, please let me know.

Looking forward to seeing you all on Tues at 12.30pm (AEST)!

Cheers,

Sarah

Week 5 in Review

Hello wonderful Auslan students!

There were a lot of people under the weather this week, battling different colds, the flu, covid etc. I pray you are all recovering well and will be back on your feet in no time at all. I had planned to do a monologue quiz this past week, which is a bit of fun but gives opportunity to pull everything you’ve learnt thus far together, but because many of you were absent, I’ve postponed it for now to give you all a chance to have a go =)

If you missed this past week, please endeavour to watch the relevant recording below so you can catch up before this coming week, as we will be building on last week’s lesson in regards to timelines =). 

Here are this week’s handouts:

• Summary of Week 5’s class
• HOC 6 – Culture Close-Up handout on Directness
• HOC 7 – Culture Close-Up handout on Sign Names
• HOG 6 – Grammar Guidance handout on Directional Signs
• HOV 9 – Vital Vocab Lists for next week – Timelines Part B
• HOV 10 – Vital Vocab Lists for next week – Verbs

This coming week we will be looking at technology for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, as well as Inflection, verbs, and the second half of timelines vocab.  Practice up on what we covered this week in regards to timelines…especially your yesterday/today/tomorrow and last week/next week.  There will be more opportunities to win free private Auslan tuition minutes next week =)

I hope you have had a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing you all over the coming week!

Cheers,

Sarah

Note to Split Class (Tues/Fri) – Week 4

Congrats to Demi for again adding 5 mins to her private Auslan tuition tally.

Many of you were absent for various reasons on Fri (I hope that who were unwell are starting to improve), and we covered health and emergency vocab, so please endeavour to watch the recording to catch up prior to Tues.

You can scroll down to ‘Week 4 in Review’ for your handouts and information as you are a week behind the other classes. If you have missed any classes thus far, just look for the SPLIT Tues/Fri Class and then Week 1a, 2a, 3a or 4a for Tues and 1b, 2b, 3b or 4b for Fri =). If you have any issues, please let me know.

Looking forward to seeing you all on Tues at 12.30pm (AEST)!

Cheers,

Sarah

Note to Split Class (Tues/Fri) – Week 3

Congrats to Demi and Nicolle for again adding 5 mins each to their private Auslan tuition tallies. There will be more opportunities up for grabs on Tues so practice up all we have covered thus far, as this coming week we will be moving onto Health and Emergency vocab =) Make sure you also feel confident with your alphabet and 0-99 as we will be moving onto hundreds, thousands, millions, and billions!

Please scroll down to ‘Week 3 in Review’ for your handouts and information as you are a week behind the other classes. If you have missed any classes thus far, just look for the SPLIT Tues/Fri Class and then Week 1a, 2a or 3a for Tues and 1b, 2b or 3b for Fri =). If you have any issues, please let me know.

Looking forward to seeing you all on Tues at 12.30pm (AEST)!

Cheers,

Sarah

Note to Wed and Fri PM Class – 28.05.22

Thank you for your understanding with postponing this week’s class due to unwell children. For those who have missed a class, please endeavour to catch up prior to classes next week. If you haven’t missed a class, feel free to review the vocab videos and practice up, so you feel ready to move onto timelines this coming week =)

If you haven’t yet joined, I highly recommend joining the SWS Students facebook group, as I post weekly challenges on there for you to practice and consolidate learning between classes. You can search ‘SWS Students’ in facebook and request to join, or you can access it via the QR code below, and likewise requesting to join.

I look forward to seeing you all next week and hope you have a restful and restorative weekend!

Warm regards,

Sarah

Note to Split Class (Tues/Fri) – Week 2

Great to see you again this week and welcome to Charlotte and Jessica…we look forward to seeing your faces next week. Congrats to Demi and Nicolle on starting their free private Auslan tuition tallies off with 5 mins each. There will be more opportunities up for grabs on Tues =D

Please scroll down to ‘Week 2 in Review’ for your handouts and information as you are 2 weeks behind the other classes. If you have missed any classes thus far, just look for the SPLIT Tues/Fri Class and then Week 1a or 2a for Tues and 1b or 2b for Fri =). If you have any issues, please let me know. Looking forward to seeing you next week!

Week 4 in Review

Hello fabulous Level 1 students!

First of all, let me say that I am really impressed with how quickly you are all picking up Auslan and how much you are retaining…it really highlights your dedication to learning Auslan and makes it such a thrill, joy, and honour to teach you.  Thank you!  You are really growing in confidence and competence at introducing yourselves and exchanging information about your families.  Well done.

For those who have missed any classes, please take the time to revise the entire class recording…not just the short vocab video, as there is vital information pertaining to grammar, culture, etc that we cover each week. Just head to the recordings below, look for your class (Wed or Fri PM or SPLIT Tues/Fri) and then for the week you missed. If you have any issues accessing it, please let me know!

Anne, Emily, Jo, Jay, and Saani you have each added 5 mins of free private Auslan tuition to your tallies…well done!  There will be more games and activities up for grabs next week, so practice up your new vocab.  We are actually going to start off with a monologue quiz, where I am going to sign introductory information about a fictitious character (their name, age, family members, medical issues, etc) and whoever is able to correctly identify the most signs will add to their private tuition tally…to prepare, just keep revising your fingerspelling, numbers, and the signs we have covered thus far =D (You can check out the vocab videos below to refresh).

Here are this week’s handouts:

1. A summary of all we covered this week
2. HOC 5 – Culture Close-Up – The round table, lighting, and noise
3. HOG 5 – Grammar Guidance – Negation, Affirmation, and Answering Questions with a Verb
4. HOV 7 – Vital Vocab for next week – Double Letters
5. HOV 8 – Vital Vocab for next week – Timelines Part A

Next week we’ll be learning about sign names, directional signs, and timelines, and as I mentioned before, I’ll also be signing a monologue filled with signs you have learned thus far…it is a great way to see how much you have retained and be encouraged at just how much you can already understand in conversation.  

Also, a reminder that you can utilise auslan.org.au and https://find.auslan.fyi/. (Make sure you read the definitions and check the location/regional distribution of the sign – it’s the little map of Australia under the sign…it lights up blue for the regions the sign is most commonly used in, and check out the various signs for the same English word…there are little number tabs on the top left to click through).  And then always check with me or another Deaf person that you are using the correct sign and in the correct context =D.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend and I look forward to seeing you next week!

Cheers,

Sarah

Note to Split Class (Tues/Fri)

Was lovely to meet you on Tues/Fri…I apologise for the technical difficulties on Tues and glad it was all sorted for Fri =). Please scroll down to ‘Week 1 in Review’ for your handouts and information as you are 2 weeks behind the other classes. Please endeavour to print one of the six bingo cards you’ll find in the handouts ready for Tuesday’s class.
If you have any issues, please let me know. Looking forward to seeing you next week!

Week 3 in Review

Hello fabulous Auslan students!

Was lovely to see you all again this past week.  There were a few moments during your classes, where you were all voice off and signing to each other, and I sat back and marvelled at how well you are doing after only your third class!  A particular shout out to the students who are brand new and have never been exposed to Auslan before…a few weeks ago, you didn’t even know the alphabet, and now you are able to have short conversations…well done!!!!   

Congratulations to Anne, Emily, and Jan (Wed class) and to Jo and Saani (Fri class) for each adding 5 mins of free private Auslan tuition to their tallies and to Tanya (Wed class) on adding 10 mins to hers! Well done =)

Keep practicing your alphabet and numbers – you have learned the whole alphabet now, so should be able to fingerspell anything.  Try fingerspelling whatever you see around you, or the first few lines of the book you’re reading, or this update, or the facebook posts you mindlessly scroll at 11pm.  And with numbers, you can do up to 99, so practice the speed limits or motorway exit numbers as you drive past them, or fingerspell and do the numbers on the car number plates, or the barcode on the back of your cereal box while eating breakfast, or the mobile numbers of each person who messages you.  There are lots of opportunities around you to practice on the go without having to sit down and actually practice, so make the most of them =D.

You’ll find the link to this week’s recording below.  I find that they don’t work in Safari, but will open fine in Chrome, Firefox, etc and on any android device. 

Here are this week’s handouts:

1. Summary of what we covered this week
2. The slide with the example of how to navigate 
   https://auslan.org.au/ and htps://find.auslan.fyi/
3. Culture Close-Up Handout on Deaf introductions and the long goodbye
4. Grammar Guidance Handout on an introduction to Auslan syntax/topicalisation/rhetorical questions
5. Put it into Practice Activity Slide with some of the questions we utilised in getting to know each other/practice our signs and grammar etc
6. Vital Vocab for next week – Health and Emergency (you may like to print this in preparation so you can annotate the signs as needed).

Also, a reminder that you can utilise auslan.org.au and https://find.auslan.fyi/. (Make sure you read the definitions and check the location/regional distribution of the sign – it’s the little map of Australia under the sign…it lights up blue for the regions the sign is most commonly used in, and check out the various signs for the same English word…there are little number tabs on the top right to click through).  And then always check with me or another Deaf person that you are using the correct sign and in the correct context =D.

Any questions, please don’t hesitate to email me!  Looking forward to seeing you all next week =)

Cheers,

Sarah  

Week 2 in Review

Hello fabulous Level 1 students…

Was lovely to see you all again this week!  It was wonderful to sit back and watch you all signing, practising your conversational skills, at the end of the class.  I hope it boosted your confidence on how much you can interact with a Deaf person after just 2 classes! =D  

Congratulations to this week’s review game winners!  Emily, Jan, Saani, and Cecilia have each won 5 mins towards thier free private Auslan tuition tally.

And to everyone else, next class there will be several more opportunities up for grabs…so practice up =D. Repetition is the mother of all learning, so the more you have a chance to go over it, the more confident you’ll feel.  Even if you just take 10 mins a day to go through the alphabet, numbers, and vocab we’ve covered, you’ll find yourself progressing well. With your numbers, start to chunk them…i.e if you are checking out the barcode on the back of your Cheerios while eating breakfast (if it’s a cereal to you), or snacking on them (if they are chips to you), or passing time at a kids birthday party (if they are cocktail frankfurts to you), instead of signing 41379826…., sign 41, 37, 98, 26 etc….and fingerspell Cheerios while you’re at it ;-). Sign the speed limits as you are driving. Try signing the number plates of the cars around you on the road. The more you incorporate your practice as incidental learning, the more you’ll find yourself revising and not needing to sit down taking out massive chunks of time.

Here is a list of words containing the letters we have covered so far (A-S and vowels).  Have a go fingerspelling them…pay particular attention to your vowels. Print them out and stick them to the back of your toilet door or screen shot them to your phone and practice them while you’re waiting to pick kids up from school or in the ads of your favourite tv show, or midpoint through your facebook scrolling 😉

• Spacious
• Sprinkle
• Horseman
• Harmonies
• Boarding
• Benchmark
• Alongside
• Abolished
• Proclaimed
• Porcelain
• Normalcies
• Megablock
• Goldminers
• Flamingo
• Embracing
• Cornflakes
• Championed
• Palindromes
• Comradeship
• Demographics

Here are this weeks handouts:

1. Week 2 Summary of what we covered this week 
2. HOC 3 – Culture Close-Up Handouts about Gaining a Deaf Person’s Attention; clapping; proximity; and eye contact
3. HOG 2 – Grammar Guidance – Classifiers
4. HOG 3 – Grammar Guidance – HOLME
5. HOV 5 – Vital Vocab – Family and Relationships Part B (this is the vocab we will be covering during the next class…you may like to print it in preparation)

I’ve also decided I will endeavour to do a short recording each week of the vocab we covered for ease of revision etc. If you miss a class, please ensure you watch the entirety of the class recording, but if you were in class or have already watched the whole recording, you can also watch the short few minute clip where I show you the new signs we covered that week. It will save you having to fast forward through the long recording to find the vocab sections. I will call it ‘Week x Vocab’. When you open the recording, on the top right hand side of the screen, you should see 2 little arrows in a circular shape, and if you click on that it will make the video the largest thing on the screen and move the slides to a small box on the left. You should also be able to download it to your device so you can watch it on the go =) (Just click on the littel video image – the little rectangle with the triangle – at the top left of centre).

I have done up this little vocab review video for Week 1 Vocab, Week 2 Vocab, and then one on the alphabet and numbers 0-99.

I look forward to seeing you next week.  There will be plenty of games and activities for consolidation and opportunities to win private lesson time, so practice up!  Any questions in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to email or message me.

Cheers,

Sarah

Week 1 in Review

Hello fabulous Auslan students!  

Wow…it was lovely to meet you all last week (and I look forward to meeting the rest of you on Tuesday). I apologise for the delay in uploading this…I was sick all weekend and today is the first day where I’ve been able to be upright again.   Thank you for your enthusiasm and for embarking on this journey of understanding Deaf culture and learning to communicate with us in Auslan…it is such a privilege to teach you!  I recommend for those doing the Tuesday/Friday split class, to wait until after your class each week to download and read the handouts so you can really benefit from learning and experiencing the content first-hand during your class =D.

If any student is unable to attend at their scheduled class time, you are more than welcome to join another class that week – please just shoot me an email to let me know. The class times are as follows:

• Wednesdays 1pm – 2.30pm (AEST)
• Fridays 7.30-9pm (AEST)
• Tuesdays 12.30-1.15pm (AEST) AND Fridays 12-12.45pm (AEST)….This class is 2 weeks the others, so please contact me to confirm which week they are up to.

I know we covered quite a lot, so here are several handouts to help jog your memory and explore further.  I’d encourage you to read through them as they really are a part of the course and I think you’ll find them valuable =D. HOC stands for Handout Culture
HOG stands for Handout Grammar
HOF stands for Handout Fingerspelling
HOV – Handout Vocab
HOA – Handout Activities for things you may need to print in preparation for an activity.

Here are week 1’s handouts:

1. A summary of what we covered this week.  
2. HOC 1 – Culture Close Up – Auslan and the Deaf Community
3. HOC 2 – Culture Close Up – Deafness and Disability
4. Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing in Education Brochure for those who work with Deaf children
5. HOA 4a – Bingo Cards (there are 6 cards in the document…please choose ONE of these to print and have ready for next week’s review activity).
6. HOV 2 – Next Week’s Vital Vocab word list – Greetings and Introductions Part B
7. HOV 3 – Next Week’s Vital Vocab word list – Questions Words
8. HOV 4 – Next Week’s Vital Vocab word list – Family and Relationships Part A

You may like to also print the vocab lists (HOV 2, 3, and 4), in case you want to jot down any notes to help you remember the sign.

Remember to practice your A, E, I, O, U, A-G, 0-10, and the vocab we covered today.  As of next week, we will be having little revision games every week, and the winner of each game will win 5 mins of free private tuition class with me, that will accumulate across the course, which may result in over an hour of free private tuition by the end…so the stakes are high haha.  Practice signing all your family’s mobile phone numbers, or the barcode on the back of the packet of Tim Tams you are devouring while binge watching your favourite Netflix show.  Practice your vowels (A, E, I, O, U) as you sit on the loo…here’s a list of some words that contain the letters we covered this week…

• Feedbag
• Acacia
• Edifice
• Cubage
• Cuboid
• Budgie
• Façade
• Boogie
• Goodie
• Budge
• Debug
• Fudge
• Badge
• Caged
• Abide
• Abode
• Guide
• Adieu
• Audio
• Euouae (yes…it’s a real word!)
• Uoiauai (yes, this too is a real word!)

You’ll see the recording for your class at the bottom of this message.  I have noticed it doesn’t seem to work in Safari, but haven’t had any issues viewing it in Chrome or Firefox or anything android, but if you have any issues accessing it, let me know and I’ll try help sort it out.

Don’t forget to join the FB group – SWS Students – if you’d like extra revision, practice, and challenges between classes, and so you can post any questions you may have in the group.

Feel free to email or message me as well if you have any questions =D

Looking forward to seeing you this week!

Cheers,
Sarah

Prior to First Class

Hi Auslan Students!

Welcome to Sign With Sarah’s 9 week Auslan Level 1 Course.  I’m Sarah and I’ll be your Auslan teacher.  I’m super excited to meet you all and to journey with you as you learn my beautiful language and about my Deaf culture and community.

Below you will find the following handouts in preparation for your first class.

1. Instructions for accessing the online classroom
2. HOV 1 (Handout Vocab 1) – The Vocab List for Week 1 (I suggest printing this so you can scribble notes down to help remember the signs)
3. HOF 1 (Handout Fingerspelling 1) – The Alphabet
4. HON 1 (Handout Numbers 1) – Numbers 0-20
5. HOG 1 (Handout Grammar 1) – List of Auslan Handshapes
6. HOA 1 (Handout Activities 1) – KWL Table (If you get a chance, please pre-fill this prior to your first class)

Additional handouts regarding culture and grammar, along with future vocab lists and anything that needs printing prior to the next class, will be uploaded here each week.  Please check back regularly for new uploads.  Some students have found that printing the vocab lists prior to class aids them in annotating signs they struggle to remember and helps with revision throughout the week.  Occasionally, I may also require you to have a copy of the activity ready for class (these can be pre-printed or pre-loaded onto a separate device like an iPad etc) to view alongside the online session.

Here are a few tips on best preparing for Auslan Online Classes:

1. I recommend utilising a computer or laptop as not only is the screen bigger, but you will need to be hands free in order to sign.  Also, we will be engaging in lots of games/activities and in order to view me and each other, and the slides/games simultaneously, you’ll need the functionality that comes with a computer/laptop.
2. Please ensure the camera is far enough away that you can be seen in your webcam from the top of your head to your hips.  If you are too close to the camera, we won’t be able to see many of the words you sign.
3. For best results, I suggest setting up your computer in a quiet, well-lit space.  If you have children/pets etc in the background, it can be quite distracting for others but I understand if this is unavoidable. 
4. Please ensure you log in on time so we can maximise our time together. 
5. Please have a pen and paper handy as you may need to jot things down for some of the activities, or may like to take some notes to help you remember the signs.

To access the class, please click on the ‘JOIN’ button below.  There are more comprehensive instructions composed of a series of screenshots demonstrating how to utilise and navigate the classroom in one of the above handouts.

So that you have a chance to ensure your video and mic are working properly and you can familiarise yourself with how the online classroom works, I will open the classroom 10 mins prior to the first class.  If you would like to have a play around prior to the first class, let me know and we can make a time to open the classroom for you to do so.

Learning a language, particularly when not experiencing immersion, requires regular practise, and I know you are all busy, but if you can take 10 mins a day to go through the vocab list, alphabet, and numbers you have learned, you will really make the most of this short course. 

If you have any questions at any point, please do not hesitate to interrupt and ask.  Feel free to email any questions in between classes and please also message me if you are unable to attend a class.

There is also a private FB group – SWS Students – you can join if you’d like extra revision, practice, and challenges between classes, and so you can post any questions you may have in the group. You can search SWS Students and ask to join, or you can use the following QR Code and request to join that way.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

Cheers,

Sarah

External Resources

• www.auslan.org.au
• https://find.auslan.fyi/
• https://www.signlanguageforum.com/bsl/fingerspelling/fingerspelling-game/
• http://www.auslan.org.au/spell/practice.html?