NMIT is contracted by the Victorian Government to deliver Certificates II, III and IV in Auslan and the Diploma of Auslan from July 2013 as part of the Victorian Auslan Training Consortium (VATC) for 3.5 years until December 2016. The VATC will maintain the cultural, linguistic and scholastic integrity of this important training course. The course is integral in ensuring Deaf Victorians are able to continue to participate in every day community life. (pdf) The VATC is pleased to release a review of the first six months of the training. Below are some highlights from the report:
Community Engagement
Active community engagement is an important part of NMIT’s Auslan training provision and the VATC recognises that it is integral to success of the course and the employability of graduates.
Every effort is made to ensure students have a range of opportunities throughout their studies to engage with the Deaf community on a regular basis.
Bendigo Pilot
A regional pilot was conducted with students in Bendigo (October to December 2013) to test and refine a proposed model of delivery to regional centres in Victoria. The pilot used a blended delivery model that included video conferencing sessions, an online learning platform and local regional community activities. It also built in opportunities for language immersion outside the video conferencing classroom by engaging a local Deaf trainer as a Auslan language tutor to facilitate communication activities to give students maximum opportunity to gain knowledge of the local Auslan ‘dialect’.
Student experiences
The report details the experiences of the students and shares the journey they found themselves on as they learnt and absorbed a dynamic, visual language.
“It’s like shutting off one sense and opening another so much more. I wouldn’t find this kind of learning environment anywhere else”
“Excited is how I feel when I come to class. I haven’t missed a single class. I was part of the pilot program in Bendigo and it was fantastic. You get so involved in the class you forget its via video conference.”
“As a parent of a deaf child, learning Auslan has been essential not only to our communication but also so I can serve as a positive role model. Learning Auslan shows my child that I value her Deaf identity and opens the world of rich Deaf culture and heritage to both of us.”
deafConnectEd wishes to congratulate our consortium partners at NMIT, La Trobe University and Vicdeaf, without whom the start up of this new program could not have been achieved.
We also wish to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the Auslan management, teaching and administrative staff at NMIT, all of whom have gone above and beyond what was expected of them in order to deliver an outstanding program
Enrollments for semester 2 classes will open soon, with classes being offered in Certificate II, III and IV in Auslan from July 2014. For enrolment enquiries and to join our Auslan updates mailing list, contact deafConnectEd and the Auslan training team at Auslan@nmit.edu.au or on 9269 8306 for more information.
