Published on: 14th December 2022
Meet Sarah, a student at Deaf Connect completing her PSP20218 – Certificate II in Auslan. Sarah sat down with us to give us an insight into her Auslan learning journey, some helpful advice and to share her plans for the future.
Sarah has been interested in Auslan since learning how to fingerspell in primary school. Later in life, she began working in a pharmacy, where she had regular deaf patients.
“I wanted to be able to communicate with everyone who entered the pharmacy, so I decided to start an introductory class. I absolutely loved it,” Sarah says.
She enjoyed seeing her patient’s faces light up when she used Auslan; they soon became supporters of her learning journey. In the future, Sarah hopes to become an interpreter working in the medical field, where she can use both of her skill sets.
When asked what she enjoys most about learning Auslan, Sarah says she enjoys the theory most, developing her understanding of the language, culture and learning about the Deaf community. Sarah is also enjoying the supportive environment, energy, and passion in the classroom.
At a Sign Time event hosted by Deaf Connect, Sarah had a breakthrough moment mid-conversation with a deaf person. Sarah said, “I could communicate with them, they could communicate with me, the language had to be slowed down and simplified, but just the fact that I could hold a conversation was a great feeling”.
Sarah and her classmates have been attending Sign Time events and interpreted art gallery tours to practice their Auslan and to meet new people. Sarah spoke to us about how supportive the other students; her trainers and the Deaf community have been of her Auslan learning journey.
We asked Sarah where someone should start if they’re wanting to learn Auslan and her response was “the introductory classes are a good starting point, and they were a valuable stepping stone for me prior to starting Certificate II in Auslan. It gave me an understanding of the language and a good idea of what to expect.”
Would you like to start learning Auslan or continue your learning journey? Find out more about our Auslan courses here.
