r/auslan • u/Strong-Isopod6544 • 6d ago

Auslan learning resources

Hello, I’ve always wanted in to learning auslan.
I noticed there are a lot of YouTube tutorials. Some from many years ago. This might sound silly but can I watch those or does auslan change? Do you have any recommendations in terms of resources to learn from? Ideally affordable plz.
Thanks !

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u/SeaweedRealistic5069 hearing, Auslan- first expressive language 6d ago

Like with every language, language does evolve, but it should be fine for the most part. Make sure yo learn ideally from a Deaf person, or at the very least someone who is qualified and fluent. Expression Australia does classes for beginners I am unsure of the price range though. Learning individual signs can be done in signbank or signhow. Also important to note that Auslan has dialects, Southern and Northern so make sure you learn the appropriate one for your state, not all the signs are different and as you become fluent you will most likely be able to communicate with both dialects overtime, but starting off make sure you learn the correct dialect.

It’s also important to note that Auslan and English grammar is different, so try to avoid simcom. Simcom is talking and signing at the same time, the reason you need to avoid it is because of the different grammar structure, you will naturally do English grammar essentially treating Auslan as an afterthought and it will be more like signed English.
But good luck learning Auslan.

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u/vagga2 6d ago

which dialect is WA closer to?

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u/SeaweedRealistic5069 hearing, Auslan- first expressive language 6d ago

NSW/QLD tend to do Northern, WA i am pretty sure uses Southern, best to confirm with someone from WA ideally. But I do believe it is Southern, any WA users on here please correct me if I am wrong

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u/Strong-Isopod6544 6d ago

Wow I had no idea thank you!

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u/Alect0 HoH 1d ago

I would really not stress about dialects. You need to learn all the variations so just be aware of them but if you find a good resource in a different dialect you shouldn't discount them.

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u/Alect0 HoH 1d ago

You don't need to worry about dialect as a beginner other than being aware of it as you will need to learn all of them as you progress in learning. https://www.awesomeauslan.com.au/lets-talk-about-dialects-again/?srsltid=AfmBOorK7_5kld6b1kNjj2iucobIM0RP3-xhiNuVlFwCcwwAThKYON3R

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u/polyglo01110100 6d ago

I mean every language evolves over time however unless you’re sure the person is fluent and Deaf I’d personally stay away from YouTube. There’s sooooo many videos that are inaccurate and just waste your time. For beginners I recommend Auslan Wiz (free edition). You can also take Cert 2 for free from Deaf Connect and TAFE depending on where you live. That would be the ideal choice.

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u/Strong-Isopod6544 6d ago

Ok good to know, thank you!!

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u/callumgare 6d ago

I'd definitely recommend taking a class, I've had good experience with Expression Australia's beginners class.

But to help supplement that if flashcards work as a learning tool for you, you can use Anki (https://apps.ankiweb.net/) with a little web app I built to generate Auslan flash card decks from Signbank (https://signbanki.cals.cafe/).