AUSLAN will become a formal part of the curriculum in New South Wales from next year. But some schools are already teaching sign language to their students. In the northern New South Wales town of Uki, a pair of twins with deaf parents are now signing at home and in the classroom.
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00:00These six-year-old twins are signing their names using gestures both long and short.
00:13They use a mix of Auslan and tactile signing to interact with their parents.
00:18Hi, my name's Kirstie and this is my sign name, Kirstie.
00:24Hi, my name is Jex and my sign name is Jex. I'm a deafblind person.
00:31The language Nikita and Aaliyah use to communicate at home is also being used at school.
00:37What's next?
00:39The monkey.
00:40Their class at UKI Public is already learning Auslan.
00:44Giraffes!
00:46Ahead of the language joining the official state syllabus next year.
00:50I like how we can talk to deaf people.
00:54Whether it's their own name, a favourite colour or something more functional.
00:59What's your favourite word in sign, mate?
01:02Toilet.
01:03Toilet! Can you show us how to do that?
01:07It's also given Jex and Kirstie the chance to play a bigger role in their daughters' school lives.
01:13I think it's great. I think it's wonderful that the kids are learning
01:19so I can know what the kids are talking about.
01:22But that doesn't mean they're free of challenges at home.
01:25They can be a little bit cheeky sometimes because they know that we can't hear them talking
01:31and, you know, every now and then we might catch them out.
01:34Monkey cool!
01:36Cheeky and chatty, no matter the language.