22 Feb 2023
“What I love most about teaching is being able to have a positive impact on a child’s life and witnessing those little ‘ah ha!’ moments.”
At 8 years old, Simone Xirakis stumbled across the Auslan alphabet in the phonebook and taught herself the sign for each letter. Simone was able to remember these signs right through to adulthood, where she was reintroduced to Auslan by a person that she worked with.
Simone has been teaching primary school students for 8 years, and over the past 2 years she has been working with a neuro-diverse student who has also developed a similar interest in learning Auslan. It is this student’s curiosity in Auslan that sparked Simone’s desire to further her studies in the language.
Simone’s dedication and desire to learn more about the language led her to apply and be successful in receiving a scholarship through the ACT Education Directorate’s Teacher Scholarships Program to develop her skills and become an independent language user.
The acquisition of a scholarship in Auslan means a lot to Simone: “I hope to work closely with deaf and hard of hearing students in the future and knowing Auslan may enable me to better assist in their learning, especially if Auslan is their preferred language.”
When asked if learning Auslan was difficult, Simone responded:
“Learning Auslan is like learning any other language. It can be challenging however it has been a lot of fun. Part of my studies includes learning about deaf culture and being involved with the Deaf community. This has made learning the language easier, as I have been able to practice and communicate with some amazing people who use Auslan as their preferred language. I absolutely recommend studying Auslan to other teachers.”
Simone is already passing on her knowledge of Auslan to her class at Macgregor Primary School. By teaching her students basic Auslan skills she hopes that it will inspire her students to learn more about the world of Auslan at a young age, much like herself.
The Teacher Scholarships Program provides ACT teachers and school leaders with financial support to undertake further education, training and research. Scholarships open in term 3 this year. More information, including eligibility criteria, can be found on the Teachers Scholarships page .