Looking Ahead: Deaf Sports

Context

Subject: Languages (ideal for languages curriculum focusing on intercultural understanding and community engagement)
Year Level: Year 9
Unit: Deaf Sports Interviews (Lesson 26 of 27)
Class size: 16 students
Duration: 70 minutes

Australian Curriculum Links

This lesson addresses key Australian Curriculum (v9) Languages learning goals related to:

Intercultural Understanding: Exploring cultural identity, diverse perspectives, and social advocacy through language (General Capability: Intercultural Understanding)
Communication: Creating multimodal texts to convey meaning, adapting language for different audiences (AC9LV10C05 - Years 9 and 10 Vietnamese as exemplar; similar descriptors applicable for other languages)【2:AC9LV10C05】.
Literacy: Understanding and using non-verbal forms of communication and expressive multimodal texts (connected to interpreting interviews in Deaf culture).
Personal and Social Capability: Advocating inclusivity and diversity in sporting and cultural environments.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Discuss the future of Deaf sports, highlighting its cultural importance and potential developments.
Create a short spoken or multimodal presentation advocating inclusivity in sports, using learned language and sign language-related expressions where appropriate.
Reflect on ways they can personally support and advocate for inclusivity and accessibility in sports environments.
Demonstrate intercultural understanding by recognising Deaf culture as a rich linguistic and cultural community.

Lesson Outline

Time	Activity	Details
0-10 min	Engagement and Review	Brief recap of previous lessons focusing on Deaf sports interviews. Teacher shows a few powerful video clips or images highlighting Deaf sports achievements worldwide (subtitled or with sign language interpreters). Initiate a class discussion: What excites you about Deaf sports?
10-25 min	Guided Discussion: Future of Deaf Sports	In pairs or small groups, students discuss these questions (in spoken language or target language): How do you think Deaf sports will evolve in the future? What new technologies or policies could help athletes who are Deaf or hard of hearing? How can sports communities become more inclusive for Deaf participants? Teacher circulates providing sentence starters and modelled phrases e.g. In the future, Deaf sports will….
25-40 min	Creative Advocacy Task	Students create a short multimodal presentation (e.g. digital poster, slide with images and captions, or short video) aimed at encouraging their school or community to support Deaf sports and inclusivity. Students can use language, images, simple subtitles, or key phrases. They can incorporate simple sign language signs or references to Deaf culture if applicable.
40-55 min	Presentations and Peer Feedback	Students present their advocacy texts/presentations in small groups or to the class. Peers provide constructive feedback focusing on clarity, persuasiveness, and cultural respect. Teacher prompts use of respectful and encouraging language.
55-65 min	Reflection and Personal Commitment	Whole class reflection: Each student writes or records (in target language or English) a brief personal statement on how they can support Deaf sports and inclusivity in their community, for example: I will encourage my friends to watch Deaf sporting events or I will learn some Australian Sign Language signs related to sports.
65-70 min	Conclusion and Homework	Summarise key ideas and connections to intercultural respect and advocacy. Homework: Research a Deaf athlete or organisation in Australia, prepare a 2-minute introduction for the next lesson (final lesson in unit).

Resources

Video clips or images showcasing Deaf sports events or athletes.
Digital tools for creating multimodal presentations (e.g., Google Slides, Canva, or simple video apps).
Sentence starters and vocabulary banks tailored to student language proficiency.
Optional support for sign language references (basic Australian Sign Language signs related to sport or advocacy).
Reflection templates or digital journals.

Assessment

Formative: Observation of participation in discussion; review of created advocacy materials.
Summative (informal): Presentations assessed using a rubric focusing on:
- Use of appropriate language and cultural elements.
- Clarity and persuasiveness of advocacy.
- Creativity and use of multimodal elements.
Reflection: Personal commitment statements demonstrate understanding of inclusivity and student engagement.

Differentiation and Extension

Support: Provide sentence banks and bilingual word lists for EAL/D or less confident speakers.
Extension: Students could develop an advocacy campaign for the school, including organising a Deaf sports day or guest speaker.
Cross-Curricular Link: Connect with Health and Physical Education curriculum regarding inclusivity and diversity in sport.

Teacher Notes

This lesson is positioned as penultimate in unit, focusing on forward-thinking and advocacy, encouraging students to move from comprehension to active engagement.
Drawing on Deaf culture helps develop intercultural understanding aligned with Australian Curriculum goals, especially appreciating cultural identity beyond spoken language alone.
Encouraging student creativity through multimodal presentations aligns with contemporary language pedagogy and fosters digital literacy.
The lesson supports empowerment by positioning students as advocates for inclusivity, a key general capability in the Australian Curriculum.

If you wish, I can also suggest specific language structures or vocabulary suited for particular languages studied by your students, or support materials reflecting the Australian Curriculum frameworks for languages such as Vietnamese, Italian, or Aboriginal languages.

Teaching Instructions