AUSLAN is a language which has been described as exciting, easy to learn, popular - and different.

It is used by more than 10,000 deaf people in Australia, as well as their families and friends and professionals such as teachers and health workers.

Now Auslan is available as a VCE subject, as part of the LOTE group of subjects.

In the past, "signing" was the main way of communicating with deaf people and this method is still important.

However, there are significant differences between signing and Auslan, as the Victorian School for the Deaf explains.

"Signed English is a manually coded form of English, using one manual sign for one spoken word in English word order. It is not a 'language' in its own right, and was invented as an educational tool to assist deaf children to read and write in English in educational settings through out Australia.

"Auslan is the language of the Australian deaf community, a visual non-spoken language with its own grammar and structures which have no similarities to English."

Word order in Auslan is closer to German or Japanese than English. Adjectives follow nouns, as in Romance languages, first the person learns what is being described, then the picture is embellished.

Auslan is a very expressive language, involving five main elements - handshape, location (for example, high or low), movement, orientation and facial expression.

Interpreters using Auslan can be seen on TV and, increasingly, in theatre performances.

For example, plays on the VCE English syllabus may have an Auslan interpreter at the side of the stage, for the benefit of deaf or hearing-impaired students.

Auslan as a VCE subject was piloted at Banksia Secondary College, and included VCE Units 3 and 4 for the first time last year.

Evol Byron, LOTE manager at the Board of Studies, says Auslan at VCE level arose from an initiative of the deaf community.

The LOTE field of study committee recognised Auslan as an Australian community language and a year later the National Policy on Languages did the same.

Ms Byron says: "This opened the way for the board to apply for funding to develop Auslan as a project of national significance.

"The success of this proposal allowed members of the deaf community, deaf signers and educators to form a reference group and continue work on the study design."

There has been support from the tertiary sector, particularly La Trobe university, which not only offers Auslan as part of a degree but has training in the language for teachers.

Dr Jan Branson has headed research at La Trobe which has "provided valuable resources for the study of Auslan at secondary level", according to Ms Byron.

Gwenda Thomas, of Banksia Secondary School, says studying Auslan as a LOTE subject enables students to involve themselves in both the informal and the more formal grammatical concepts of Auslan through their experiences.

"Auslan at VCE level offers deaf students the opportunity to explore their own language as important contributing members of the class," says Ms Thomas, who has taught deaf people for 15 years.

Like other LOTE subjects, Auslan has work requirements and three CATs.

The main difference is that students are assessed on their use of "spontaneous" and "recorded" sign, rather than the usual oral and written requirements.

• CAT 1: Recorded Sign, students produce passages of recorded sign on video (with drafting replaced by taping and re-taping) .

• CAT 2: Students converse, report, discuss and role-play a situation through spontaneous sign.

• CAT 3: Students must complete a task in response to spontaneous and recorded sign.

VCE students now have the opportunity to communicate in a language which is as rich and interesting as it is unique.