English

English Language - Unit 2: Language Change

In this unit, students focus on language change. Languages are dynamic and language change is an inevitable and continuous process. Students consider factors contributing to change in the English language over time and factors contributing to the spread of English. They explore texts from the past and from the present and consider how language change affects each of the subsystems of language – phonetics and phonology, morphology, lexicology, syntax, discourse, and pragmatics and semantics. Students also consider how attitudes to language change can vary markedly.

Areas of study

• English Across Time - This area of study examines the changes that have occurred in English over time. Students investigate the factors that bring about language change, including those that come from contact with other languages, from social and technological transformation, and from within the language itself. They explore language change across some subsystems of language as represented in texts.

• Englishes In Contact - In this area of study students consider the effects of the global spread of English by learning about both the development and decline of languages as a result of English contact, the elevation of English as a global lingua franca and the cultural consequences of language contact. Students explore the many ways English is used as an expression of identity and culture in written and spoken texts

Outcomes

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to identify and describe language change and its effects on the English language and analyse attitudes to language change.

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to identify and explain the effects of the global spread of English through spoken and written texts.

Text:

English Language - Unit 3: Language Variation & Purpose

In this unit students investigate English language in contemporary Australian settings. They consider language as a means of interaction, exploring how through written and spoken texts we communicate information, ideas, attitudes, prejudices and ideological stances.

Areas of study

• Informality – In this area of study students consider the way speakers and writers choose from a repertoire of language to vary the style of their language to suit particular purposes. They identify the function and consider and analyse the features of informal language in written, spoken and electronic interactions, understanding that the situational and cultural contexts of an exchange influence the language used.

• Formality – In this area of study students consider the way speakers and writers choose from a repertoire of language to suit particular purposes. As with informal language, the situational and cultural contexts determine whether people use formal language and in which language mode they choose to communicate.

Outcomes

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to identify, describe and analyse distinctive features of informal language in written and spoken texts.

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to identify, describe and analyse distinctive features of formal language in written and spoken texts.

Text:

English Language - Unit 4: Language Variation and Identity

In this unit students focus on the role of language in establishing and challenging different identities. There are many varieties of English used in contemporary Australian society, influenced by the intersection of geographical, cultural and social factors. Standard Australian English is the variety that is granted prestige in contemporary Australian society and, as such, has a central role in the complex construct of a national identity. However, the use of language varieties can play important roles in constructing users’ social and cultural identities. Students examine texts to explore the ways different identities are imposed, negotiated and conveyed.

Areas of study

• Language variation in Australian Society – This area of study enables students to examine the range of language varieties that exist in contemporary Australian society and the role of those varieties in contributing to an increasingly contested national identity. Standard Australian English has much in common with Englishes from other continents, but the language has also developed features across all subsystems of language that distinguish it from other Englishes.

• Individual and Group Identities – In this area of study students focus on the role of language in reflecting, imposing, negotiating and conveying individual and group identities. They examine how language users play different roles within speech communities and are able to construct their identities through subconscious and conscious language variation. In this work, students engage with social variables including age, gender, sexuality, occupation, interests, aspiration and education. While individual identity can be derived from the character traits that make us unique, our social identities are drawn from our membership of particular groups. Students investigate how, as individuals, we make language choices that draw on our understanding of social expectations and community attitudes.

Outcomes

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to identify, describe and analyse varieties of English in Australian society, the attitudes towards them and the identities they reflect.

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to identify, describe and analyse how variation in language, linguistic repertoires and language choices reflects and conveys people’s identities.

Text: “

English - Unit 2

In this unit students compare the presentation of ideas, issues and themes in texts. They analyse arguments presented and the use of persuasive language in texts and create their own texts intended to position audiences. Students develop their skills in creating written, spoken and multimodal texts.

Areas of study

• Reading and comparing texts – In this area of study students explore how comparing texts can provide a deeper understanding of ideas, issues and themes. They investigate how the reader’s understanding of one text is broadened and deepened when considered in relation to another text. Students explore how features of texts, including structures, conventions and language convey ideas, issues and themes that reflect and explore the world and human experiences, including historical and social contexts. Students practise their listening and speaking skill through discussion, developing their ideas and thinking in relation to the texts studied.

• Analysing and presenting argument – In this area of study students build on their understanding of argument and the use of persuasive language in texts that attempt to influence an audience. Students consider a range of texts where the primary purpose is to convince an audience to share a point of view. They develop an understanding of how texts are constructed for specific persuasive effects by identifying and discussing the impact of argument and persuasive language used to influence an audience.

Outcomes

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to compare the presentation of ideas, issues and themes in two texts.

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to identify and analyse how argument and persuasive language are used in text/s that attempt to influence an audience, and create a text which presents a point of view.

Text: “I am Malala” and “Pride”

English - Unit 3

In this unit students read and respond to texts analytically and creatively. They analyse arguments and the use of persuasive language in texts.

Areas of study

• Reading and creating texts – In this area of study students identify, discuss and analyse how the features of selected texts create meaning and how they influence interpretation. In identifying and analysing explicit and implied ideas and values in texts, students examine the ways in which readers are invited to respond to texts. They develop and justify their own detailed interpretations of texts.

• Analysing argument – In this area of study students analyse and compare the use of argument and language in texts that debate a topical issue. The texts must have appeared in the media since 1 September of the previous year. Students read and view media texts in a variety of forms, including print, non-print and multimodal, and develop their understanding of the way in which language and argument complement one another in positioning the reader.

Outcomes

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to produce an analytical interpretation of a selected text, and a creative response to a different selected text.

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to analyse and compare the use of argument and persuasive language in texts that present a point of view on an issue currently debated in the media.

Text: “The Women of Troy” and “Like a House on Fire”

English - Unit 4

In this unit students compare the presentation of ideas, issues and themes in texts. They create an oral presentation intended to position audiences about an issue currently debated in the media.

Areas of study

• Reading and comparing texts – In this area of study students explore the meaningful connections between two texts. They analyse texts, including the interplay between character and setting, voice and structure, and how ideas, issues and themes are conveyed. By comparing the texts, they gain a deeper understanding of the ideas, issues and themes that reflect the world and human experiences.

• Presenting argument – In this area of study students build their understanding of both the analysis and construction of texts that attempt to influence audiences. They use their knowledge of argument and persuasive language as a basis for the development of their own persuasive texts in relation to a topical issue that has appeared in the media since 1 September of the previous year.

Outcomes

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to produce a detailed comparison which analyses how two selected texts present ideas, issues and themes.

Text: “Ransom” and “The Queen”

English as an Additional Language - Unit 2

In this unit students compare the presentation of ideas, issues and themes in texts. They analyse arguments presented and the use of persuasive language in texts and create their own texts intended to position audiences.

Areas of study

• Reading and comparing texts: In this area of study students explore how comparing texts can provide a deeper understanding of ideas, issues and themes. They investigate how the reader’s understanding of one text is broadened and deepened when considered in relation to another text. Students explore how features of texts, including structures, conventions and language convey ideas, issues and themes that reflect and explore the world and human experiences, including historical and social contexts. Students practise their listening and speaking skills through discussion, developing their ideas and thinking in relation to the texts studied.
• Analysing and presenting argument: In this area of study students build on their understanding of argument and the use of persuasive language in texts that attempt to influence an audience. Students consider a range of texts where the primary purpose is to convince an audience to share a point of view. They develop an understanding of how texts are constructed for specific persuasive effects by identifying and discussing the impact of argument and persuasive language used to influence an audience.

Outcomes

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to identify and analyse how argument and persuasive language are used in text/s that attempt to influence an audience, and create a text which presents a point of view.

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to compare the presentation of ideas, issues and themes in two texts.

English as an Additional Language - Unit 3

Areas of study

• Reading and creating texts: In this area of study students identify, discuss and analyse how the features of selected texts create meaning and how they influence interpretation. In identifying and analysing explicit and implied ideas and values in texts, students examine the ways in which readers are invited to respond to texts. They develop and justify their own detailed interpretations of texts.
• Analysing argument: In this area of study students analyse and compare the use of argument and language in texts that debate a topical issue. The texts must have appeared in the media since 1 September of the previous year. Students read and view media texts in a variety of forms, including print, non-print and multimodal, and develop their understanding of the way in which language and argument complement one another in positioning the reader.
• Listening to texts: In this area of study students develop and refine their listening skills. They listen to a range of spoken texts and use active listening strategies to understand information, ideas and opinions presented in texts. Listening skills are developed in the context of Areas of Study 1 and 2 and specific speaking and listening activities. Students develop skills to understand spoken texts on a literal and inferential level, demonstrating an understanding of how spoken texts construct meaning for a variety of listeners. This understanding includes the relationship between the speaker/s and their audience, the purpose of the spoken text and the speaker’s views and attitudes and how these affect the structure and language of the spoken text.

Outcomes

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to produce an analytical interpretation of a selected text, and a creative response to a different selected text.
• On completion of this unit the student should be able to analyse and compare the use of argument and persuasive language in texts that present a point of view on an issue currently debated in the media.
• On completion of this unit the student should be able to comprehend a spoken text.

English as an Additional Language - Unit 4

In this unit students compare the presentation of ideas, issues and themes in texts.

Areas of study

• Reading and comparing texts: In this area of study students explore the meaningful connections between two texts. They analyse texts, including the interplay between character and setting, voice and structure, and how ideas, issues and themes are conveyed. By comparing the texts, they gain a deeper understanding of the ideas, issues and themes that reflect the world and human experiences.
• Presenting argument: In this area of study students build their understanding of both the analysis and construction of texts that attempt to influence audiences. They use their knowledge of argument and persuasive language as a basis for the development of their own persuasive texts in relation to a topical issue that has appeared in the media since 1 September of the previous year.

Outcomes

Literature - Unit 2: Context and Connections

In this unit students explore the ways literary texts connect with each other and with the world. They deepen their examination of the ways their own culture and the cultures represented in texts can influence their interpretations and shape different meanings. Drawing on a range of literary texts, students consider the relationships between authors, audiences and contexts. Ideas, language and structures of different texts from past and present eras and/or cultures are compared and contrasted. Students analyse the similarities and differences across texts and establish connections between them. They engage in close reading of texts and create analytical responses that are evidence-based. By experimenting with textual structures and language features, students understand how imaginative texts are informed by close analysis.

Areas of study

• The text, the reader and their contexts – In this area of study students focus on the interrelationships between the text, readers and their social and cultural contexts. Students reflect upon their own backgrounds and experience in developing responses to texts from a past era and/or another culture. Students explore the text to understand its point of view and what it reflects or comments on. They identify the language and the representations in the text that reflect the period or culture, its ideas and concepts. Students develop an understanding that contextual meaning is already implicitly or explicitly inscribed in a text and that textual details and structures can be scrutinised to illustrate its significance. They examine and reflect on how the reader’s interpretation is influenced by what they bring to the text. Students develop the ability to analyse language closely, recognising that words have historical and cultural import.

• Exploring connections between texts – In this area of study students focus on the ways that texts relate to and influence each other. Students learn that meanings of texts are evolving and open to a range of interpretations and change in relation to other texts. Students consider how the reading of a text can change according to the form of the text and its context. They investigate and analyse how different interpretations of texts are influenced by language features and structures.

Outcomes

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to analyse and respond critically and creatively to the ways a text from a past era and/or a different culture reflect or comment on the ideas and concerns of individuals and groups in that context.

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to compare texts considering the dialogic nature of texts and how they influence each other.

Text: "Dark Roots” and “Carol Ann Duff and William Blake”

Literature - Unit 3: Form and Transformation

In this unit students consider how the form of a text affects meaning, and how writers construct their texts. They investigate ways writers adapt and transform texts and how meaning is affected as texts are adapted and transformed. They consider how the perspectives of those adapting texts may inform or influence the adaptations. Students draw on their study of adaptations and transformations to develop creative responses to texts.

Areas of study

• Adaptations and transformations – In this area of study students focus on how the form of text contributes to the meaning of the text. Students develop an understanding of the typical features of a particular form of text and how the conventions associated with it are used, such as the use of imagery and rhythm in a poem or the use of setting, plot and narrative voice in a novel. Students use this understanding to reflect upon the extent to which changing the form of the text affects its meaning. By exploring adaptations, students also consider how creators of adaptations may emphasise or understate perspectives, assumptions and ideas in their presentation of a text.

• Creative responses to texts – In this area of study students focus on the imaginative techniques used for creating and recreating a literary work. Students use their knowledge of how the meaning of texts can change as form changes to construct their own creative transformations of texts. They learn how writers develop images of people and places, and they develop an understanding of language, voice, form and structure. Students draw inferences from the original text and speculate about the writer’s purpose. In their adaptation of the tone and the style of the original text, students develop an understanding of the concerns and attitudes explored. Students develop an understanding of the various ways in which authors craft texts. They reflect critically upon their own responses as they relate to the text, and discuss the purpose and context of their creations.

Outcomes

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to analyse the extent to which meaning changes when a text is adapted to a different form.

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to respond creatively to a text and comment on the connections between the text and the response.

Text: “The Remains of the Day”, Uncle Vanya” and “Dance of the Happy Shades”

Literature - Unit 4: Interpreting Texts

In this unit students develop critical and analytic responses to texts. They consider the context of their responses to texts as well as the ideas explored in the texts, the style of the language and points of view. They investigate literary criticism informing both the reading and writing of texts. Students develop an informed and sustained interpretation supported by close textual analysis.

Areas of study

• Literary perspectives – In this area of study students focus on how different readings of texts may reflect the views and values of both writer and reader. Students consider the ways in which various interpretations of texts can contribute to understanding. They compare and analyse two pieces of literary criticism reflecting different perspectives, assumptions and ideas about the views and values of the text studied. Students identify the issues, ideas and contexts writers choose to explore, the way these are represented in the text/s and the cultural, social, historical and ideological contexts in which they were created. Students enquire into the ways readers may arrive at differing interpretations about a text and the grounds on which they are developed. Through close attention to two pieces of literary criticism reflecting different perspectives, students develop their own response to a text.

• Close analysis – In this area of study students focus on detailed scrutiny of the language, style, concerns and construction of texts. Students attend closely to textual details to examine the ways specific features and/or passages in a text contributes to their overall interpretations. Students consider features of texts including structure, context, ideas, images, characters and situations, and the language in which these are expressed. They develop their interpretations using detailed reference to the text, logical sequencing of ideas and persuasive language.

Outcomes

• On completion of this unit students should be able to produce an interpretation of a text using different literary perspectives to inform their view.

• On completion of this unit the student should be able to analyse features of texts and develop and justify interpretations of texts.

Text: “A Hunger” and “A Room of One’s Own”