South Australian Curriculum, Standards and Accountability Framework

English
Introduction

In English, the study, enjoyment and critical use of a range of spoken, written and visual texts
enables children and students to develop knowledge about how language functions and how
texts reflect and shape social attitudes and practices. Students need to become critical and
creative users of English language, in order to develop a sense of positive self-worth and the
skills and values to engage with all aspects of their learning lives, in school, paid and unpaid
work, and further study.
The development of knowledge, skills and understandings about language and literacy is
essential for any individuals active and effective participation in their learning and in their local
and global communities.
By the time children begin school, they will be already using language in a range of contexts
and for different purposes and audiences. They will be aware of and able to use the systems of
signs and symbols shared by people around them. They encounter many forms of information
and communication technologies in their everyday lives. Learners engage in rich language
experiences as they draw on both home and community resources, including popular and
traditional stories, songs, rhymes, dance and play. The English curriculum acknowledges,
values and builds on these diverse cultural experiences and linguistic backgrounds including,
for example, Aboriginal English. This particular curriculum supports Reconciliation by referring
directly to the lives and cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Through the study of English, children and students learn that language transmits cultural
perspectives, including gender, ethnicity and class; and who or what is or is not important as
they think, imagine, challenge, remember, create and narrate. Using language they work
through ideas, and discover and convey information. They learn how language shapes
meaning and reality, what this means for issues of identity and interdependence, and how it is
used for a range of purposes and in different contexts. Learners need to know how language is
constructed and how it is used by different groups in society to shape social power relations.
Throughout schooling, children and students are provided with many opportunities to learn
about language and engage with language in a range of creative and critical ways.
English involves learning about texts and about language, using the modes of speaking,
listening, reading, viewing and writing. Learners comprehend and compose a range of
literature, media and everyday texts. They explore and engage with fictional, factual, non-print
and multimedia texts from diverse cultural perspectives, take pleasure in using these texts to
explore ideas, and think imaginatively and critically about themselves, their world and the global

Senior Years Band English

65

South Australian Curriculum, Standards and Accountability Framework

community. They are also able to use the texts they read, view and listen to as resources for
creating and constructing their own texts.
As students move through the Curriculum Bands there is an expectation that the language they
use in different texts and contexts will develop. This will be evident as they:

interpret increasingly complex meanings (eg from concrete to abstract; everyday to

technical; structurally simple to more intricate texts)

produce longer texts (eg move from relatively short to longer texts)

interpret and produce different text types in a wider range of contexts (eg move from a
narrow to a wider range of text types)

focus on producing multimodal communication in different media and contexts (eg move
from relatively monomodal texts such as a spoken radio advertisements, to multimodal and
interactive digital texts such as television and online advertisements, which combine
moving, visual images, music, voice and sound effects)

critically analyse the intended use of and availability of digital and electronic technologies as
a means of communication, information analysis and storage.

As they learn about English language and texts, children and students also develop functional
and critical literacy skills as well as the numerate skills involved in text analysis. Literacy is
defined as the ability to understand, analyse, critically respond to and produce spoken, written,
visual and multimedia communications in different social and cultural contexts. Being literate
involves an understanding of the past, present and possible future relations between language,
power and society.
English has a significant role in the development of literacy. This is particularly so in the Early
Years where the explicit teaching of literacy provides a foundation for, and is virtually
inseparable from, childrens learning about texts and language. Equally, literacy development is
a vital aspect of learning across the curriculum and needs to be taught in all Learning Areas.
The explicit description of literacy skills in English is a reference point and resource for the
teaching of literacy in all Learning Areas.
Literacy underpins learning in all areas of study and involves using listening, speaking, reading,
viewing and writing in a diverse range of situations. It involves an understanding and use of
diverse varieties of English, including Standard Australian English, which is used particularly in
formal, written and spoken contexts. Literacy also includes recognition that other varieties of
English may be appropriate for different contexts, purposes and audiences. Literacy is active,
dynamic and constantly changing. The goal is to ensure that learners develop an ever-widening
and successful language repertoire for personal and public use, and for the good of the
changing self and society.
Changes in the nature of work and social life and recognition of the cultural plurality of society
have contributed to different forms and modes of communication. The development of
information and communication technologies has also changed communication modes.
Learners need multiple literacies in order to function critically and creatively as they become
agents for change in our society. In relation to children and students with disabilities, there may
be a range of communicators, assistive technologies and accommodations that enable them to
communicate and to access the curriculum.

66

Senior Years Band English

South Australian Curriculum, Standards and Accountability Framework

The English Learning Area aims to develop in all students:

the ability to critically and creatively speak, listen, read, view and write with intellectual and
emotional engagement, including imagination, passion and confidence, for a range of
audiences and contexts

knowledge of the ways language is used for different purposes, audiences and contexts,
and the capability to apply this knowledge

knowledge of and respect for diverse varieties of English, including Standard Australian
English, and the capability to critically analyse and apply this knowledge

a knowledge of a broad range of texts and the capability to critically analyse these texts in
relation to personal experiences, the experiences of local, global and virtual communities,
and the social constructs of advantage/disadvantage in order to imagine more just futures

capacities to apply learning in English to other Learning Areas, to life in the wider
community, to the virtual community, and in accessing further education and training.

The SACSA Framework and ESL students

In supporting teaching and learning for ESL students and in assessing their
performance, educators should use the Scope and Standards in this Band, in
conjunction with the Scope and Scales for ESL.

Senior Years Band English

67