CAREERS PATHWAYS:
Content writer, Digital & Social Media Specialists, Editor /Copywriter, Law, Librarian, Linguist, Script, Social Media analyst & managers, Speech Pathologist, Speech Writer
UNIT 3 - Language Variation & Social Change
In this unit students investigate English language in the Australian social setting, along a continuum of informal and formal registers. They consider language as a means of societal interaction, understanding that through written and spoken texts we communicate information, ideas, attitudes, prejudices and ideological stances. Students examine the stylistic features of formal and informal language in both spoken and written modes: the grammatical and discourse structure of language; the choice and meanings of words within texts; how words are combined to convey a message; the purpose in conveying a message; and the particular context in which a message is conveyed. Students learn how to describe the interrelationship between words, sentences and text as a means of exploring how texts construct message and meaning. Students consider how texts are influenced by the situational and cultural contexts in which they occur. They examine how function, field, mode, setting and the relationships between participants all contribute to a person’s language choices, as do the values, attitudes and beliefs held by participants and the wider community. Students learn how speakers and writers select features from within particular stylistic variants, or registers, and this in turn establishes the degree of formality within a discourse. They learn how language can be indicative of relationships, power structures and purpose – through the choice of a particular variety of language, and through the ways in which language varieties are used in processes of inclusion and exclusion.
Learning Activities:
Analyse, describe and explain linguistic features of a range of contemporary texts, both spoken and written, using appropriate metalanguage and subsystem knowledge.
Key Skills Achieved:
Grammatical, metalanguage and subsystems knowledge and skills from Units 1 and 2, linguistic interpretation and analysis, inquiry based and essay writing skills.
Assessment:
Short answer responses, extended responses, linguistic analysis, formal essays and a folio of a variety of informal and formal, written and spoken annotated texts.
UNIT 4 - Language Variation & Identity
In this unit, students focus on the role of language in establishing and challenging different identities. Many varieties of English exist in contemporary Australian society, including national, regional, cultural and social variations. Standard Australian English is the variety that is granted prestige in contemporary Australian society and it has a role in establishing national identity. However, non-Standard varieties also play a role in constructing users’ social and cultural identities. Students examine both print and digital texts to consider the ways different identities are constructed. Such historical and contemporary texts include, but should not be limited to, extracts from novels, films or television programs, poetry, letters and emails, transcripts of spoken interaction, songs, advertisements, speeches and bureaucratic or official documents. Students explore how our sense of who we are is constantly evolving and responding to the situations in which we find ourselves and is determined not only by how we see ourselves, but by how others see us. Through our language we establish how we are unique as individuals, as well as signalling our membership of particular groups. Students explore how language can distinguish between ‘us’ and ‘them’, thus reinforcing the degree of social distance and/or solidarity.
Learning Activities:
Analysing a variety of written and spoken texts which provide examples of differing varieties of English in contemporary Australia as well as demonstrating how language plays a role in constructing social and national identities, linguistic analysis, quizzes, grammatical exercises, text questions, short answer responses, essay writing, annotations and other relevant tasks.
Key Skills Achieved:
Grammatical, metalanguage and subsystems knowledge and skills from Units 1, 2 and 3, linguistic interpretation and analysis, inquiry based and essay writing skills
Assessment:
Short quizzes, short answer responses, extended responses, linguistic analysis and a folio of a variety of informal and formal, written and spoken annotated texts and the end of year exam
VCAA ASSESSMENT – THE OVERALL STUDY SCORE WILL CONSIST OF:
Prerequisites:
N/A
Recommendations:
It is recommended that the student have satisfactory completion of Unit 1 and 2 English Language or Unit 1 and 2 Literature.
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