Australia is a culturally and linguistically diverse nation. Today, Australian students come from more than 2,000 different ethnic backgrounds. Consequently, there are many students for whom English is an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) accessing the Australian Curriculum. Across Australia, around 25 per cent of primary and secondary school students learn English as an additional language or dialect. However, in some schools this figure can be as high as 90 per cent.
Foundation children will be scaffolded in small group sessions with a focus on oral language. Exploring languages associated with school, prepositional phrases and attributes. Children will communicate to express their ideas on familiar topics using visual aids, modelled text and/or teacher support. Children will connect illustrations and images with simple sentences to retell events and experiences.
In Year 1 and 2, children will continue with an oral language focus alongside the written grammatical development of language skills. Using personal experience, they will create first person recounts including the linear sequencing of events through the use of simple sentences, conjunctions, and punctuation. Using book making skills they will create short imaginative, informative and persuasive texts drawing on their own experiences and ideas they have learned.
In Year 3 and 4, children will analyse a range of imaginative, informative and persuasive texts using a variety of comprehension strategies. They will focus on developing grammatical skill sets to create increasingly complex narratives; including speech, description, imagery and an awareness of characterisation. Texts will be organised in paragraphs with some complex sentences.
Year 5 and 6 children will create a variety of sequenced written, spoken and multimodal texts for different purposes and audiences. They will explore strategies for planning and refining work such as editing for consistent use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Children will make considered choices in spoken and written texts, using specific vocabulary to express their ideas and provide meaning in their writing.
Year 7 children will be supported in class or in study groups with assignments, homework and the learning focus of the Year 7 community. A focus on the effective use of clauses, sentence structure, paragraphing and punctuation will assist the structural coherence of texts.