Content

Stage 1 Australian Languages — First Language is a 10‑credit subject or a 20‑credit subject that consists of the following four focus areas:

• self — exploring identity in the context of family, community, and the wider world
• family — engaging resources of kinship to develop identity and understanding
• community — engaging resources of community and Country to develop identity and understanding
• Australia and the wider world — celebrating and embracing the cultures and languages of home communities in order to consider the future through a broader global perspective.

These four focus areas are cyclical in their development and are designed to develop and extend students’ strong understanding of identity and belonging as individuals, and in communities. The interrelationship of focus areas in the study of [First Language] is shown in the diagram. The focus areas are discussed in more detail following the diagram.

For a 10‑credit subject and a 20‑credit subject, students study all four focus areas.

Students should study a range of resources in [First Language]. The language that students use to respond to a resource or resources may be either [First Language], English, or a combination of both [First Language] and English, as specified in each assessment type.

The focus areas are broad enough to allow flexibility in school programs, but specific enough to be of practical assistance to students and teachers. Not all focus areas will require the same amount of study time.

The length of time and depth of treatment for each focus area will depend on a number of factors, including:

• particular learning requirement(s) being covered
• needs and interests of the students
• nature of the language itself
• linguistic and conceptual complexity of the resources selected for study
• linguistic and sociocultural distance between the focus area and the student’s own world and experience
• assessments (including ways in which they are structured and the conditions under which they are set)
• language of the response
• access to resources.