Subject description

English as an Additional Language is a 10‑credit subject or a 20‑credit subject at Stage 1, and a 20‑credit subject at Stage 2.

English as an Additional Language is designed for students for whom English is a second language or an additional language or dialect. These students have had different experiences in English and one or more other languages. Students who study this subject come from diverse personal, educational, and cultural backgrounds.

Eligibility for enrolment

English as an Additional Language in the SACE is designed for students who speak English as a second or additional language or dialect, and whose English language proficiency is restricted.

All students who want to enrol in an English as an Additional Language subject will be required to apply to their school for eligibility. (Refer to Eligibility for Enrolment Guidelines: English as an Additional Language on the SACE website.) Students whose eligibility applications are approved for Stage 1 English as an Additional Language do not have to reapply for eligibility to enrol in Stage 2 English as an Additional Language.

Capabilities

The capabilities connect student learning within and across subjects in a range of contexts.

The SACE identifies seven capabilities.

Literacy

Literacy is critical in the development of the skills and strategies needed to express, interpret, and communicate complex information and ideas. In English as an Additional Language literacy skills are developed in conjunction with language learning through comprehending and creating written, spoken, visual, and multimodal texts, and using and modifying language for different purposes in a range of social and cultural contexts, including study, work, and community life. In English as an Additional Language students apply, extend, and refine their repertoire of literacy skills and practices by studying the use and impact of English in texts and contexts. English as an Additional Language develops an awareness of the sociocultural and sociolinguistic aspects of language, including the language of business and enterprise, international affairs, and global communications.

Numeracy

Students develop their numeracy skills in English as an Additional Language as they practise and apply the skills of interpreting and analysing, comparing and contrasting, making connections, posing and proving arguments, making inferences, and problem‑solving as they create and respond to a range of texts. They draw conclusions from statistical information, interpret graphic representations of data, use quantitative data as evidence in persuasive texts, and evaluate the use of statistics in media, business, research, and other reports.

Information and communication technology (ICT) capability

There is a focus in English as an Additional Language on ICT; developing students’ capabilities through the use of digital and multimodal texts, including social media communication, in personal and professional contexts; and on understanding and creating multimodal texts. Students use digital technologies when they access, manage, and use information, and when creating their own texts. They develop skills in reading, viewing, and responding to multimodal texts, and create texts using different modes and media to practise and consolidate their English language skills. Students recognise that global communication is enhanced through the use of e‑literacy skills and context‑appropriate etiquette and expectations.

Critical and creative thinking

Critical and creative thinking is integral to the study and creation of texts in English as an Additional Language. Students analyse and evaluate ideas and perspectives presented in texts. In both thinking about and creating their own texts, they recognise and develop arguments, use evidence, and draw reasoned conclusions. Students apply critical thinking when they use their knowledge of language to analyse the purpose, context, audience, and language features of a range of texts. They recognise ways in which language is used to present individuals and social and cultural groups to others. Students experiment with text structures and language features as they transform and adapt texts for different purposes, audiences, and contexts. Creative thinking enables students to apply imaginative and inventive strategies in the creation of their own original works.

Personal and social capability 

Students develop their sense of self, and understand their role and place in communities, through the development of their language skills. They develop their personal and social capability in this subject by extending their communication skills, teamwork, and understanding of verbal and non‑verbal modes of interaction.

The study of English as an Additional Language helps students to understand different personal and social experiences, perspectives, and challenges. Students identify and express their own opinions, ideas, and responses by interacting with a range of texts and in different social situations. Students learn through working and researching independently and collaboratively. English as an Additional Language assists students in the development of communication skills needed for conversation, research, presentations, and the expression of viewpoints and arguments. They develop empathy with and appreciation of the perspectives of others.

Ethical understanding

When learning to communicate, students consider ethical positions. They learn to acknowledge and value difference in their interactions with others and to develop respect for diverse ways of perceiving the world. Through working with a variety of texts, students question generalisations and stereotypes. English as an Additional Language provides students with opportunities to reflect on their own ethical dispositions.

Ethical understanding is explored in English as an Additional Language through the selection of texts for study, for example, when students engage with ethical dilemmas presented in texts, and consider reasons for actions and implications of decisions. They examine and question information, ideas, and perspectives in texts, comparing these with their own knowledge and understanding. Students develop empathy with the rights and opinions of others by interacting with and interrogating a range of texts in different social situations. English as an Additional Language assists students to develop the skills of visualising and predicting the consequences of certain behaviours and exploring rights and responsibilities. They develop ethical research strategies and research protocols.

Intercultural understanding

English as an Additional Language develops an intercultural capability that includes an understanding of diversity and difference, and openness to different perspectives and experiences that, in turn, develop world‑mindedness, respect for the rights of others, and a sense of global citizenship.

Through the study of past and contemporary texts, and texts from diverse cultures, students explore and analyse these connections. Students understand and can express the interdependence of language, culture, and identity and are able to appreciate and empathise with the cultural perspectives and values of others. They study how cultural concepts, beliefs, practices, and perspectives are represented in a range of textual forms and for a variety of purposes and audiences. Students appreciate that English is used differently in different cultural and national settings. Intercultural understanding is enhanced by developing intercultural communication skills and an understanding of international etiquette.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge, cultures, and perspectives

In partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and schools and school sectors, the SACE Board of South Australia supports the development of high-quality learning and assessment design that respects the diverse knowledge, cultures, and perspectives of Indigenous Australians.

The SACE Board encourages teachers to include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and perspectives in the design, delivery, and assessment of teaching and learning programs by:

• providing opportunities in SACE subjects for students to learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, and contemporary experiences
• recognising and respecting the significant contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to Australian society
• drawing students’ attention to the value of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledge and perspectives from the past and the present
• promoting the use of culturally appropriate protocols when engaging with and learning from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.  

SACE literacy requirement

Students who complete 20 credits of Stage 1 English as an Additional Language with a C grade or better, or Stage 2 English as an Additional Language with a C– grade or better, will meet the literacy requirement of the SACE. Credits gained from any of the subjects can be combined with credits gained from other subjects in the English Learning Area.

Learning requirements

The learning requirements summarise the knowledge, skills, and understanding that students are expected to develop and demonstrate through their learning in Stage 1 English as an Additional Language.

In this subject, students are expected to:

1. exchange information, opinions, and experiences through writing and speaking in a range of situations and contexts
2. comprehend and interpret information, ideas, and opinions presented in texts
3. analyse personal, social, and cultural perspectives in texts
4. understand and analyse how language features are used to communicate for different purposes
5. create oral, written, and multimodal texts, using a range of language skills appropriate to purpose, audience, and context.

Content

Stage 1 English as an Additional Language is a 10‑credit subject or a 20‑credit subject.

This subject focuses on the development and use of skills and strategies in communication, comprehension, language and text analysis, and creating texts.

Through studying a variety of oral, written, and multimodal texts, including informational and literary texts, students develop an understanding of text structures and language features. Texts could include, for example, a newspaper article, a podcast, a short story, an extract from a prose text, or a scene from a film. Students explore the relationship between these structures and features and the purpose, audience, and context of texts. Information, ideas, and opinions in texts are identified and interpreted.

Students develop confidence in creating texts for different purposes in both real and implied contexts. Students broaden their understanding of sociocultural and sociolinguistic aspects of English, through their study of texts and language. They develop skills for research and academic study.

This subject focuses on the following skills and strategies:

• Communication skills and strategies
• Comprehension skills and strategies
• Language and text analysis skills and strategies
• Text creation skills and strategies.

Communication skills and strategies

Students exchange information, opinions, and experiences through writing and speaking in a range of situations and contexts.

For example, they:

• develop effective speech, using skills and strategies such as clear pronunciation, intonation, stress, and rhythm
• learn active listening strategies
• learn ways of working collaboratively with others by initiating, sustaining, and concluding interactions in a range of contexts
• develop an understanding of non‑verbal cues, cultural references, metaphors, and connotations
• consider purpose, audience, and context when making language choices
• develop effective writing skills and strategies such as punctuation, vocabulary, and grammatical and lexical competence
• use persuasive, descriptive, and emotive language as appropriate
• use a range of cohesive and structural devices to organise ideas logically
• use and understand jargon, technical, or ‘expert’ language.

Comprehension skills and strategies

Students comprehend and interpret information, ideas, and opinions presented in texts.

For example, they:

• develop skills and strategies to interpret literal and inferential information, ideas, and language used in texts
• recognise, describe, and reflect on the subject matter of texts
• explain ideas and perspectives presented in texts
• recognise and interpret cultural references and implied meanings, including how language reflects cultural constructions or ideas such as age, gender, race, or identity (e.g. stereotyping in films or magazines)
• describe the language features of a range of texts of increasing complexity
• select and evaluate information from sources.

Language and text analysis skills and strategies

Students analyse personal, social, and cultural perspectives in texts, including literary texts. They understand and analyse how language features are used to communicate for different purposes.

For example, they:

• understand and analyse language features
• use metalanguage to understand and discuss texts
• describe how different purposes and contexts influence text structures and language features to make meaning, such as how the language of persuasion influences personal choices
• discuss, describe, and explain the effects of stylistic features in texts and how these can influence meaning
• consider different perspectives
• express personal and critical responses to texts or sections of texts
• describe and analyse connections between texts, including similarities and differences
• explain the visual features of texts and interpret graphic representations of data.

Text creation skills and strategies

Students create oral, written, and multimodal texts, using a range of language skills appropriate to purpose, audience, and context.

For example, they:

• create different types of texts to communicate ideas and opinions for different purposes and audiences, such as in an academic or business context
• use a range of digital, multimodal, social media, and print‑based technologies
• experiment with a range of stylistic features and structural devices
• develop research skills and strategies to collect, collate, and integrate information to achieve a purpose
• use e‑literacy skills and understand context-appropriate etiquette and expectations
• plan, rehearse, and edit to refine language and structural choices in their texts.

Evidence of learning

Assessment at Stage 1 is school based.

The following assessment types enable students to demonstrate their learning in Stage 1 English as an Additional Language:

• Assessment Type 1: Responding to Texts
• Assessment Type 2: Interactive Study
• Assessment Type 3: Language Study.

For a 10‑credit subject, students should provide evidence of their learning through four assessments. Each assessment type should have a weighting of at least 20%.

For a 20‑credit subject, students should provide evidence of their learning through eight assessments. Each assessment type should have a weighting of at least 20%.

It is anticipated that from 2018 all assessments (written, oral, and multimodal) will be submitted electronically.

Assessment design criteria

The assessment design criteria are based on the learning requirements and are used by teachers to:

• clarify for the student what they need to learn
• design opportunities for the student to provide evidence of their learning at the highest level of achievement.

The assessment design criteria consist of specific features that:

• students need to demonstrate in their evidence of learning
• teachers look for as evidence that students have met the learning requirements.

For this subject, the assessment design criteria are:

• communication
• comprehension
• analysis
• application.

The specific features of these criteria are described below.

The set of assessments, as a whole, must give students opportunities to demonstrate each of the specific features by the completion of study of the subject.

Communication 

The specific features are as follows:

Comprehension

The specific features are as follows:

Analysis

The specific features are as follows:

Application

The specific features are as follows:

School assessment

The school assessment component for Stage 1 English as an Additional Language consists of three assessment types:

• Assessment Type 1: Responding to Texts
• Assessment Type 2: Interactive Study
• Assessment Type 3: Language Study.

Assessment Type 1: Responding to Texts

For a 10‑credit subject, students complete one written response to texts and one oral response to texts. At least one response must be to a literary text.

For a 20‑credit subject, students complete two written responses to texts and two oral responses to texts. At least two responses must be to literary texts.

Students read and view a variety of texts, including literary, media, and everyday texts, such as novels, plays, poetry, short stories, biographies, films, documentaries, web texts, social networking texts, and the everyday texts of work, family, and community life. Whole texts or parts of texts may be studied. Examples of texts suitable for the study of English as an Additional Language are intended to stimulate thinking about teaching. 

A suggested text list is available on the subject minisite.

Students can work individually or in groups.

Written responses to texts could include, but are not limited to:

• a narrative (e.g. from the point of view of a character in the text)
• a creative text on a theme from a studied text (e.g. a shared experience, a memoir)
• an essay
• a class publication (e.g. a magazine or newspaper)
• an online blog or interaction
• a letter of appreciation to a specific audience
• a review for a specific publication
• an email
• a multimodal article.

A written response should be a maximum of 600 words.

Oral responses to texts could include, but are not limited to a:

• discussion on a reading or recording (e.g. of a poem/short narrative) in an online video
• podcast
• précis of a short story
• group play or role play
• multimodal presentation
• recorded radio program
• class or group debate.

An oral response should be a maximum of 5 minutes.

For this assessment type, students provide evidence of their learning primarily in relation to the following assessment design criteria:

• communication
• comprehension
• application.

Assessment Type 2: Interactive Study

For a 10‑credit subject, students complete either the interview or the discussion.

For a 20‑credit subject, students complete both the interview and the discussion.

Interview

Students (the interviewers) conduct an oral interview with one or more people about an issue or an aspect of cultural life. The interview must be conducted in English. The interviewee(s) must be from one of the following categories:

• a culture that is different from their own (e.g. Indian culture if the student is from a Polish culture)
• a generation that is different from their own (e.g. of their parents’ or grandparents’ ages; Aboriginal Elders)
• someone with expert knowledge of an issue (e.g. migration, preservation of historical monuments, globalisation, employment opportunities, internationalisation of English language, education options, intergenerational issues, nature of family, housing)
• someone with knowledge or experience of an aspect of cultural life (e.g. sport, politics, wildlife, conservation issues, agriculture, employment, geography, historical icons or events).

Students present the results of their interview in a written report. The written report should include:

• key findings of the interview
• reflection on the communication skills and strategies used in planning and conducting the interview, such as oral communication skills (e.g. pronunciation, initiating, sustaining, and concluding interactions, non‑verbal cues, understanding of politeness conventions, active listening strategies, and question design).

The written report should be a maximum of 600 words.

Discussion

Students choose an idea, opinion, or perspective that arises in at least two texts. The texts may be those studied in class, or those selected by individual students. Students individually present, explain, and discuss with their teacher and/or a small group of students the idea, opinion, or perspective they have studied with reference to the texts.

The teacher and/or other students ask open‑ended questions that require extended responses. The student leads the discussion, with an emphasis on the spontaneous use of language to give appropriate responses to the questions or comments of the teachers/other students.

Students may use presentation aids, including, for example, artefacts, graphs and charts, short video clips, a digital slideshow; and texts, including articles, cartoons, books, advertisements, photos, images.

Each student’s discussion is assessed separately. The student’s contribution to the discussion should be a maximum of 5 minutes.

For this assessment type, students provide evidence of their learning primarily in relation to the following assessment design criteria:

• communication
• comprehension
• application.

Assessment Type 3: Language Study

For a 10‑credit subject, students complete one oral, written, or multimodal language study.

For a 20‑credit subject, students complete two oral, written, or multimodal language studies.

For a language study, students identify and analyse aspects of language used in one or more texts (e.g. a newspaper, magazine, television extract, TED talk). Examples of the aspects of language that could be studied include:

• the language used to report a global event (e.g. achievement in sport, pop phenomenon, event)
• the language used in a popular television format (e.g. reality television program, talent show, soap opera, 24‑hour news broadcast)
• the language used to reflect sociocultural aspects such as age, gender, race identity (e.g. stereotyping in films or magazines)
• the language used to persuade others (e.g. advertising, political speech, film trailer)
• use of technical language (e.g. the language used in a real‑estate advertisement, food review, travel brochure, or scientific article)
• the language used to express appreciation of an object, process, or performance (e.g. customer review, thank‑you letter).

Students may present their language study in written, oral, or multimodal form. Examples include:

• an annotated text(s) with additional commentary
• an oral presentation
• a written essay or report
• a tutorial
• a video
• an appropriate ICT (e.g. applications, podcasts, slideshow presentations)
• an online collaboration (e.g. shared online blog, forum, discussion board).

A written text should be a maximum of 800 words; an oral presentation should be a maximum of 5 minutes; a text in multimodal form should be of equivalent length.

For this assessment type, students provide evidence of their learning primarily in relation to the following assessment design criteria:

• communication
• comprehension
• analysis.

Performance standards

The performance standards describe five levels of achievement, A to E.

Each level of achievement describes the knowledge, skills, and understanding that teachers refer to in deciding how well students have demonstrated their learning on the basis of the evidence provided.

During the teaching and learning program the teacher gives students feedback on their learning, with reference to the performance standards.

At the student’s completion of study of a subject, the teacher makes a decision about the quality of the student’s learning by:

• referring to the performance standards
• taking into account the weighting of each assessment type
• assigning a subject grade between A and E.

Performance standards

Stage 1 performance standards for English as an Additional Language can be viewed below. You can also download in Word format [DOC 238KB].

To learn more about what performance standards are, how they are used, and other general information, see performance standards and grades. 

Teachers can use a SACE Board school assessment grade calculator to help them to assign the subject grade.

Subject changes

Any changes to this subject will be recorded here.

Glossary

Audience

The group of readers, listeners, or viewers that the writer, designer, film‑maker, or speaker is addressing. Audience includes students in the classroom, an individual, the wider community, review writers, critics, and the implied audience.

Context

The environment in which a text is responded to or created. Context can include the general social, historical, and cultural conditions in which a text is responded to and created (the context of culture) or the specific features of its immediate environment (context of situation).

Convention

An accepted practice that has developed over time and is generally used and understood, for example, the use of specific structural aspects of texts, such as in report writing, sections for introduction, background, discussion, and recommendations.

Language features

The features of language that support meaning (e.g. sentence structure, noun group/phrase, vocabulary, punctuation, figurative language, framing, camera angles). These choices vary according to the purpose of a text, its subject matter, audience, and mode or medium of production.

Literary text

Literary texts refer to past and contemporary texts across a range of cultural contexts. They are valued for their form and style and are recognised as having enduring or artistic value. All texts in the text list on the subject minisite under the categories ‘film’, ‘non fiction’, ‘novels’, ‘poets and poetry’, and ‘short stories’ are examples of literary texts. Some texts within the digital media category may also be considered literary texts.

Medium

The resources used in the production of texts, including tools and materials (e.g. digital text and the computer, writing and the pen, typewriter).

Metalanguage

Language used to discuss language, for example, language used to discuss film or literary study such as mise‑en‑scène, symbolism, characterisation, or language used to talk about grammatical terms (e.g. ‘sentence’, ‘clause’, ‘conjunction’).

Mode

The various processes of communication: listening, speaking, reading/viewing and writing/creating. Modes are also used to refer to the semiotic (meaning‑making) resources associated with these communicative processes (e.g. sound, print, image, gesture).

Multimodal text

Combination of two or more communication modes (e.g. print, image, and spoken text, as in film or computer presentations).

Perspective

The way a reader/viewer is positioned by the author through the text, or how a particular ideology is embedded in a text (e.g. a feminist perspective).

Stylistic features

The ways in which aspects of texts (e.g. words, sentences, images) are arranged and how they affect meaning. Style can distinguish the work of individual authors (e.g. Paul Jennings’s stories, Henry Lawson’s poems), as well as the work of a particular period (e.g. Elizabethan drama), or of a particular genre or type of text (e.g. recipes, scientific articles, play‑by‑play commentary). Examples of stylistic features are narrative viewpoint, structure of stanzas, juxtaposition, nominalisation, alliteration, metaphor, and lexical choice.

Text types

Classifications of texts according to the particular purposes they are designed to achieve. In general, in the English senior subjects in the Australian Curriculum, texts are classified as imaginative, interpretive, analytical, or persuasive.

Subject changes

Any changes to this subject will be recorded here.