LOTE Pathway 1
Introduction
The language curriculum is organised through themes and topics which are arranged to provide progressive and cumulative opportunities for students to develop language and cultural understandings. Themes and topics form the main organising principle for language study. The sequencing of activities and language content allows learners to build new skills, knowledge and attitudes on the levels they have already attained. This cumulative process supplies continuity and sequence to the learner and coherence for the teacher.
Four principles should guide the selection of topics:
- Topics that are culturally, socially or linguistically distinctive to the particular language concerned. This will vary for different languages.
- Topics that extend or reinforce or complement topics already covered and that permit an extension of the language expectations.
- Topics that are relevant and of interest to the students.
- Topics that integrate with themes, topics, or key areas being addressed in other domains.
All topic selection should be governed by its potential to contribute to systematic acquisition of the language and cultural understandings in one or both of the dimensions.
Opportunities must be provided for students to demonstrate not only their communicative competence, but also their intercultural understandings and language awareness, through practical applications of the language.
Within each theme and topic, time is devoted to the acquisition of new language, structures, communication conventions, ways of thinking about the topic/s and their expression, as well as comparisons between languages and cultures.
Students study language through themes and topics that introduce the key idea of the language domain: that many societies and many people within Australia normally use languages other than English for communication.
The dimensions are integrated to provide opportunities for students to exchange information and ideas based on the theme and topic, and the individual student’s language competence at this level.
Activities that are appropriate at these levels may vary. The particular writing system used in the language being studied will affect the emphasis of the activities.
Students build language cumulatively by expanding language and cultural understandings they already have. The awareness that languages other than English are the normal means of communication for many societies and people is reinforced.
Themes and topics are selected and sequenced to allow learners to build new skills, knowledge and attitudes and are culturally, socially and linguistically appropriate for the particular language being taught. The topics contribute to systematic acquisition of the language and cultural understandings in both dimensions in an integrated way. Topics should be of interest to students at these levels and most topics should be familiar to them. They may be productively integrated with themes, topics, or key areas being addressed in other areas of the curriculum.
Teaching activities are diverse and aim to consolidate language and cultural understandings, and use a diverse range of materials and genres, texts and media in defined contexts.
Some students change languages in the transition between primary and secondary schooling. For information about the stages of learning for students in this situation, please refer to the information for Pathway 2.
Students participate in communication forums as competent members of the target-language-speaking community.
Themes and topics are selected because of their potential to contribute to systematic acquisition of the language and cultural understandings in both dimensions. Most topics will be familiar to students, should relate to their interests, and provide opportunities for deep investigation of issues, drawing on skills and knowledge acquired in other areas of the curriculum.
Students are encouraged to research and create their own contexts for demonstrating their language and cultural understandings. They use a range of learning tools, including multimedia tools, to encounter a wide range of language and cultural forms and practices. Both directed and independent learning is focused on acquisition of new language, structures, communication conventions, ways of thinking about the topic/s and their expression, as well as comparisons between languages and societies.
Teaching activities are diverse and consolidate language and cultural understandings, encourage risk-taking, and use many materials and genres, texts and media.
Downloads
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Languages Other Than English (LOTE) (
PDF - 330KB) - Languages Other Than English (LOTE) (Doc - 256KB)
- Victorian Essential Learning Standards by Level
