LOTE Pathway 1 Level 4 (Years 5 and 6)
In recognition of the cumulative nature of language learning, the following progression measures provide a typical sequence of second language development leading to Level 4. Students will need to develop the knowledge and skills described in the progression measures before they attempt the learning associated with the Level 4 standards.
Progression measures
PART A
Communicating in a language other than English
On completion of an initial period of learning, students of all LOTEs should be able to:
- repeat teacher-modelled use of the language
- participate in choral use of the language
- identify the names of visible objects and items from aural/visual cues
- introduce themselves, greet and farewell the teacher
- follow simple classroom directions
- recognise some culturally-specific gestures and body language, and demonstrate how these are used
- observe the process of interpreting and perform some of its simple features using single words or phrases.
Students of Roman alphabetical languages should be able to:
- recognise the different sounds of similar letters, and demonstrate differences for key sounds
- identify letter-sound relationships and copy and trace letters and letter clusters and match them to sounds and words.
Students of Non-Roman alphabetical languages should be able to:
- notice and discuss the different writing system, and practise writing individual letters and other symbols
- distinguish selected letter sounds from English, match sounds and letters, identify words for concrete items from cues, etc.
- copy or trace selected letters and match them to sounds and words.
Students of Character languages should be able to:
- notice and discuss the different writing system, and practise writing selected letters, characters or other symbols
- recognise characters associated with specific concrete items and their different sounds, matching symbols to meanings and forms
- trace or copy selected characters.
Students of Sign language should be able to:
- notice and discuss the visual nature of communication
- demonstrate single signs and simple signed sequences
- recognise signs and simple signed sequences emphasising non-manual features
- produce simple manual signs and non-manual signs to participate in games and activities.
Intercultural knowledge and language awareness
On completion of this period of learning, students of all LOTEs should be able to:
- demonstrate an understanding of some of the differences in how people eat and dress, sign and gesture, write and say things
- identify some of the relationships between selected letters, sounds or tones in the language compared to English or other familiar languages
- identify a cultural icon, geographic feature, famous building or cultural practice and make a simple statement about it in the language
- display an awareness of different ways of doing things in particular situations
- express their own preferences in the language, or by responding to cues given in the language.
PART B
Communicating in a language other than English
On completion of a second period of learning, students of all LOTEs should be able to:
- generate simple original sentences (including expressing likes and dislikes)
- introduce themselves, greet and farewell the teacher, and express thanks and apologies
- respond to simple questions about short songs, stories and rhymes
- extrapolate from familiar sounds, tone markers, signs, and so on, to spell new words
- write words/letters in context and in modelled sentences
- recognise some culturally-specific gestures and body language and integrate them into their own oral communications
- demonstrate the general characteristics of interpreting and translating in specific activities
- recognise variations in how people respond in daily situations and describe the values underpinning these responses
- recognise the use of the language in several media and information and communications technologies, and produce simple multimedia texts in the language
- demonstrate an understanding of variation in language use, depending on the audience and context.
Students of Roman alphabetical languages should be able to:
- pronounce the sounds attributed to letters in context by reading aloud or repeating pronunciation associated with written words
- independently produce words in writing and produce original variations on modelled written sentences
- recognise and use accents and punctuation suited to the language, where applicable.
Students of Non-Roman alphabetical languages should be able to:
- identify letter-sound relationships and practise pronunciation
- write words in context and in modelled sentences, including relevant accents and punctuation.
Students of Character languages should be able to:
- practise writing characters and other symbols and develop links between visual cues, sounds and meaning
- recognise fundamental differences between the use of an alphabet, as in English, and a different writing system
- read aloud and for meaning
- write specific characters associated with particular words or sounds
- identify and compare elements of punctuation in context in more than one language.
Students of Sign language should be able to:
- develop comprehension through non-verbal means and by using sign language in simple conversations
- obtain meaning from non-verbal communication to follow instructions or to use the information for a purpose
- participate in real or simulated conversations and everyday transactions by imitating and adapting models.
Intercultural knowledge and language awareness
On completion of this period of learning, students of all LOTEs should be able to:
- express their own preferences or views and communicate meaning for their own purposes in the language
- name some colours, shapes, objects, places and people associated with a country where the language is spoken
- identify two or more places, features, famous buildings, landmarks or cultural practices in another society, and describe some aspect of these in simple sentences in the language
- recognise variations in how people respond in daily situations and describe the values underpinning these responses
- participate in the creation and maintenance of the language and cultural ambience in the classroom
- recognise the similarities and differences between languages; for example, in sentence structures.
PART C
Communicating in a language other than English
On completion of a third period of learning, students of all LOTEs should be able to:
- write simple sentences based on modelled examples
- listen to short, simple texts and show understanding
- use a dictionary in guided situations to find the meaning of simple words and to expand their vocabulary resources
- use substitution strategies to generate changed meaning
- understand new words introduced into familiar written texts, predicting from clues
- use basic structures in response to simple questions
- construct questions themselves using information from the answers they receive in structured situations
- appropriately integrate many culturally-specific gestures into their oral communication
- use simple software applications to demonstrate understanding of known vocabulary and structures
- participate effectively in very simple interpreting and translating routines.
Students of Roman alphabetical languages should be able to:
- read and respond to simple and familiar texts
- write in the language using modelled texts and generating original materials with teacher guidance.
Students of Non-Roman alphabetical languages should be able to:
- read sentences on familiar topics
- practise writing by copying, using modelled text and generating sentences of original text.
Students of Character languages should be able to:
- read and write known characters and other symbols and also expand their repertoire of known characters
- begin to understand that the number of characters that they can read is greater than those they can write, and to reflect on why.
Students of Sign language should be able to:
- develop their comprehension of simple signed texts by identifying specific items of information when making choices, answering questions and relaying information to other participants in a signed exchange
- engage in exchanges to provide and obtain information about everyday activities.
Intercultural knowledge and language awareness
On completion of this period of learning, students of all LOTEs should be able to:
- demonstrate an understanding of culturally appropriate values, responses and patterns of behaviour in particular situations related to the topics being studied
- identify and use key features of the language, such as grammatical gender, tones, formal and informal modes of address
- compare and contrast like events in cultures which use different languages
- explore a topic of interest through the language
- develop revision materials for language rules and applications to share with other students.
Learning focus
As students work towards the achievement of standards at Pathway 1 Level 4, they learn about cultural differences associated with the language other than English. They understand that Australian life and culture are influenced by these different ways of life. They learn why there are similarities and differences between languages, and how these are related.
Students begin to understand and use the language within the world of their own experience and imagination, with some topics drawn from other domains, including exchanging simple personal information and opinions, and creating and performing short skits in the language. They start to read and locate items of information in short texts and to write short paragraphs.
Students make logical attempts to decipher meaning from written and spoken material and begin to use resources such as dictionaries. They learn strategies for retaining language information for later use in new applications and develop an understanding of how parts of the language system work. They approach language learning as a problem solving activity as they consciously consider aspects of grammar.
Activities may include guided role-plays; cross-cultural simulations; use of multimedia (such as for guided Internet searching, research, exploration or collaboration, real-time interviews, surveys and emails); performing skits; community information gathering; a family language record; keeping a personal journal; and producing brochures, guide books, charts and captions. Activities designed collaboratively with teachers in other domains can be extended through translation, cultural adaptation or interpreting, or aspects of the theme or topic can be presented, complemented or extended through the language.
Students learn to communicate by referring to a range of implicit and explicit models and by responding to teacher prompting. They begin to function in open-ended situations, allowing variation and extension of language applications. They learn to speak and write effectively for a range of purposes and audiences, approximating meaning and authentic language use within defined topics. Examples could include writing an email or simple story, and ordering in a café or asking for directions.
Standards
Communicating in a language other than English
At Pathway 1 Level 4, students participate in oral interactions to convey and receive information. Students demonstrate sound-discrimination effectively. In tone languages, students discern tone patterns in slowed speech.
Students show awareness of the language and cultural requirements related to a given topic; they adapt language and gesture appropriately for the role, audience and purpose of the discourse. They acquire and use new information and language, and recycle previously learnt language skills and knowledge in new contexts. They initiate and lead communication and respond to communication initiated by others.
Students apply their knowledge of word meanings, word associations and cognates to their own work.
Students organise and apply grammatical information and knowledge of words, conduct dictionary research, and work independently on defined projects using the language.
- Roman alphabetical languages
- Students read a wide range of short and/or modified texts for meaning and for use as models in their own writing. They read aloud effectively and apply knowledge of pronunciation, punctuation, tone and letter-sound variations in particular contexts. Writing in paragraphs, they express themselves in a range of contexts and are sensitive to the audience and purpose of the writing. Using print and electronic resources, they draft, self-correct, access dictionaries, script check and present written products.
- Non-Roman alphabetical languages
- Students read short passages for meaning. They read aloud effectively, and apply knowledge of a range of accents, tone markers and punctuation in a variety of contexts. They express themselves through writing by generating original sentences in the language, using modelled examples which may be linked to form paragraphs. Using print and electronic resources, they draft, self correct, access dictionaries, script check and present written products.
- Character languages
- Students read short, modified texts for meaning. They read aloud effectively, and apply knowledge of familiar characters and punctuation in a range of contexts. They write characters, paying attention to shape, stroke order and proportion. They categorise the characters they have learnt into groups based on similarities in meaning, appearance, pronunciation or function, and introduce newly learnt characters into these schemata. They write sentences using appropriate characters and form paragraphs by following modelled examples. They use pinyin/römaji for basic word processing. They explain distinctive rules relating to writing in the language, and apply strategies, using print and electronic resources, for checking and self-correcting their character use. They identify traditional techniques for writing.
- Sign language
- Students use simple signed texts and identify specific items of information, make choices, answer questions and relay information to other participants in a signed exchange. They convey personal or factual information in short, linked sequences. They engage effectively in exchanges to provide and obtain information about everyday activities. They use various information and communications technology applications for recording and conveying signed meaning.
Intercultural knowledge and language awareness
Students demonstrate skills and knowledge in this dimension by the choices they make in formulating their response to, or use of, the language.
At Pathway 1 Level 4, students apply relevant conversational rules and expectations; for example, those related to politeness. They demonstrate understanding of cultural differences in writing conventions for specific discourse forms by producing equivalent items in another language.
Students demonstrate effective reflection on their language learning by sharing a learning strategy they use successfully, or by evaluating and improving a strategy they have tried. They interact with members of the language community in Australia as a means of extending their understanding of perspectives on the themes and topics studied in the classroom.
Students identify ways in which the language and culture has impacted on Australia and present information in written or oral forms in the language.
Downloads
-
Languages Other Than English (LOTE) booklet (
PDF - 330KB) - Languages Other Than English (LOTE) standards table (Doc - 255KB)
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Victorian Essential Learning Standards Level 4 ( PDF - 751KB)
