Essential English (Version 8.4)

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Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4

Understand how Essential English works

Rationale/Aims

Essential English focuses on consolidating and refining the skills and knowledge needed by students to become competent, confident and engaged users of English in many contemporary contexts including everyday, community, social, further education, training and workplace contexts.

Structure of Essential English

Unit 1 focuses on students comprehending and responding to the ideas and information presented in texts drawn from a range of contexts. Students are taught a variety of strategies to assist comprehension.

Texts

Teachers will use an array of material in class. Texts include literary texts, fiction and non-fiction, media texts, everyday texts, and workplace texts, from increasingly complex and unfamiliar settings, ranging from the everyday language of personal experience to more abstract, specialised and technical language drawn from a range of contexts.

Representation of General capabilities

General capabilities covered in Essential English include: Literacy, Numeracy, Information and communication technology (ICT) capability, Critical and creative thinking, Personal and social capability, Ethical understanding and Intercultural understanding.

Achievement standards

Unit 4

Unit 4 Description

Unit 4 focuses on community, local or global issues and ideas presented in texts and on developing students’ reasoned responses to them. Students develop independent points of view by synthesising information from a range of sources, and analysing how ideas, attitudes and values are represented. The way in which authors use evidence, persuasive techniques and language choices to influence and position audiences is analysed. This unit provides the opportunity for students to discuss and listen to differing perspectives, draw conclusions, negotiate, problem-solve, persuade, as well as engage audiences for a range of purposes and in different contexts. Emphasis is placed on articulating and constructing coherent, logical and sustained arguments and demonstrating an understanding of purpose, audience and context. When creating their own imaginative, analytical and interpretive texts, students are encouraged to consider their intended purpose, their representation of ideas and issues, and audience response.

Unit 4 Learning Outcomes

By the end of this unit, students:

investigate the way language is used to represent issues and attitudes
understand ways in which language is used to influence and engage different audiences
create oral, written and multimodal texts that communicate ideas and perspectives on issues and events for a variety of purposes.

Unit 4 Content Descriptions

Use strategies and skills for comprehending texts including:

analysing issues and ideas represented in a range of texts and explaining points of view and implications (ACEEE043)

evaluating the evidence upon which different views are based (ACEEE044)

explaining how texts use language to appeal to the beliefs, attitudes and values of an audience (ACEEE045)

reflecting on the way ideas and information are presented in texts. (ACEEE046)

Consider how attitudes and assumptions are presented in texts including:

the representation of community, local or global issues in social, community, workplace or literary texts (ACEEE047)

the use of mediums, types of texts, text structures and language features; for example, subjective and objective reporting in feature articles and current affairs programs, appeals to reason and emotion in persuasive texts and juxtaposition of images in websites (ACEEE048)

how some points of view are privileged while others are marginalised or silenced; for example, the unreliable narrator in fiction and film, the antagonists in drama and video games or the presentation of only one point of view in a news story. (ACEEE049)

Using information for specific purposes and contexts by:

investigating and synthesising ideas and information from a range of source material (ACEEE050)

determining the relevance of source material to the context and topic (ACEEE051)

employing ethical research practices such as acknowledging sources, and avoiding plagiarism and collusion. (ACEEE052)

Create a range of texts:

expressing a logical point of view about an idea, issue or event in a range of mediums and digital technologies (ACEEE053)

integrating text structures, language features and visual techniques to engage and persuade audiences; for example, creating a multimedia advertising campaign, presenting a PowerPoint report, writing and illustrating a picture book and recording a radio talkback program (ACEEE054)

developing appropriate vocabulary and using accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar (ACEEE055)

using an effective editing processes and appropriate referencing in the presentation of work. (ACEEE056)