The overall aim of the English standards is to enable
students to develop skills in English that commensurate with
requirements for further or higher studies or join a workplace where
English is the medium of communication or instruction. The standards
are focused largely on achieving skilled and functional outcomes for
students.
Structure
The English standards are
structured based upon developing word knowledge, listening and speaking, reading
and writing.
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Systematic vocabulary
development is an essential part of the standards. Students should consistently build
vocabulary in all aspects of listening, speaking, reading and
writing throughout the grades.
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A guide to the number of
active words students should acquire is specified for each of Grades K–9
and by the end of Grade 9, students should draw on a repertoire of at least
2600 key words.
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There is also a clear
expectation that teaching of language structures will be contextualized in
relevant topics with a strong emphasis on active participation by students.
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Listening standards
focus on comprehension, developing strategies for guessing and inferring
meanings and responding appropriately to interact or demonstrate
understanding. It includes standards for pronunciation, accuracy and fluency
of spoken production, para-linguistic strategies and language maintenance and
repair. It also highlights important strategies for interaction and
participation in paired and group discussions.
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There is a strong and
increasing emphasis on literacy development across the grades. The
standards reflect a similar progression at a commensurately slower rate to
that found in many English speaking curricula. As in the listening and
speaking standards, this strand begins in each grade by defining a text range
which specifies a variety of text types with some quantification to aid
student assessment and guide teachers’ planning.
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