The language is learnt in parallel with English language and literacy. While the learning of the language differs from the learning of English, each supports and enriches the other. The language is used in classroom interactions, routines and activities, supported by the use of materials and resources, gestures and body language. At this stage, there is a focus on play, imaginative activities...
The language is learnt in parallel with English language and literacy. While the learning of the language differs from the learning of English, each supports and enriches the other. The language is used in classroom interactions, routines and activities, supported by the use of materials and resources, gestures and body language. At this stage, there is a focus on play, imaginative activities, games, music, dance and familiar routines, which provide scaffolding for language development. Students listen to the sounds and patterns specific to the language and try to reproduce them through activities such as rhymes, songs, clapping and action games. Repetition and consolidation help learners to identify high-frequency words and simple phrases, and to recognise the purpose of simple texts. Students identify and use the language non-verbal communication strategies, including gestures, and experiment with one or two-word responses and simple expressions when prompted. They progress to using the language for functions such as greeting, asking and answering questions, responding to directions, singing songs, and taking turns in games and simple shared tasks. There is a natural transition from spoken to written language. Students use a variety of cues, including images, context and frequently used word patterns, to comprehend texts and communicate.
Students become familiar with the sound system of the language. They learn to identify and write letters, words and simple sentences and make comparisons with the English alphabet. They begin to notice that speakers of the language may communicate in ways which are different to their own, and that language can be used in a variety of ways.
By the end of Level 2, students interact with teachers and peers through action-related talk and play. They introduce themselves and their family and exchange greetings, farewells, and express thanks. They use simple repetitive language when participating in shared activities and simple exchanges, respond to simple instructions and imitate frequently used classroom language. When speaking, they reproduce distinctive sounds and letters of the language being studied. Students identify specific words, such as names of people, places, or objects in simple spoken and written texts and respond to imaginative experiences. They present information about themselves, their family, friends and possessions using gestures and modelled language. They create simple texts, such as captions to images, using familiar words, phrases and sentence patterns. They use vocabulary related to their classroom and family. They recognise questions and commands and use short sentences with appropriate language structures to communicate about themselves, their family and classroom. They translate frequently used words and simple phrases relating to their immediate environment, using visual cues and identifying similarities and differences. They give examples of ways the language being studied sounds and looks different from other languages that they bring to the classroom.
Students identify how letters of the language being studied are represented in words and read. They identify features of familiar texts, such as songs, labels and captions. They recognise that different titles and greetings are used to address people in different situations. They list the different languages that are spoken in Australia. They identify similarities and differences between the language being studied and their own language and culture.
