English
For more information contact: Jane Hando, Steph Sparrow, Zoe Worland, Jemma Bell, Lachlan Heycox, James Rogerson
Rationale
The study of English contributes to the development of literate individuals capable of critical and creative thinking, aesthetic appreciation and creativity. This study also develops students’ ability to create and analyse texts, moving from interpretation to reflection and critical analysis.
Through engagement with texts from the contemporary world and from the past, and using texts from Australia and from other cultures, students studying English become confident, articulate and critically aware communicators and further develop a sense of themselves, their world and their place within it. English helps equip students for participation in a democratic society and the global community.
This study will build on the learning established through AusVELS English in the key discipline concepts of language, literature and literacy, and the language modes of listening, speaking, reading, viewing and writing.
Structure
The study is made up of four units. Each unit deals with specific content contained in areas of study and is designed to enable students to achieve a set of outcomes for that unit. Each outcome is described in terms of key knowledge and key skills.
Entry
There are no prerequisites for entry to Units 1, 2 and 3. Students must undertake Unit 3 prior to undertaking Unit 4. Units 1 to 4 are designed to a standard equivalent to the final two years of secondary education. All VCE studies are benchmarked against comparable national and international curriculum.
Unit 1:
Reading and exploring texts
In this area of study, students engage in reading and viewing texts with a focus on personal connections with the story. They discuss and clarify the ideas and values presented by authors through their evocations of character, setting and plot, and through investigations of the point of view and/or the voice of the text.
Crafting texts
In this area of study, students engage with and develop an understanding of effective and cohesive writing. They apply, extend and challenge their understanding and use of imaginative, persuasive and informative text through a growing awareness of situated contexts, stated purposes and audience.
Unit 2:
Reading and exploring texts
In this area of study, students develop their reading and viewing skills, including deepening their capacity for inferential reading and viewing, to further open possible meanings in a text, and to extend their writing in response to text. Students will develop their skills from Unit 1 through an exploration of a different text type from that studied in Unit 1.
Exploring argument
In this area of study, students consider the way arguments are developed and delivered in many forms of media. Through the prism of a contemporary and substantial local and/or national issue, students read, view and listen to a range of texts that attempt to position an intended audience in a particular context. They explore the structure of these texts, including contention, sequence of arguments, use of supporting evidence and persuasive strategies. They closely examine the language and the visuals employed by the author, and offer analysis of the intended effect on the audience. Students apply their knowledge of argument to create a point of view text for oral presentation.
Units 3 & 4:
Text Selection
Texts set for study at senior levels might include assumptions and attitudes that challenge or contest students’ understanding of the world, which will require teachers to develop reading and viewing strategies with their students to draw out possible meanings from the texts for deeper engagement and understanding. Students develop their own responses to these texts from personal engagement through to critical analysis, applying and refining their capacity for inferential reading and viewing as they grapple with many possible levels of meaning that can be extracted by a reader.
To read the study design in full click here. (1&2 23-27 / 3&4 17-23)