Grade 1 to 10 Subject

ENGLISH

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THE FRAMEWORK

I. Philosophy and Rationale

Language is the basis of all communication and the primary instrument of thought. Thinking, learning, and language are interrelated. Language is governed by rules and systems (language conventions) which are used to explore and communicate meaning. It defines culture which is essential in understanding oneself (personal identity), forming interpersonal relationships (socialization), extending experiences, reflecting on thought and action, and contributing to a better society. Language, therefore, is central to the peoples’ intellectual, social and emotional development and has an essential role in all key learning areas.

> Language is the foundation of all human relationships. All human relationships are established on the ability of people to communicate effectively with each other. Our thoughts, values and understandings are developed and expressed through language. This process allows students to understand better the world in which they live and contributes to the development of their personal perspectives of the global community. People use language to make sense of and bring order to their world. Therefore, proficiency in the language enables people to access, process and keep abreast of information, to engage with the wider and more diverse communities, and to learn about the role of language in their own lives, and in their own and other cultures.

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II. Guiding Principles

The K-12 Language Arts and Multiliteracies Curriculum is anchored on the following language acquisition, learning, teaching and assessing principles. All languages are interrelated and interdependent. Facility in the first language (L1) strengthens and supports the learning of other languages (L2). Acquisition of sets of skills and implicit metalinguistic knowledge in one language (common underlying proficiency or CUP) provides the base for the development of both the first language (L1) and the second language (L2)2. It follows that any expansion of CUP that takes place in one language will have a beneficial effect on the other language(s). This principle serves to explain why it becomes easier and easier to learn additional languages.

Language acquisition and learning is an active process that begins at birth and continues throughout life. It is continuous and recursive throughout students’ lives. Students enhance their language abilities by using what they know in new and more complex contexts and with increasing sophistication (spiral progression). They reflect on and use prior knowledge to extend and enhance their language and understanding. By learning and incorporating new language structures into their repertoire and using them in a variety of contexts, students develop language fluency and proficiency. Positive learning experiences in language-rich environments enable students to leave school with a desire to continue to extend their knowledge, skills and interests.

Learning requires meaning. We learn when we use what we know to understand what is new. Start with what the students know; use that to introduce new concepts. They use language to examine new experiences and knowledge in relation to their prior knowledge, experiences, and beliefs. They make connections, anticipate possibilities, reflect upon ideas, and determine courses of action.

Learners learn about language and how to use it effectively through their engagement with and study of texts. The term ‘text’ refers to any form of written (reading and writing), oral (listening and speaking) and visual communication involving language4. The texts through which students learn about language are wide-ranging and varied, from brief conversations to lengthy and complex forms of writing. The study of specific texts is the means by which learners achieve the desired outcomes of language, rather than an end in itself. Learners learn to create texts of their own and to engage with texts produced by other people.

Successful language learning involves viewing, listening, speaking, reading and writing activities5. Language learning should include a plethora of strategies and activities that helps students focus on both MEANING and ACCURACY.

Language learning involves recognizing, accepting, valuing and building on students’ existing language competence, including the use of non-standard forms of the language, and extending the range of language available to students. Through language learning, learners develop functional and critical literacy skills. They learn to control and understand the conventions of the target language that are valued and rewarded by society and to reflect on and critically analyze their own use of language and the language of others.

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An effective language arts and multiliteracies curriculum satisfies the following principles.

1. develops thinking and language through interactive learning;

2. develops communicative competence and critical literacy;

3. draws on literature in order to develop students’ understanding of their literary heritage;

4. draws on informational texts and multimedia in order to build academic vocabulary and strong content knowledge;

5. develops students’ oral language and literacy through appropriately challenging learning;

6. emphasizes writing arguments, explanatory/informative texts and narratives;

7. provides explicit skill instruction in reading and writing;

8. builds on the language, experiences, knowledge and interests that students bring to school;

9. nurtures students’ sense of their common ground in using language/s for communication as present or future global citizens to prepare them to participate in school and in civic life, and;

10. assesses and reflects the students’ ability to interpret and/or communicate in the target language.

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III. Needs of the Learners : The Context

The generation born after the year 1994 until 2004 is referred to as Generation Z. This is the first generation to be born with complete technology. They were born with PCs, mobile phones, gaming devices, MP3 players and the ubiquitous Internet. They do not know life without technology. Hence, they are often termed as digital natives and are extremely comfortable with technology. They can email, text and use computers without any problems. In addition, members of Generation Z can understand and master advancement in technology. Unfortunately, this reliance on technology and gadgets has had a negative effect on the members. They rather stay indoors and use their electronics than play outdoors and be active. They are leading a sedentary life that can result in health problems later on.

For them, social media platforms are a way to communicate with the outside world. They are not bothered about privacy and are willing to share intimate details about themselves with complete strangers. They have virtual friends and for them hanging out with friends means talking to them over the cell phones, emails and text messages. However, at the same time, this generation is considered to be creative and collaborative and will have a significant impact on the way companies work when they join the workforce.

Members of Generation Z are adept at multi-tasking. They can text, read, watch, talk and even eat simultaneously. However, this has also led to reduced attention span leading to what psychologists call acquired attention deficit disorder. This generation is unable to analyze complex data and information as they cannot focus for very long.

While we don’t know much about Gen Z yet...we know a lot about the environment they are growing up in. This highly diverse environment will make the grade schools of the next generation the most diverse ever. Higher levels of technology will make significant inroads in academics allowing for customized instruction, data mining of student histories to enable diagnostics and remediation or accelerated achievement opportunities.

Gen Z kids will grow up with a highly sophisticated media and computer environment and will be more Internet savvy and expert than their Gen Y forerunners.

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IV. Outcomes

The ultimate goal of the Language Arts and Multiliteracies Curriculum is to produce graduates who apply the language conventions, principles, strategies and skills in (1) interacting with others, (2) understanding and learning other content areas, and (3) fending for themselves in whatever field of endeavour they may engage in.

1. Communicative Competence

Communicative Competence is a synthesis of knowledge of basic grammatical principles, knowledge of how language is used in social settings to perform communicative functions, and how knowledge of utterances and communicative functions can be combined according to the principles of discourse.

Communicative competence is classified into the following competencies.

1. Grammatical/Linguistic Competence means the acquisition of phonological rules, morphological words, syntactic rules, semantic rules and lexical items.

2. Sociolinguistic Competence refers to the learning of pragmatic aspect of various speech acts, namely, the cultural values, norms, and other sociocultural conventions in social contexts. They are the context and topic of discourse, the participant’s social status, sex, age, and other factors which influence styles and registers of speech. Since different situations call for different types of expressions as well as different beliefs, views, values, and attitudes, the development of sociolinguistic competence is essential for communicative social action.

3. Discourse Competence is the knowledge of rules regarding the cohesion (grammatical links) and coherence (appropriate combination of communicative actions) of various types of discourse (oral and written). Sociolinguistic rules of use and rules of discourse are crucial in interpreting utterances for social meaning, particularly when the literal meaning of an utterance does not lead to the speaker’s intention easily.

4. Strategic Competence is to DO with the knowledge of verbal and non-verbal strategies to compensate for breakdown such as self-correction and at the same time to enhance the effectiveness of communication such as recognizing discourse structure, activating background knowledge, contextual guessing, and tolerating ambiguity.

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2. Multiliteracies

Multiliteracies (multi literacy practices) recognize that there are many kinds of literacy at work within our society. These include traditional literacy practices using texts as well as new literacy practices using texts of popular culture such as films. Social literacy encompasses how we communicate and exchange meaning in our society while professional literacy links with the notion of literacy for school of the workplace.

The curriculum aims to help learners acquire highly-developed literacy skills that enable them to understand that English language is the most widely used medium of communication in Trade and the Arts, Sciences, Mathematics, and in world economy. Furthermore, the curriculum aims to help learners understand that English language is a dynamic social process which responds to and reflects changing social conditions, and that English is inextricably involved with values, beliefs and ways of thinking about ourselves and the world we dwell in. Through multi-literacy skills, learners will be able to appreciate and be sensitive to sociocultural diversity and understand that the meaning of any form of communication depends on context, purpose and audience.