Unit Outline

This is the first of three English units you will undertake in the B.Ed. degree. The foundations of English are explored in two key modules, with the first focusing on the nature of language, culture, and how young people learn to use language from birth, and the second provoking curiosity about language functions and forms. It also introduces the beginnings of critical thinking about texts and their role in culture and society. This unit has a major focus on the Language Strand of the Australian Curriculum: English, and aims to develop understandings of the nature of language and how it works in contemporary society and schools. You will engage in close language studies of texts and consider the implications for learning contexts. This unit provides a foundation to the discipline of English and will be the basis for two English units that follow.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1.	apply knowledge of culture, language and literacy concepts and theories.
2.	analyse and interpret children's language choices in written texts.
3.	demonstrate academic and information literacy skills.

Alterations as a result of student feedback

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Knowledge about language	Week 3	15 %	LO1
Assessment Task 2:	Understanding Language	Week 7	40 %	LO1, LO3
Assessment Task 3:	Analysing and Interpreting Language	Week 13	45 %	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Knowledge about language

Task Description:

You will complete a quiz in MyLO to demonstrate your knowledge of language and culture, systems of language and oral language.
This quiz will be based on content presented in Week 1.
Please note: The quiz will be automatically graded.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 2.1

Task Length:

1 hour timed quiz

Due Date:

Week 3

Weight:

15 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply knowledge about language and culture.	LO1

Assessment Task 2: Understanding Language

Task Description:

This task requires you to apply your knowledge of language and culture, oral and written language and language variation and change, to write an essay responding to one of the following scenarios. In your response, you are required to describe and discuss how the child in your chosen scenario will learn English over the next decade of their lives (from birth to 10 years of age), considering cultural influence and social interactions with parents, siblings, caregivers, peers, and prospective educators. You should provide a response in a cohesive, informed, and objective manner.
Scenario 1: Jenny was born in rural Tasmania and is one of the two children of Australian parents who are farmers.
Scenario 2: Elise was born in an Australian working-class family in a low socio-economic area. She has two older brothers.
Scenario 3: Stewart was born in an Australian middle working-class family in a high socio-economic area. He has one older sister.
Scenario 4: Adi was the only child of Indonesian-Australian parents. His father is a lecturer in Indonesian studies at a university, and his mother is an early childhood educator at a childcare centre.
Scenario 5: Michael was born in an Aboriginal family. His parents speak an Aboriginal language and Aboriginal English is spoken in his community. He will be learning Australian English at school.
All the children in the above scenarios were born in Australia in early January 2024.

This is a portfolio task.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.2, 2.1, 2.5, 3.3

Task Length:

1,700 words (maximum)

Due Date:

Week 7

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply knowledge of culture, language and literacy concepts and theories.	LO1
2	Analyse the selected child’s language learning and development.	LO1
3	Communicate ideas in appropriate academic writing.	LO3

Assessment Task 3: Analysing and Interpreting Language

Task Description:

This task requires you to analyse and interpret the genre staging and grammatical features of three short texts: an information report, a factual recount and a procedure.
Task Outline:
• First, using the template provided on MyLO:
- Analyse the genre staging of each text.
- Analyse the word groups, the function of each word group, and the grammatical form of each word group for each text.
This first part of the task (the analysis of genre and grammar choices) contributes 800 words to the total word count.
• Second, write an interpretation of your analysis that addresses the following questions:
- What grammar choices did the students make?
- How did these choices contribute to the social purpose of each genre?
• Third, from your analysis and interpretation, write a rationale addressing the following question:
- Why is it important for teachers to know about the social purposes, structural features and grammatical features of different text types?
The second and third parts of the task (interpretation and rationale) contribute 1,000 words to the total word count.
Please note: See Assessment Task 3 template on MyLO for additional details

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.2, 2.1, 2.5

Task Length:

1,800 words (maximum)

Due Date:

Week 13

Weight:

45 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Analyse children’s genre and grammar choices.	LO1, LO2
2	Interpret children’s genre and grammar choices.	LO1, LO2
3	Communicate ideas in appropriate academic writing	LO3

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

Humphrey, S., Droga, L., & Feez, S. (2012). Grammar and meaning. Primary English Teaching Association Australia.