Category: Syllabus

Incorporating Intercultural Language Learning – online seminar from Macquarie University

28/9/2018

Macquarie Japanese Studies Centre is offering an online, self-paced course, Incorporating Intercultural Language Learning, an online version of the face-to-face seminar presented by Professor Angela Scarino in August.All language teachers in NSW are invited to attend. Completion of the course will contribute to 2 hours of NESA registered professional development addressing standards 1.3.2, 6.2.2 and 6.4.2 towards maintaining accreditation at Proficient Teachers level in NSW.

Enrolment opened on 27 September 2018 and will close on 21 October 2018, for course completion between 22 October and 18 November 2018. The course cost is $25 and is a two hour, self-paced module.

For more information visit the website, or contact the facilitator, Tomoko Koyama at the Macquarie Japanese Studies Centre.

New K-10 syllabuses – infographics to download

23/5/2018

We've had many requests to share the infographics we have created to support your understanding of key elements of the new K-10 syllabuses – we've published them previously on the blog and on Twitter.

You can download the infographics in the one file attached – you may like to display them at networking days, programming days or in the staff room.

They were created using www.canva.com – a free, online design platform which enables you to create social media graphics, posters, magazine covers, presentations and so on. There are a range of templates to choose from, with drag-and-drop features. You could use www.canva.com to create classroom resources, and it is also available to students aged 13 and over – just check the terms of use first.

new-syl-infographics.pdf
File Size:	1178 kb
File Type:	pdf

What are the new Stage 4 outcomes?

22/5/2018

Depending on which language you teach, there are either 8 or 9 outcomes (scripted languages have an additional outcome).

The outcomes differ for each Stage, and the new syllabuses feature a continuum of learning, explaining how students’ skills will develop across the years they are learning the language.

Life Skills outcomes are now linked to outcomes for Stages 4 and 5, making programming easier.

This infographic explores the Stage 4 outcomes.

For each outcome in the new syllabus, teachers will see content provided for the 3 broad learner groups – second/additional language learners, learners with prior learning/experience and learners with a background in the language. Teachers choose the most appropriate content for their learners.

The content is presented as dot points. These dot points are the intended learning and teachers are required to cover all dot points within each Stage. For each content dot point, the syllabus provides examples, which are presented as dash points. Teachers may use these, adapt these or create their own learning tasks and activities instead. The dash points are suggestions only.

The focus of all lessons in languages should be on authentic language use.

What about learning across the curriculum?

17/5/2018

In addition to the subject-based content, language syllabuses address important contemporary themes and general capabilities as students prepare to live and work successfully in the 21st century.

Learning across the curriculum content is incorporated in the new K-10 syllabuses and can be identified by the icons, which are located at the end of the dot and dash points.

When planning our units of learning, we need to consider where this content will be a natural fit.

What are the 3 broad learner groups?

17/5/2018

The new syllabuses provide differentiated content for 3 broad learner groups in Stages 4 and 5. The main content is written for the second language learners - those students who are learning the language as a second or additional language.

There is differentiated content provided for those students with prior knowledge or experience in the language. These students have some exposure to the language, either at home or at school, but are not fluent or confident users. They may understand more than their non-background peers, but don’t have strong skills. For example, the student may have had some lessons in primary school, or at another high school, or have spent some time living in the country, but not going to school. The student may also hear a language spoken at home or in the community (for example, their grandparents speak to their parents in Chinese at home) and so they may understand the spoken language, but don’t read, write or speak confidently.

There is also differentiated content provided for those students with a background in the language. These students come to your classroom with considerable knowledge of the language. They may have attended school in a country where the language is spoken for part of their education, or have received considerable instruction in the language. For example, a student may come from a Greek-speaking family and may have attended Saturday school throughout their primary school years, they may have lived in Japan and attended an international school where they learned Japanese as well as English, or they have recently moved from Argentina where they spoke Spanish as their first language and attended school.

Now it becomes an easier task for teachers to select the appropriate content to cater for the learning needs of these 3 broad groups. It should be noted that teachers are expected to choose the appropriate content according to the learners in their class and therefore, if a teacher is only teaching a class of second language learners and there are no students with prior knowledge/experience or background, the teacher simply selects the main content points to include and does not need to use the other content points.

What are the values and attitudes?

2/5/2018

It is important that teachers understand the values and attitudes that feature as part of the new K-10 language syllabuses.

Through learning languages, students will:

- develop an interest in and enjoyment of language learning
- appreciate and value their own heritage, culture and identity
- appreciate and respect the culture, beliefs and values of others through language learning.

These values and attitudes should be at the forefront of teachers’ minds when planning learning experiences for students.

New K-10 syllabuses – what are the new objectives?

2/5/2018

There are 5 knowledge, understanding and skills objectives in the new syllabuses: interacting, accessing and responding, composing, systems of language and the role of language and culture. Together these objectives develop students’ abilities to communicate and understand.

Analysing these new objectives in comparison to the old syllabus, we can see a close relationship between the new interacting, accessing and responding and composing objectives and the current using language (UL)objective.

We can also see a parallel between the new systems of language objective and the current making linguistic connections (MLC) objective.

The final similarity in terms of organisation is the new role of language and culture objective and the current moving between cultures (MBC) objective.

New K-10 syllabuses – what are the 2 strands?

13/4/2018

As we all know, languages are dynamic. Also, our knowledge about how students learn and, in particular, how they learn a language, is constantly becoming more sophisticated.

The Languages K-10 Framework reflects current research and focuses on the social value placed on intercultural understanding and the need to successfully build relationships between people of widely diverse cultural backgrounds. The new K-10 language syllabuses have been developed in line with the Australian curriculum and feature two interconnected strands - communicating and understanding.

The strands guide and shape the content and outcomes of the new K-10 language syllabuses. They should inform and drive the selection and delivery of teaching and learning activities, and guide pedagogy.

The new syllabuses have a strong new focus on authentic language use. The content of the syllabuses leads teachers to create meaningful learning tasks that will develop students’ ability to use language in authentic situations.

Don't forget to register - Languages K-10 syllabus familiarisation and planning workshops

9/4/2018

Registration is now open for the Languages K-10 familiarisation and planning workshops.

The regional workshops are for teachers K-10 from all education sectors.

The metro workshops (Sydney, Illawarra and Hunter/Newcastle regions) are for teachers 7-10 from NSW public schools only. The Association of Independent Schools NSW and the department's primary language team are running their own events in metro areas, and these will be advertised separately.

Registration will close 5 days prior to each event.

Metro workshop dates and locations:
Term 2 2018
Penrith – Monday 7 May
Mt Druitt – Tuesday 8 May
North Sydney – Tuesday 15 May
Central Coast – Wednesday 16 May
Sydney Central – Friday 18 May
Campbelltown – Monday 21 May
Liverpool – Tuesday 22 May
Hornsby – Tuesday 29 May
Parramatta – Thursday 31 May
Granville – Friday 1 June
Bankstown – Thursday 14 June
Cronulla – Friday 15 June

Term 3 2018
Wollongong – Thursday 16 August
Brighton Beach – Friday 17 August
Newcastle – Tuesday 28 August
Muswellbrook – Wednesday 29 August
Maitland – Thursday 30 August

Please note that these workshops are only open to secondary language teachers in NSW public schools and participation is FREE.

Register now for a metro workshop.

For more information about the metro workshops please contact Michelle Walls, Language Officer
NSW Department of Education.

Regional workshop dates and locations:
Term 2 2018
Albury – Tuesday 19 June
Wagga Wagga – Wednesday 20 June
Goulburn – Thursday 21 June
Bathurst – Tuesday 26 June
Dubbo – Wednesday 27 June
Griffith/Hay – Friday 29 June

Term 3 2018
Port Macquarie – Tuesday 31 July
Coffs Harbour – Wednesday 1 August
Lismore – Thursday 2 August
Tamworth – Tuesday 7 August
Moree – Friday 10 August
Narooma – Tuesday 14 August

These workshops are free for teachers of all languages, from all sectors.

Register now for a regional workshop.

For more information about the regional workshops, please contact your sectoral representative:

Association of Independent Schools NSW
Alison Dean, Languages Consultant

Catholic Schools NSW
Gillian Cordy, Education Officer – Languages

NSW Department of Education
Michelle Walls, Language Officer

K-10 draft languages syllabuses

30/6/2017

French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Korean and Spanish teachers in the NSW Department of Education participated in the Adobe Connect webinar on Wednesday 28 June to hear about the K-10 draft syllabuses and have an opportunity to provide feedback.

If you were not able to join the Adobe Connect webinar, the recording (24 minutes) can be accessed via
https://connect.schools.nsw.edu.au/p2ufx07rdcg/.

The consultation period is the only opportunity for teachers to be part of the department’s feedback to NESA. Teachers are encouraged to download and critically review the content in the language-specific draft K-10 syllabuses.

All information including the draft syllabuses can be accessed on the NESA site.

If you have any concerns with the content in the draft syllabuses, please document the areas of concern and recommendations and return via email to janelle.byrne@det.nsw.edu.au by Monday 10 July 2017. Please include the following details to ensure your concerns can be clearly understood and incorporated in our response:
Language:
Issue:
Content with page numbers as reference: eg. p. 82 First dot point, second dash point (“recognising the importance of the article…”)
Recommendations such as Suggest amending/rewording/deleting to …

We look forward to hearing from teachers to ensure the content of the language-specific syllabuses is relevant and appropriate for the students in all languages classes.