everyday texts: Everyday texts include spoken, print and non-print texts that are part of daily life. They include, for example, classified advertisements, personal letters, telephone conversations, messages, instructions, labels, electronic mail and web pages. Everyday texts also include newsletters, notices, signs and timetables associated with the specialised demands of schooling. In general terms, the English curriculum gradually shifts in emphasis from simple everyday texts used in the home and school for personal, informal purposes towards more formal and complex everyday texts used in the home and the wider community.
literary texts: Literature, which is fundamental to the English curriculum, uses language to represent, re-create, shape and explore human experience. Literary texts can be based on fiction or fact and includes written and spoken texts. Examples include picture storybooks, traditional stories, speeches, novels, short stories, plays, poetry, translated works, non-print texts and non-fiction works such as biographies. Through reading, writing, listening to and talking about literature, students extend their understanding of the world and of themselves, and they see how cultural beliefs and values are formed.
media texts: Media texts include spoken, print, graphic and electronic communications with a public audience. They often involve numerous people in their construction and are usually shaped by the technology used in their production. The media texts studied in English are found in newspapers, magazines, and on television, video, film, radio, computer software and the Internet.
metalanguage: A metalanguage is a language used to discuss language conventions and use, for example, the terms and definitions used in the various grammars to describe the functions of words in sentences and the terms used to describe and categorise structural features of different kinds of texts.
morphemic knowledge: Morphemic knowledge is knowledge about the components, patterns or shapes within words. Readers use morphemic knowledge to understand words when reading, to spell words when writing and to understand and pronounce words when speaking and listening by recognising formations of semantic (meaning) components of words.
multimodal texts/formats: In English, the modes of language are reading (including viewing), writing (including composing electronic texts), speaking and listening. Multimodal texts are those that combine, for example, print text, visual images and spoken word as in film or computer presentation media.
- techniques such as reading the cover and contents page when selecting texts
- predicting, checking, confirming and self-correcting using knowledge of a topic
- browsing, skimming and scanning for key words and content
- using computer technology to locate and explore information.
- planning, composing, recording, editing and publishing
- using word-processing and graphics programs to create, edit and publish texts
- phonic, visual and morphemic strategies for attempting to spell unfamiliar words
- consulting resources such as a dictionary and thesaurus.
structures and features of language: Structures of language refer to characteristics of the overall ordering and organisation of texts. Features of language refer to the grammar of speech and of writing. Throughout the years of schooling, students need to develop abilities to use the following structures and features of written and spoken language:
- print elements, such as letters, words, spelling, paragraphs, punctuation, layout and presentation
- textual and grammatical aspects of language, such as sentence structure and vocabulary
- patterns of text structure and organisation of various kinds of texts, including narrative, exposition, verse, narrative voice and point of view
- intonation, rhythm, pace, pitch, volume and pauses in spoken language
- non-verbal elements of communication, such as facial expression, body movement, proximity and gestures, and the graphic elements of texts, such as the impact of illustrations on the meaning of a text.
texts: Texts studied in English include a range of written and spoken texts, from informal to formal, in print, electronic and multimodal formats. They may include speeches or conversations, novels, storybooks, newspaper articles, transactional texts such as letters, invitations or interviews, as well as reports, posters, performances of plays or films, and advertisements. Texts also include the communications composed on, or transmitted by, computers or other technological tools. Teachers draw material from:
As these categories are interrelated, some texts may belong to more than one category.
workplace texts: Workplace texts include spoken, print and electronic forms of communication commonly encountered in enterprises across a wide range of industries, including business letters, resumes, memoranda, short reports, formal and informal minutes. Practice in interpreting and producing such texts is a valuable part of students’ preparation for the world of work and further training.