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lexitu

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Overview and Resources
« on: January 02, 2011, 11:17:11 am »
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Outline
Quote from: VICTORIAN CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT AUTHORITY
RATIONALE
The Foundation English course is designed for students who may require a more vocationally orientated approach to English or may be aiming to directly enter the workforce upon completing their post-compulsory secondary studies. It may also be suited to students who need additional time and assistance to strengthen and refine their literacy skills to support their study in VCE English/ESL, VCE Literature, or VCE English Language Units 1–4 and in other VCE studies.

The study design draws on and strengthens the skills gained and the knowledge students have acquired about texts and language in the English domain of the Victorian Essential Learning Standards. It integrates speaking, listening, reading, viewing and writing across all areas of study to enhance students’ knowledge about the structures and functions of written and oral language. The course allows students to improve their skills in comprehending and responding to a variety of texts, and to enhance their communication skills.

Foundation English may be viewed as a bridging course into the VCE or for students completing technically orientated courses, as well as providing an opportunity for students to develop stronger connections between the Employability Skills Framework and Key Competencies and their English studies. There are various pathways that students may follow after completing Foundation English Units 1 and 2. Some students may proceed to VCE English/ESL, VCE Literature, or VCE English Language Units 1 and 2 and subsequently to Units 3 and 4 in any of the English group studies. Alternatively, after completing Foundation English Unit 1, students could proceed to English/ESL, Literature, or English Language Unit 2 and from there to Units 3 and 4 in one of the English group of studies. It is also possible, but less likely, that a student could proceed directly from Foundation English Units 1 and 2 to English/ESL, Literature, or English Language Units 3 and 4. It should be noted that no more than two units at Units 1 and 2 level selected from Foundation English, English/ESL, English Language or Literature may count towards the English requirement. Further details on the VCE English requirement are published in the current year’s VCE and VCAL Administrative Handbook.

AIMS
This study is designed to enable students to:
•   strengthen and extend their competence and confidence in using Standard Australian English in meeting the demands of further study, the workplace and their own needs and interests;
•   strengthen and extend their language skills through thinking, reading, writing, speaking and listening;
•   communicate ideas and information effectively using the conventions of written and spoken language;
•   speak and listen in a range of informal and formal settings for different purposes;
•   read a range of texts to construct personal, creative, comparative and critical responses;
•   read accurately to locate, extract, understand, organise and synthesise ideas and information;
•   control the conventions of Standard Australian English in order to edit and proofread their writing
to enhance accuracy of expression and clarity of meaning;
•   acquire a vocabulary to talk precisely about language and texts.

STRUCTURE
The Foundation English course is designed around one compulsory area of study, Essentials of English, and five optional areas of study from which one must be selected for study in each unit. These areas of study are not discrete. Each contains aspects of other areas of study and the modes of language – speaking and listening, reading and writing – define the outcomes, key knowledge, key skills and learning activities in all areas of the course.

Compulsory area of study in both Units 1 and 2:
Area of study 1: Essentials of English.

Optional areas of study: Two of the following areas of study must be selected for study, one in each of Units 1 and 2.
Area of study 2: Communication and the workplace
Area of study 3: Technology and communication
Area of study 4: The study of texts
Area of study 5: The analysis and construction of argument
Area of study 6: Information literacy.

Resources
VCAA - Study Design
Monash - Langauge and Learning Online
Grammar Basics - Grammar help
BBC Skillswise - Improve your English

Get Involved
You're welcome to seek help with Foundation English. There are plenty of members ready to give assistance. :)
« Last Edit: January 02, 2011, 11:21:49 am by lexitu »