Revised National Curriculum Statement Grades R-9 (Schools) - Grade Four
Learning Area: Languages - Second Additional Language
Learning Outcome 1: Listening
The learner will be able to listen for information and enjoyment, and respond appropriately and critically in a wide range of situations.
Assessment standards
We know this when the learner:
- Shows understanding of instructions by responding physically.
- Understands and responds to simple questions (e.g. ‘What is your name?’ ‘Where do you live ?’ ‘How old are you?’ ‘Do you have any brothers and sisters?’).
- Shows understanding of a very short, simple story or factual text by answering simple questions.
- Shows understanding of some short, authentic oral texts (e.g. a simple popular song) by answering questions requiring ‘yes’, ‘no’, short answers or filling in words in the written text.
- Shows the learner knows the sounds of the language:
- distinguishes between pairs of words (e.g. live/leave, bed/bad, bud/bird).
- Begins to recognise some features of intonation and stress.
- Writes a short, simple dictation.
Learning Outcome 2: Speaking
The learner will be able to communicate confidently and effectively in spoken language in a wide range of situations.
Assessment standards
We will know this when the learner:
- Responds appropriately to simple questions (e.g. ‘What is your name? How old are you?’).
- Makes polite requests (e.g. ‘Can I go to the toilet, please?’).
- Interviews a partner (e.g. about likes and dislikes).
- Role-plays some familiar situations (e.g. meeting a new friend for the first time).
- Understands cultural similarities and differences (e.g. how you greet and address people in home, first and second additional languages).
Learning Outcome 3: Reading and Viewing
The learner will be able to read and view for information and enjoyment, and respond critically to the aesthetic, cultural and emotional values in texts.
Assessment standards
We know this when the learner:
- Reads short texts with visual support:
- matches words and sentences with pictures;
- an advertisement;
- picture stories with simple captions;
- comic strips;
- signs in the environment (e.g. traffic signs).
- Reads, listens to and/or sings a simple, popular song.
- Uses reference books for language learning:
- bilingual/monolingual dictionary;
- grammar reference book;
- multimedia courses, where available.
- Reads and understands up to 500 words in context by the end of Grade 4.
Learning Outcome 4: Writing
The learner will be able to write different kinds of factual and imaginative texts for a wide range of purposes.
Assessment standards
We know this when the learner:
- Completes simple forms (e.g. a questionnaire about self).
- Writes a simple dialogue (e.g. fills in the speech bubbles in a comic strip).
- Fills in missing words in sentences.
- Writes sentences using a frame (e.g. ‘I like... I do not like...’).
- Puts sentences in the right order to create a paragraph.
- Translates a simple text from the second additional language into the home language.
- Distinguishes between different words that sound the same but are spelled differently (e.g. meat/meet).
Learning Outcome 6: Language Structure and Use
The learner will know and be able to use the sounds, words and grammar of the language to create and interpret texts.
Assessment standards
We know this when the learner:
- Pronounces the sounds of the language in words with a fair degree of accuracy.
- Uses stress correctly in words with a fair degree of accuracy.
- Uses stress correctly in sentences with a fair degree of accuracy.
- Differentiates between words where only one sound is different (e.g. ship/sheep; bud/bird).
- Creates a simple sentence (e.g. ‘I like fried chicken.').
- Understands and uses the simple present tense (e.g. ‘I live in Durban.’).
- Understands and uses negative statements (e.g. ‘I don’t like rugby.’).
- Understands and uses the auxiliary ‘do’ (e.g. ‘Do you like tennis? I don’t like tennis.’).
- Understands and uses imperatives (e.g. ‘Open your books.’).
- Understands and uses plurals (e.g. ‘I have two sisters.’).
- Understands and uses pronouns (e.g. my book, your book, her book).
- Understands and uses question forms (e.g. ‘Where do you live ?’ ‘How old are you ?’ ‘How many brothers and sisters do you have?’).
- Understands and uses some prepositions (e.g. in, on, to).
- Records vocabulary relating to the classroom and personal identity in a personal dictionary.
- Plays language games (e.g. ‘I spy with my little eye ...’)
- Demonstrates a reading vocabulary of up to 500 words by the end of Grade 4.