Revised National Curriculum Statement Grades R-9 (Schools) - Grade Seven
Learning Area: Language - 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:
- Listens to and responds to simple questions (e.g. ‘Have you ever been to Cape Town?’ ‘When did you go there?’).
- Listens to a telephone message and takes it down.
- Listens to short, simple stories and factual texts.
- Listens to some short, authentic texts (e.g. a popular song).
- Distinguishes the sounds of the language (important for pronunciation, reading and writing).
- 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 questions (e.g. ‘Who’s speaking?' ‘Can I speak to...?’ ‘Can I leave a message?’).
- Interviews a fellow learner and gives a report-back.
- Takes part in a conversation (e.g. on the telephone).
- Asks for clarification (e.g. ‘Sorry, the line is bad. I didn’t hear you.’).
- Understands cultural similarities and differences (e.g. social conventions in telephone calls).
- Role-plays some familiar situations (e.g. making a telephone call, receiving a cell phone call at an inappropriate time).
- Makes polite requests (e.g. ‘Can you take a message, please?’).
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 (e.g. an advertisement, comic strips).
- Reads a simple song, poem, story or factual text.
- Reads some short authentic texts (e.g. a CD cover).
- Reads a number of graded readers (1500-2000 word level).
- Demonstrates a reading vocabulary of about 2000 words by the end of Grade 7.
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:
- Writes a message (e.g. on a telephone message pad).
- Writes and performs a simple dialogue (e.g. a conversation with a neighbour complaining about loud music).
- Designs a simple advertisement.
- Writes a paragraph.
- Translates a text from one language to another (e.g. an advertisement).
- Does some word puzzles and plays games (e.g. a crossword puzzle, Scrabble).
- Distinguishes between words which sound the same but are spelled differently (e.g. write/right; through/threw).
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 words, and uses word and sentence stress and intonation reasonably accurately.
- Modifies adjectives (e.g. ve ry hard, really interesting, quite nice).
- Co-ordinates sentences with ‘but’ (e.g. ‘It’s a difficult book, but it’s really interesting.’).
- Uses present perfect progressive (e.g. ‘She has been working really hard this term.’).
- Uses the second conditional (e.g. ‘If I won the Lotto, I would buy my mom a new house.’).
- Uses modals to express possibility/probability:
- ‘It will rain.’ (certain - positive);
- ‘It should rain.’ (probable);
- ‘It may rain.’ (possible);
- ‘It might rain.’ (unlikely);
- ‘It will not/won’t rain.’ (certain - negative).
- Understands and uses words which go together (collocations) (e.g. ‘strong coffee’ but not ‘powerful coffee’).
- Records vocabulary in a personal dictionary.
- Demonstrates a reading vocabulary of about 2000 words by the end of Grade 7.