Revised National Curriculum Statement Grades R-9 (Schools) - Grade Six

Learning Area: Languages - Home 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:

• Enjoys listening and responds critically to different kinds of oral texts such as stories, legends, poems, plays, debates and talks.
• Identifies themes, asks questions, and relates ideas to own life experiences.
• Identifies and discusses key features such as context, speaker’s body language, content, register, and choice of words:
  • discusses how they affect the listener and why;
  • discusses how these features would change for different audiences and purposes;
  • discusses how these features position both the speaker and listener (e.g. in terms of authority and power, attitude towards characters);
  • identifies and discusses how stereotypes are created and their effect on the listener (e.g. ‘How is the hero depicted?’ ‘How does this make you feel about her/him?’ ‘Are people always like this in real life?’).
• Comments on sound and visual effects such as rhythm, repetition, alliteration, onomatopoeia, and comparisons.
• Listens for information in a variety of oral texts (debates, explanations, reports, television documentaries), summarises main ideas, and notes specific details.
• Listens actively and with sensitivity, acknowledges opinions that conflict with own and responds appropriately in the context.
• Discusses social, moral and cultural values in different texts and comments on how these are conveyed in the text. (e.g. ‘Is there any stereo typing?’).

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 know this when the learner:

• Communicates experiences, more complex ideas and information in more challenging contexts, for different audiences and purposes:
  • uses language for interpersonal communication which reveals deeper personal feelings and reflections (e.g. talk about emotions and aspirations);
  • uses language for creative and imaginative self-expression (e.g. poems, response to music);
  • shares ideas and offers opinions on challenging topics in a logical, coherent and structured way (e.g. poster presentations, reports, debates);
  • asks and responds to challenging questions;
  • develops factual and reasonable arguments to justify opinions.
• Applies interaction skills in group situations:
  • follows conventions for appropriate interaction in group work;
  • gives balanced and constructive feedback;
  • shows sensitivity to cultural and social differences (e.g. affirms and incorporates diverse language, experiences, examples);
  • uses diplomatic language in potential conflict situations.
• Uses appropriate body language and presentation skills:
  • does not turn back to audience;
  • varies volume, tone and tempo of voice for emphasis and effect;
  • reflects on own presentation and skills and tries to improve identified weaknesses.
• Uses appropriate language for different purposes and audiences:
  • uses appropriate register in unfamiliar and more challenging situations and shows an awareness of different audiences;
  • manipulates language for different purposes such as to persuade, argue, inspire and identify with someone;
  • suggests alternatives to discriminatory use of language.

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 and responds critically to a variety of South African and international fiction and non-fiction (journals, poetry, novels, short plays, newspapers, textbooks, etc.):
  • reads aloud and silently, adjusting reading strategies to suit the purpose and audience;
  • uses appropriate reading and comprehension strategies (skimming, and scanning, predictions, contextual clues, inferences, monitoring comprehension, etc.).
• Views and discusses various visual and multimedia texts (e.g. photographs, television advertisements, dramas and documentaries, Internet and CD-ROMs where available):
  • interprets and discusses message;
  • identifies and discusses techniques such as lighting and sound effects, choice of images, camera angles, shape and design, graphics, etc., and their effect on the viewer.
• Explains interpretation and overall response to text, giving reasons based on the text or own experience.
• Discusses how the techniques used by writers, graphic designers and photographers construct particular views of the world and position the reader in various ways.
• Shows understanding of the text, its relationship to own life, its purpose and how it functions:
  • explains themes, plot, setting, and characterisation;
  • discusses author’s point of view, how meaning is constructed, and way in which reader is positioned (e.g. ‘Is the author telling the story as an observer or insider?’ ‘How do you feel about the main character(s)?’ ‘Are you sympathetic or critical?’ ‘How does the author get you to feel that way?’).
• Recognises and explains the different structures, language use, purposes and audiences of different kinds of text:
  • identifies and evaluates the kind and suitability of the language and register of a text for its intended audience;
  • identifies and analyses the characteristics of various writing genres or text types (e.g. the organisation and conventions that are used in different kinds of poems, a biography, different kinds of newspaper articles).
• Identifies and critically discusses cultural and social values in texts:
  • interprets the writer’s intentional and unintentional hidden messages;
  • identifies different perspectives within more complex text and gives own perspectives based on evidence within the text;
  • discusses the diversity of social and cultural values in texts;
  • analyses the effect of stereotyping, bias and prejudice, discusses how this can be challenged and changed, and offers own opinions with justification.
• Understands and uses information texts appropriately:
  • summarises main and supporting ideas;
  • selects and records relevant information appropriately;
  • follows fairly complex instructions and directions independently.
• Interprets and analyses independently details in graphical texts (maps, line graphs, bar graphs and pie charts) and transfers information from one form to another.
• Selects relevant texts for personal and information needs from a wide variety of sources such as in the local community and via electronic media (where available).

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 different kinds of texts for different purposes and audiences:
  • writes for personal, exploratory, playful, imaginative and creative purposes (e.g. journals, poems, myths, dialogues, argumentative essays);
  • writes informational texts expressing ideas clearly and logically for different audiences (e.g. research report, letter to the newspaper, technical instructions);
  • writes and designs visual texts clearly and creatively using language, sound effects, graphics and design for different audiences (e.g. CD and book covers, advertisement for television or radio, newsletter with photographs);
  • shows understanding of style and register (e.g. transfers information from story into a newspaper article);
  • reflects on and evaluates writing and creative work.
• Develops and organises ideas through a writing process:
  • brainstorms ideas for a topic and develops ideas by consulting a wide variety of sources, selecting relevant information, and organising the ideas using strategies such as mind maps, flow charts, grids, etc.;
  • produces a first draft with awareness of the central idea, and appropriate language and conventions for the specific purpose and audience;
  • revises work, focusing on improving the language, organisation and style, using feedback from classmates and/or teacher;
  • produces as many drafts as necessary;
  • gives feedback to classmates with sensitivity to affirm their efforts;
  • produces a final version incorporating feedback from classmates and/or teacher;
  • reflects on and critically evaluates the final product on own, and with classmates and teacher.
• Presents work with attention to neatness and enhanced presentation (e.g. cover, content page, layout, and appropriate illustrations or graphics).
• Applies knowledge of language at different levels:
  • word level:
    • selects, uses and experiments with a wide variety of words drawn from other learning areas, and areas of interest and experience, that clearly and appropriately convey meaning,
    • spells frequently used words correctly and checks spelling of new words;
  • sentence level:
    • uses a variety of compound and complex sentences,
    • extends a sentence by adding adjectives and adverbs, and adjectival, adverbial and noun phrases and clauses,
    • shifts from one tense to another consistently and appropriately,
    • uses active and passive voice effectively,
    • varies word order for focus and emphasis;
  • paragraph level:
    • writes a topic sentence and includes relevant information to develop a coherent paragraph,
    • shows different ways of linking paragraphs and includes graphics appropriately to form the whole text.

Learning Outcome 5:  Thinking and Reasoning

The learner will be able to use language to think and reason, as well as to access, process and use information for learning.

Assessment standards

We know this when the learner:

• Uses language to think and reason:
  • distinguishes cause from effect in a variety of cross-curricular contexts;
  • expresses an opinion and supports it with solid evidence;
  • develops a balanced argument on relevant and challenging issues;
  • contrasts opposing perspectives and gives reasons;
  • questions validity and the effect of context and author’s position.
• Uses language to investigate and explore:
  • asks critical questions that challenge and seek alternative explanations;
  • asks follow-up questions to get deeper answers;
  • discusses the validity of information by comparison with other sources;
  • compares how different languages express different Learning Area concepts.
• Processes information:
  • categorises and classifies information and can explain what these processes entail, giving examples from different Learning Areas;
  • compares and contrasts information and ideas and indicates the basis for the comparison;
  • combines ideas from various sources into a coherent whole;
  • draws conclusions and makes recommendations;
  • changes information from one language into another;
  • changes format of information (e.g. from tables into written form, tables to graphs).
• Uses language to think creatively:
  • describes what learner visualises after reading or listening to a text;
  • invents and describes preferred results or endings;
  • hypothesises and offers alternatives when trying to solve a problem;
  • experiments with language in a variety of ways, such as making up new words for concepts in different languages.

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:

• Works with words:
  • uses prefixes, stems and suffixes/extensions to form words;
  • explores the origin of words (e.g. words borrowed from Latin and Greek);
  • records words in a personal dictionary;
  • uses phonics and spelling rules to spell words correctly.
• Works with sentences:
  • uses subject-verb concord;
  • identifies and uses nouns, pronouns, prepositions, articles, conjunctions, and modals;
  • uses complex tenses correctly (e.g. ‘He will have finished by now.’);
  • identifies and uses complex sentences - sentences with an independent (main) clause and a dependent (subordinate) clause linked by a conjunction (e.g. ‘When the bell rang, Thabo went home.’);
  • uses punctuation correctly (e.g. comma to separate subordinate clause from main clause);
  • uses the passive voice to focus on the object of a sentence (e.g. ‘Gold is mined in South Africa.’).
• Works with texts:
  • uses topic and supporting sentences to develop coherent paragraphs;
  • links sentences in cohesive paragraphs using, for example, connecting words such as ‘however’, synonyms and antonyms;
  • shifts from one tense to another consistently and appropriately.
• Develops awareness and use of style:
  • explains how language varies according to audience, purpose and context (register);
  • understands and uses figurative language such as metaphor (e.g. ‘He is an angel.’).
• Develops critical language awareness (e.g. explores the way language is used in advertising to encourage us to buy things we do not need, and thus to endanger the environment).
• Uses meta-language (terms such as main clause, subordinate clause, conjunction, active and passive voice, metaphor).