English / Year 8 / Language / Language variation and change

Curriculum content descriptions

Understand the influence and impact that the English language has had on other languages or dialects and how English has been influenced in return (ACELA1540)

Elaborations
  • exploring examples of Singlish (Singapore English) from a Singlish dictionary
  • investigating borrowings from a range of languages into English, for example from French and Italian
General capabilities
  • Literacy Literacy
  • Intercultural understanding Intercultural understanding
ScOT terms

Language conventions,  English language,  Loanwords

Interactive

Creating cartoons

The resource focuses on discussing, analysing and explaining a variety of cartoons in a variety of print and digital texts. It will enhance visual literacy skills in a range of media texts. Students have the opportunity to create cartoons to share with others. This resource supports the Australian Curriculum in English K–10.

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Radio National: Re-awakening Australian Aboriginal languages

Did you know that before colonisation there were about 250 distinct Aboriginal and Torres Strait lslander languages being spoken across Australia? Today, however, the majority of these languages are endangered. Listen to a number of significant Australians discussing the Aboriginal language situation in Australia today. ...

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Four Corners: Pronunciation wars

How much attention must broadcasters pay to the pronunciation of words? Watch language experts and ABC staff discussing the preferred pronunciation of 'Don Quixote', a fictional Spaniard who appears in the novel bearing his name and in several significant artistic works. This clip reveals the importance placed upon the ...

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Evolving English: Where do new words come from?

What do you think the term Spanglish might mean? Or Chinglish? Or Franglais? Our language is constantly changing and one way in which it does so is by 'borrowing' words from other languages. In this clip, learn about our evolving language.

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Syllabus bites: Visual literacy

A resource with information, study guides and resources on visual literacy to support the English K-10 Australian Curriculum in English. It provides a series of activities, guidelines and tasks about visual texts from a variety of sources. Contains writing scaffolds, templates and proformas for responding and composing ...

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Radio National: Learning Dharug, Aboriginal language of Sydney

Imagine a time when the Aboriginal language Dharug was the official language spoken in the Sydney area. During this audio clip, reflect on how the language was considered almost 'lost', but (and) discover how Richard Green and others are piecing the Dharug language back together. Find out about how it is being taught at ...

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Can We Help?: Efficient speech: the process of language change

Wassup, bro?Well 'pparently I ain't speakin' right.Will thou ha' the truth on't?We often think that only young people speak in abbreviated forms, but the truth is people have been doing this since Anglo-Saxon times! In this clip discover with Professor Kate Burridge some words that belong to the 'zero plurals' group, why ...

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Where did English come from?

This short video for students traces English from the present day back to its ancient roots, showing how English has evolved through generations of speakers

Interactive

Aim to sustain: A world of difference

Students explore what is happening at an individual, community and global level and plan actions they will take. These may range from taking a quiz to sharing knowledge about being 'green' at home, through to planning a conference session to deliver to other students. The resource includes videos, SMART notebooks, worksheets ...

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Learn 60 new vocabulary words with these imaginative student videos

This resource showcases short videos made by students in which they define a Word of the Day in under 15 seconds. Sixty videos are organized into three compilations by part of speech. Use the videos as inspiration for your students to create their own vocabulary-related video. The resource includes an interactive Vocabulary.com ...

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How to write a ‘how-to’

In this step-by-step guide, students will learn about the “how to” genre with examples drawn from the New York Times. They will use writing prompts to come up with a task they’d like to explain; find and interview an expert; then edit what they have into a clear and interesting explanation.

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Learn vocabulary all year

Find a schedule of challenges that can help students engage with words and new vocabulary through writing, drawing and video-making, and connect their language study to what they might read in newspapers and observe in their own lives.

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Writing Rich Reading Responses

Using writing submitted by teenagers for a New York Times competition, this article outlines four key elements that can make a short written response sing. This resource aims to help students improve the engagement levels of their writing. Each of the four elements includes some focus questions and examples of what works.

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142 Picture Prompts to Inspire Student Writing

Find a year’s worth of short, accessible, image-driven posts that invite a variety of kinds of writing.

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Punctuation – What’s the point

This practice guide offers an overview of essential punctuation for writing across primary and secondary school. While an effective combination of sentence types adds depth and variety to a piece of writing, correct punctuation is equally vital for clarity and coherence. This guide aims to provide clear examples to support ...

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Complex sentences: Creating agility and depth in your writing

Complex sentences are an important step in enabling students to produce more sophisticated writing. Mastering complex sentences allows students to have greater control when communicating. This resource provides information about topics such as Dependent clauses, Nominalisation and Subordinating conjunctions. This guide ...

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Sentence combining

Sentence combining is an instructional technique used to improve sentence quality, complexity and variety. Students are taught how to combine two or more basic sentences to create more interesting, sophisticated and varied sentences. When sentence combining is taught explicitly and in a sustained way, it becomes one component ...

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Nominalisation: cure or crime?

This article about nominalisation provides background support about this topic for teachers. While written for NSW secondary English teachers, it has broader relevance for teaching this skill in Australian classrooms.

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What is cohesion?

Cohesive devices are words and expressions that show relationships between parts of text and ideas, such as cause and effect, time, addition, or comparison and contrast. This webpage is designed for use by older students but it features a useful list of linking words that help join ideas and sentences that can be used by ...

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Using ‘signpost’ words and phrases

This guide explains the use of words and phrases that connect ideas into a logical argument and signal to the reader the structure of that argument. Find examples of specific words and phrases associated with the purpose: sequencing, adding an idea, generalising, introducing a fact; rephrasing and introducing a reason or proof.