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Literacy and the English CSF

In English, students are engaged in becoming literate. This means learning the system of signs and symbols used to make meaning and learning to read, write and speak within a cultural context. Literacy is a set of active, dynamic and interactive practices that involves making meaning from and constructing meaning through texts. The term 'texts' is used broadly to mean any communication involving language.

Literacy enables people to understand, to appreciate, to make judgments and decisions, to act to control their lives, and to learn about themselves and the world. Students use literacy to learn, and they learn how language functions in society.

The increasing use of technological tools has implications for literacy acquisition and development. New and emerging uses of literacy need to be considered in the English classroom.

The English CSF is intended for use by teachers in assessing literacy achievement at every stage of P-10 schooling and as the basis for regular assessment against explicit standards. The CSF will assist teachers in planning and implementing regular classroom testing and other forms of assessment, supported by information from standards-based assessment programs. Monitoring the achievements of students against CSF standards will help teachers and schools provide intervention or extension strategies for students who are performing below or above the expected level of literacy.

Effective literacy learning is central to the English classroom but all learning areas have a role in promoting literacy, in particular the specific literacy requirements of their areas. The learning students undertake in LOTE, SOSE, the Arts, Mathematics, Health and Physical Education, Science and Technology both contributes to and draws on their literacy development in English. Literacy is critical to an understanding of the physical world and the environment, and to the exploration of scientific discoveries and technological innovations that is part of the study of science. Students need literacy to develop the aesthetic and creative appreciation required in the arts. The study of a LOTE offers considerable insight into the workings of English as well as other languages, helping to develop students' language skills, their use of descriptive and metalinguistic tools, and their cultural understandings. In turn, these understandings contribute to students' knowledge about and use of English. Students require literacy to support the study of Health and Physical Education, to understand what is necessary to participate actively in sport and develop a healthy lifestyle.