The Australian
Curriculum: Languages is designed to enable all students to engage
in learning a language in addition to English. The design of the Australian
Curriculum: Languages recognises the features that languages share as well as
the distinctiveness of specific languages.
There are aspects of the curriculum that pertain to
all languages. The key concepts of language, culture and learning, as described
in the Shape of the Australian
Curriculum: Languages, underpin the learning area. They also
provide the basis for a common rationale and set of aims for all
languages.
Here at Benowa, our key language is French.
French is a major world language, spoken as the first
language in more than two dozen countries on five continents and as an official
language in 33 countries. First language speakers include the 67 million
inhabitants of mainland France; those living in the territorial communities of
New Caledonia, French Polynesia, and the Wallis and Futuna Islands, as well as
in French overseas departments such as French Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe
and the island of Réunion; 80 percent of the inhabitants of Québec; and
significant communities in Luxembourg, Belgium, Monaco, Switzerland and the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. There are also many French-based creole
languages, such as Haitian, developed through French colonial contact. French
is a language of diplomacy, used by many international organisations, and is
the dominant working language at the European Court of Justice. French culture
has contributed to the shaping of global movements and traditions associated
with domains such as the arts, cinema, philosophy and cultural theory, as well
as fashion, design, food and wine.
Current links between Australia and the
French-speaking world are strong, characterised by bilateral relationships in
trade and investment, educational exchanges, research and development in
science and technology, humanitarian and environmental initiatives, and
communications, strategic and defence priorities. The Pacific region is a
particularly important focus of bilateral engagement. France is a leading
destination for Australian travellers, and a partner in work-exchange
opportunities in hospitality, tourism and international relations. Large
numbers of young Australians visit France and other French-speaking countries
each year on student or working visas.
The Australian Curriculum: Languages for French is
pitched to second language learners; that is, to the dominant cohort of
learners in the current Australian context for whom French is an additional
language. It has been developed according to two main learning trajectories for
these learners, Foundation to Year 10 Sequence and Years 7–10 (Year 7 Entry)
Sequence. Teachers will use the curriculum to cater for learners of different
backgrounds by making appropriate adjustments to differentiate learning
experiences for these students.
For students learning French for the first time in a
school language program, a key dimension of the curriculum involves
understanding the cultural dimension that shapes and is shaped by the language.
The curriculum is designed with an intercultural language learning orientation
to enable students to participate meaningfully in intercultural experiences, to
develop new ways of seeing and being in the world, and to understand more about
themselves in the process.