Details for Language and Literacy

This subject enables students to develop their communication skills for academic and professional life, especially in regard to the teacher’s relationship with parents and the community while understanding the principles and theories language and literacy development.

Awards offering Language and Literacy

This unit is offered as a part of the following awards:

• Graduate Certificate in Teacher Preparation
• Master of Teaching (Primary)

Unit Content

Curriculum Objective

This subject enables students to develop their communication skills for academic and professional life, especially in regard to the teacher’s relationship with parents and the community while understanding the principles and theories language and literacy development. The pre-service teacher is prepared with the tools necessary for the more effective teaching of English (EDU513 Learning and Teaching English). The synergy with EDU523 Inclusive Education is also explored with a range of diagnostic tools all in the context of a biblical perspective on personal holistic development.

Outcomes

1. Discuss the relationship between language and literacy and their relevance to learner’s intellectual, social, emotional and spiritual development;
2. Demonstrate an understanding of the literacy acquisition challenges of learners from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB) and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds;
3. Apply different theories for the pedagogy of reading and writing to a range of leaning situations;
4. Employ a range of assessment, reporting and diagnostic tools in language and literacy to enhance learning and teaching;
5. Develop a personal philosophy of teaching language and literacy and how it relates to a Christian worldview.

Subject Content

1. Communication: biblical perspective; ethics and responsibility; public speaking and presentation skills; a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement; multicultural and multilingual classrooms; interpreters and collaborating with bilingual families and agencies; oral cultures; Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander English language learning; bidialectal pedagogy.
2. Language: language development; language benchmarks for age levels; meaning-making through language; contextual, semantic, grammatical, language structures, differentiation of genres, grammar & conventions; spelling; handwriting; second language learners & role of the home language in second language and sociocultural intellectual development; contemporary critical theory in TESOL; culturally inclusive curriculum.
3. Literacy: current beliefs about literacy acquisition and literacy pedagogy; power and access through literacy; pedagogical models for reading and writing, multiliteracies; cross-cultural issues; the value English literacy acquisition, the relationship between language and literacy.
4. Assessment: principles and practices of assessment and reporting; early literacy assessment, concepts of print, running records, miscue analysis; diagnosis and referral of specific language and literacy impairments; oral and written feedback to scaffold literacy development; interagency support; evaluating the effectiveness of programs and resource materials; digital portfolios, commercial literacy tests and national reporting.

This course may be offered in the following formats

• Face-to-Face
• Intensive
• Distance/ Global Online

Please consult your course prospectus or enquire about how and when this course will be offered next at Alphacrucis University College.

Assessment Methods

1. Forum Posts (10%)
2. Individual Case Study (30%)
3. Minor Essay (30%)
4. Critical Reflection (30%

Prescribed Text

• References will include the most current curriculum requirements for schools.

Check with the instructor each semester before purchasing any prescribed texts or representative references