Professional Learning

Languages Curriculum strands

The content of the Australian Curriculum: Languages is organised through two interrelated strands. These are:

• Communicating: using language for communicative purposes in interpreting, creating and exchanging meaning
• Understanding: analysing language and culture as a resource for interpreting and creating meaning.

The strands reflect three important aspects of language learning:

1. communication
2. analysis of aspects of language and culture
3. reflection that involves:
   • reflection on the experience of communicating
   • reflection on comparative dimensions of the languages available in students’ repertoires (for example, the first language in relation to second language and self in relation to others).

A set of sub-strands has been identified within each strand, which reflects dimensions of language use and the related content to be taught and learned. The strands and sub-strands do not operate in isolation but are integrated in relation to language use for different purposes in different contexts.

From The Australian Curriculum: Languages – Content structure

Illustration of practice