Senior Phase
Languages
  General comment:

In the Senior Phase, there are eight Learning Programes based on the Learning Area Statements. Time allocations for each Learning Area are prescribed for all Grades and Phases. 		 
  Languages:

Definition

The Languages Learning Area includes:
  • all eleven official languages: Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, SiSwati, Tshivenda, and Xitsonga; and
  • languages approved by the Pan South African Language Board (PANSALB) and the South African Certification Authority (SAFCERT) such as Braille and South African Sign Language.


The Learning Area for each official language is presented in three parts, each with its own volume: Home Language, First Additional Language, and Second Additional Language.

In a multilingual country like South Africa it is important that learners reach high levels of proficiency in at least two languages, and that they are able to communicate in other languages.

The Additive Approach to Multilingualism

The Languages Learning Area is in line with the Department of Education’s language-in-education policy.
This policy gives School Governing Bodies the responsibility of selecting school language policies that are appropriate for their circumstances and in line with the policy of additive multilingualism. The Languages Learning Area Statement provides a curriculum that is supportive of whatever decision a school makes. It follows an additive approach to multilingualism:
  • All learners learn their home language and at least one additional official language.
  • Learners become competent in their additional language, while their home language is maintained and developed.
  • All learners learn an African language for a minimum of three years by the end of the General Education and Training Band. In some circumstances, it may be learned as a second additional language.


The home, first additional and second additional languages are approached in different ways:
  • The home language Assessment Standards assume that learners come to school able to understand and speak the language. They support the development of this competence, especially with regard to various types of literacy (reading, writing, visual and critical literacies). They provide a strong curriculum to support the language of learning and teaching.
  • The first additional language assumes that learners do not necessarily have any knowledge of the language when they arrive at school. The curriculum starts by developing learners’ ability to understand and speak the language. On this foundation, it builds literacy. Learners are able to transfer the literacies they have acquired in their home language to their first additional language. The curriculum provides strong support for those learners who will use their first additional language as a language of learning and teaching. By the end of Grade 9, these learners should be able to use their home language and first additional language effectively and with confidence for a variety of purposes including learning.
  • The second additional language is intended for learners who wish to learn three languages. The third language may be an official language or a foreign language. The Assessment Standards ensure that learners are able to use the language for general communicative purposes. It assumes that less time will be allocated to learning the second additional language than to the home language or first additional language.
The Languages Learning Area covers all 11 official languages as:
  • home languages;
  • first additional languages; and
  • second additional languages.


The focus of the Senior Phase is on consolidation and extension of language and literacy. By the end of Grade 9, learners should be:
  • able to read and write for a wide range of purposes - formal and informal, public and personal;
  • keen, flexible readers who can find and evaluate information for themselves;
  • active, critical listeners and confident speakers of the language, sensitive to their audience; and
  • able to analyse language, understand how it works, and use it for their own purposes.
  
Learning Outcome 1: LISTENING
The learner will be able to listen for information and enjoyment, and respond appropriately and critically in a wide range of situations.
Assessment Standards: (Some examples)

Grade 7

We know this when the learner listens to and appreciates expressive, imaginative and narrative texts (e.g. ballads songs, short stories, folktales).

Grade 8

We know this when the learner listens to and appreciates challenging imaginative and informative oral texts (e.g. poems, praise poems, two- or three-episode stories and radio dramas, short talks, radio advertisements, debates).

Grade 9

We know this when the learner listens to and appreciates a variety of complex imaginative and informative oral texts (e.g. radio dramas, talk shows, documentaries, dramatised poems, book reviews).
Learning Outcome 2: SPEAKING
The learner will be able to communicate confidently and effectively in spoken language in a wide range of situations.
Assessment Standards: (some examples)

Grade 7

We know this when the learner communicates ideas and feelings expressively with confidence and with some assistance, using selected oral text types (e.g. stories, jokes, dramas).

Grade 8

We know this when the learner communicates ideas and feelings creatively and expressively with a great degree of confidence and with limited assistance, using a range of selected oral text types (e.g. dramas, role-plays, songs).

Grade 9

We know this when the learner communicates ideas and feelings creatively, expressively and imaginatively with confidence and autonomy, using a wide range of oral text types (e.g. dramas, poems).
Learning Outcome 3: READING AND VIEWING
The learner will be able to read and view for information and enjoyment, and respond critically to the aesthetic, cultural and emotional values in texts.
Assessment Standards: (some examples)

Grade 7

We know this when the learner reads spontaneously and often for pleasure and information across the range of text types studied, describes personal response and discusses the kinds of texts enjoyed.

Grade 8

We know this when the learner reads spontaneously and often for pleasure and information across the range of texts studied, discusses personal response and the kinds of texts enjoyed, and recommends texts to others.

Grade 9

We know this when the learner reads spontaneously and extensively for pleasure and information across the range of text types studied, compares personal responses, and makes motivated recommendations to others.
Learning Outcome 4: WRITING
The learner will be able to write different kinds of factual and imaginative texts for a wide range of purposes.
Assessment Standards: (some examples)

Grade 7

We know this when the learner produces a selected range of factual written and multimodal texts (texts using print and images) for various purposes, using visual and design elements where appropriate by means of eyewitness accounts, posters, advertisements, book reviews, recipes, and game instructions.

Grade 8

We know this when the learner produces a range of factual written and multimodal texts (texts using print and images) for various purposes, using a range of visual, and design elements where appropriate by means of recounts of events, research project reports, pamphlets, posters, and book reviews.

Grade 9

We know this when the learner produces a wide range of factual written and multimedia texts for various purposes, using a wide range of visual and design elements where appropriate by means of e-mail, reports on current issues, advertisements, posters, book reviews, film reviews, eyewitness accounts, newspaper reports, curriculum vitae, agenda and minutes of meetings.
Learning Outcome 5: THINKING AND REASONING
The learner will be able to use language to think and reason, as well as to access, process and use information for learning.
Assessment Standards: (some examples)

Grade 7

We know this when the learner uses language to think and reason:
  • infers and deduces meaning, and explains the intentions of the author by interpreting written, visual and aural texts across the curriculum;
  • explains cause and effect;
  • weighs options by deciding which of two alternatives is the better choice;
  • expresses and develops a clear personal viewpoint;
  • supports an argument with various kinds of evidence (e.g. statistical and other);
  • uses questions to develop own thinking or that of others;
  • uses appropriate language structures to express complex thought (e.g. the use of conditionals, for example, ‘If resources were shared fairly, we might have less crime.’).

Grade 8

We know this when the learner uses language to think and reason:
  • applies thinking and reasoning skills in a variety of contexts across the curriculum;
  • discusses and explains the perspective and position of the author in various texts;
  • explains and discusses cause and effect (e.g. ‘Why is this the cause of …?’);
  • presents a counter-argument and gives reasons (e.g. ‘I disagree because…’ and ‘I support my argument with…’);
  • recognises and explains why information can be considered ‘factual’ or ‘objective’;
  • draws on own experience in order to substantiate point of view;
  • questions and infers to solve problems and develop thinking about complex issues, ideas and emotions (e.g. human rights issues, environmental issues, personal dilemmas, cross-curricular topics).

Grade 9

We know this when the learner uses language to think and reason:
  • applies thinking and reasoning skills in a variety of contexts across the curriculum and in personal circumstances;
  • recognises and discusses the author’s central point and perspective within different types of text;
  • analyses cause and effect in greater depth, in literary texts and texts from across the curriculum (e.g. by looking at underlying causes beyond the obvious);
  • develops and uses arguments in ways that:
    • make the logic clear to the reader or listener,
    • anticipates responses and objections;
  • presents a counter-argument, and provides alternatives;
  • uses factual information and interprets statistics with increasing confidence to support argument;
  • draws on own experience and contrasts it with that of others to illustrate a point of view;
  • uses questions, inference and analysis to develop critical thinking, and for problem solving.
Learning Outcome 6: LANGUAGE STRUCTURE AND USE
The learner will know and be able to use the sounds, words and grammar of the language to create and interpret texts.
Assessment Standards: (some examples)

Grade 7

We know this when the learner uses the full range of punctuation appropriately (e.g. dash, semi-colon).

Grade 8

We know this when the learner uses a range of punctuation appropriately (e.g. comma to separate an introductory phrase or clause from the main part of a sentence, and to separate phrases and clauses in a series).

Grade 9

We know this when the learner:
  • identifies and analyses the components of a sentence such as subject, verb, object, main and subordinateclause, and explains the function of each;
  • uses a range of punctuation appropriately (e.g. colons, brackets to show something is in parentheses).
To view the complete Languages - Home Language Curriculum document, click here
To view the complete Languages - First Additional Language Curriculum document, click here
To view the complete Languages - Second Additional Language Curriculum document, click here