Exploring and learning about language

Exploring and learning about the language of a variety of texts increases students' awareness of how language varies over time and according to context. This knowledge will help them respond confidently to, and develop control over, the wide range of texts and language uses required for learning and living in society.

Knowledge about language is an area of intrinsic interest, worthy of attention in its own right. It is important for students' language development. Such knowledge, expressed in relevant terminology, enables students to talk about texts in an informed way. All students must learn the conventions of formal English. Learning how to make their knowledge of language explicit provides a basis from which they can make informed and conscious choices of language.

Students should explore and develop an understanding of:

• the structure of texts, sometimes called discourse structure;
• grammar, or the way words and phrases are formed and combined (see also: morphology and syntax, Selected Glossary);
• the conventions of written forms, including spelling and punctuation;
• semantics, or word meanings, and the relationships among these meanings;
• phonology, including sounds, stress, and intonation.

Although these elements are listed separately, students should be aware that they are interrelated, and that they interact in communicating meaning.

To develop their knowledge about the organisation and functions of language, and to enable text to be discussed with others, students will need to understand and use linguistic terminology. In the earlier years of schooling this should be explained as the need arises. As students progress, they develop concepts and knowledge which are increasingly abstract and detailed, and therefore require a more extended terminology to describe language and how it functions in communicating meaning.

Students learn best about language as they use it in authentic contexts. The systematic exploration of language is an integral part of working with all oral, written, and visual texts.

Students can also learn about language by investigating specific language topics, such as language in use in particular situations or aspects of the history and development of English. The language of a chosen sport (in different contexts, such as a biography, television commentary, or rule book), the use of sexist language, or the historical development of New Zealand English would be appropriate examples.

In the senior secondary school, students can also explore language by comparing English with another language, such as Māori, or any other language spoken or taught in the school or community.

Students should explore both local and international uses of oral, written, and visual English. New Zealand's unique linguistic situation includes its own distinctive varieties of English, and the indigenous language, Māori, which has an important influence on the development of English in New Zealand.

Teachers should build on students' own knowledge to help them make explicit their understandings about language. As students develop their knowledge of language, they are better able to analyse and evaluate their own and others' use of language in terms of its appropriateness for the user, purpose, and audience.

Teaching and learning examples for exploring language are included in this statement.