Literacy
Holy Family is a culturally diverse school and consequently the first language of many of our students is a language or dialect other than English. Our Literacy Program therefore follows both the Victorian Curriculum and the English as an Additional Language Continuum to ensure that the specific learning needs of all students are met.
EAL (English as an additional language) students progress through a developmental continuum and require specific support to develop and foster the English language skills necessary for successful communication and active participation.
EAL students at Holy Family School may include those:
where the primary language spoken at home is not English
beginning school in Australia at any year level
born overseas or in Australia
beginning school with little, some or no exposure to English
with schooling equivalent to that received by their chronological peers
with little or no previous formal schooling in any country, or with severely interrupted education in their first language
the provision of targeted EAL programs for students with the greatest learning needs
classroom practices that reflect strong EAL pedagogy evaluating and reporting against the EAL standards in the EAL Companion to the Victorian Curriculum (the Companion).
Victorian English Curriculum
The English curriculum is built around the three interrelated strands of Language, Literature and Literacy. Teaching and learning programs integrate all three strands and focus on developing students’ knowledge in, Reading and Viewing, Writing and Speaking and Listening.
EAL Developmental Continuum
The EAL Developmental Continuum is divided into four aspects: Texts and Responses to Texts, Cultural Conventions of Language use Linguistic Structures and Features and Maintaining and Negotiating Communication. Each aspect outlines the Standard and Progression Profile as well as Indicators of Progress
Lower primary (Prep - 2) EAL learners are assessed against the A1 and A2 stages of the EAL Developmental Continuum. Middle and upper primary (grades 3-6) EAL learners are assessed against the BL, B1, B2 and B3 stages of the EAL Developmental Continuum.
Before placing students on the EAL Continuum, parents must first be contacted to discuss and give permission for this.
