Introduction

Aim and Goals

The language arts are central to all learning. The purpose of the English language arts curriculum is to guide the continuous growth and development of students' thinking and language abilities from kindergarten to grade 12. The study of English language arts enables students to understand and appreciate language, and to use it in a variety of situations for communication, personal satisfaction, and learning.

Competent language users, equipped with communication skills, will have greater ability and increased confidence to function in today's world. The aim of the English language arts curriculum, K-12, is to graduate literate individuals who are competent and confident in using language for both functional and aesthetic purposes.

The general goals of the English language arts curriculum from kindergarten to grade 12 are to:

develop students' English language abilities as a function of their thinking abilities
promote personal and social development by developing students' knowledge and use of the English language
develop proficiency as well as enjoyment in speaking, listening, writing, reading, representing, and viewing
develop the ability to appreciate and respond to a range of texts, including literature.

These general goals are developed through the learning objectives found in this curriculum. They are also supported by the incorporation of the Common Essential Learnings (C.E.L.s) and other Core Curriculum Components and Initiatives into the language arts program.

Philosophy

This curriculum recognizes that language is basic to thinking and learning in all cultures, just as thinking is central to all modes of language use.

An effective English language arts program develops students' speaking, listening, writing, reading, representing, and viewing knowledge, skills, and strategies. It also fosters a positive attitude about language, language learning, and the self as a language learner. It is important for teachers to provide interesting and meaningful listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, and representing activities that engage and enable all students to become confident and competent language users. As students actively use the language arts, they engage in three kinds of language learning:

Students learn language through experiences with language.
Students learn about language (i.e., elements, conventions, and processes) as they speak, listen, write, read, view, and represent.
Students learn through language by using it to learn about life, literature, and language itself (Halliday, 1982).

Language arts teachers should strive to develop a caring language community in which all students feel accepted and confident that they will be supported by others in language learning and in taking risks. The respectful relationship that teachers establish with their students and the environment that teachers create affect the learning of all students in positive ways.

Language learning is social and occurs in many ways. Students participate in interactive learning, collaborate on group tasks, and explore co-operative ways of finding information and solving problems. They also use language to celebrate and honour their own and others' accomplishments in and beyond the classroom.

The role of the teacher in language learning is to provide bridges between what students already know and can do, and what they need to know and do. The teacher also establishes a language-rich, interactive environment that provides strong support for literacy learning.

Language Arts Strands

Students need to be become confident and competent users of all six language arts through many opportunities to listen and speak, read and write, and view and represent in a variety of combinations and relevant contexts. All the language arts are interrelated and interdependent; facility in one strengthens and supports the others.

Through listening and speaking, people communicate thoughts, feelings, experiences, information, and opinions, and learn to understand themselves and others. Oral language is the foundation of literacy. It carries a community's stories, values, beliefs, and traditions.

Listening and speaking enable students to explore ideas and concepts as well as to understand and organize their experience and knowledge. Students use oral language to learn, solve problems, and reach goals. To become discerning, lifelong learners, students at all grades need to develop fluency and confidence in their oral language abilities. They benefit from many opportunities to listen and speak informally and formally, for a variety of purposes.

Reading and writing are powerful means of communicating and learning. They enable students to extend their knowledge and use of language, increase their understanding of themselves and others, and experience enjoyment and personal satisfaction.

Reading provides students with a means of accessing the ideas, views, and experiences of others. By using effective reading skills and strategies, students construct meaning and develop thoughtful and critical interpretations of a variety of texts. Writing enables students to explore, shape, and clarify their thoughts, and to communicate them to others. By using effective writing strategies, students discover and refine ideas, and compose and revise with increasing confidence and skill.

Viewing and representing are also integral parts of communication. They allow students to understand the ways in which images and language interact to convey ideas, values, and beliefs.

Viewing is an active process of attending to and comprehending visual media such as television, advertising images, films, diagrams, symbols, photographs, videos, drama, drawings, sculpture, and paintings. Viewing enables students to acquire information and to appreciate the ideas and experiences of others. Many of the comprehension processes (such as previewing, predicting, and making inferences) involved in reading may also be used in viewing.

Representing enables students to communicate information and ideas through a variety of media such as video presentations, posters, diagrams, charts, symbols, visual art, drama, mime, and models. By using a variety of representing strategies, students can discover and refine ideas, create representations with increasing confidence and skill, and demonstrate their understanding in a variety of ways.

Curriculum Principles

The following principles underlie the English language arts curriculum:

The language strands are interrelated, interdependent, and reciprocal. Growth in one strand reinforces and promotes growth in the other strands. The processes of speaking, listening, writing, reading, representing, and viewing each extend the others. A variety of oral, print, and other media language models stimulate language growth. Frequent speaking, writing, representing, listening, reading, and viewing experiences help students to develop an understanding of the patterns and the power of language. Students learn that appropriate language use is determined by the speaker's, writer's, or representer's purpose and audience. As their knowledge and experiences expand, students develop an appreciation for effective and controlled use of language.
An integrated English language arts program provides a balance of experiences in all the language strands. Their integration is neither left to chance nor so restrictive as to preclude the teacher from addressing a particular language strand or issue at a particular time.
Students refine their language by using it in purposeful and meaningful situations. Students learn to talk by talking, to understand oral language by listening, to write and read by writing and reading, and to represent and view by representing and viewing. Language learning thrives when students are engaged in the meaningful use of language for a variety of purposes using a variety of oral, print, and other media forms. Students become confident and competent in the use of the language arts through many opportunities to engage with and generate texts in a variety of combinations and relevant contexts.
As students use the language strands, they also must use multiple cueing systems. Students:
- use the pragmatic cueing system when they understand that people use language differently in different contexts (e.g., How is language used in this situation?)
- use the textual cueing system when they recognize the conventional text structures and organizational patterns found in oral, print, and other media texts (e.g., How are these events and ideas organized?)
- use the syntactical cueing system when they recognize ways that language conveys meaning through such aspects of structure as word order and rules for agreement, etc. (e.g., Does it work in this sentence?)
- use the semantic cueing system when they recognize the meaning of specific words and concepts associated with them (e.g., What does this word mean? Does it make sense?)
- use the graphophonic cueing system when they recognize sounds and letter relationships in words (e.g., How does this word sound? Does it sound like a word I know?)
As students write, speak, represent, and gain a command of standard English appropriate to their age and phase of development, students also must attend to conventions and rules of language usage. The curriculum promotes the refinement of language abilities within the context of purposeful language activities. Language use and study fulfill purposes that are meaningful and obvious to students. Knowledge of the conventions and mechanics of language, which include spelling, handwriting, sentence and paragraph structures, and grammar and usage, is developed as students use language to meet their immediate learning needs. As students mature and progress, instruction may focus on particular skills and language elements. Students, however, must see the relationship of these skills or elements to communication.
Students respond to language tasks actively and strategically - learning and applying their language skills and strategies to construct and compose meaning, and to self-monitor their language understandings and use. Teachers need to start where students are and scaffold their learning to help them achieve the next steps. Through modelling and guided practice teachers can help students apply what they have learned independently.
Teachers balance direct instruction, guided instruction, and independent activities to accommodate individual learning styles. Teachers help students grow in their language abilities by making explicit what is implicit in language learning. Teachers explain and model the needed language skills and strategies, give students opportunities to use and practise these skills and strategies, and provide opportunities for students to apply their skills and strategies.
Teachers provide skill and strategy instruction without losing an emphasis on meaning. Learning in language typically flows from whole, to part, to whole. Students attend to the meaning of the message first, then the parts, then return to the message again. Engaging activities, structured within contexts for working with and learning language skills and strategies, help keep the emphasis on meaning.
Teachers make assessment and evaluation a natural, integral, and ongoing part of the teaching-learning process. Assessment involves gathering information about students' achievement or behaviour. Evaluation is making a judgement about the level of students' understanding or performance. Teachers identify daily, weekly, and monthly assessment and evaluation strategies. Assessment and monitoring of language use and abilities keep students, teachers, and parents informed of students' progress and strengths and needs. For more information, refer to Student Evaluation: A Teacher Handbook, Saskatchewan Education, 1991.
Teachers need to show all students that they believe in the students' potential as language learners. By building self-confidence and self-acceptance, teachers can help students gain a sense of confidence and capability.
Teachers need to be sensitive to the developmental level of each student. By recognizing where students are as language learners, teachers can provide instruction and experiences that will build upon what students know and can do in each language strand.
Teachers are reflective practitioners. They use their knowledge of their students, the curriculum, and language development to guide decisions about classroom instruction and activities. Teachers learn about the effectiveness of their teaching when they reflect on the results of learning opportunities and consider possible adaptations to help students achieve curriculum objectives.