Languages studied in the Second Language Learner Pathway (L2) are typically languages used in spoken form as the language of everyday communication by whole communities across all generations.
The second language learner pathway has been written on the assumption that learning will occur off-Country, involving students who are typically not from the language community and have little or no experience of the language and culture. They are introduced to learning the language at school as an additional, new language.
The language chosen for curriculum development should have a sizeable set of resources in a variety of media, such as local documentaries, bilingual narrative and descriptive texts, and educational materials in print and digital form. Learning is enriched and authenticated by interaction with visiting Elders and community speakers, and where possible visits to Country/Place. Information and communications technologies provide additional resources to support a range of language and culture experiences.
The Second Language Learning Pathway provides students with an opportunity to study a language that is structurally very different from English, and from a culture quite distant from the English-speaking mainstream. Such study develops a deeper appreciation of the nature and diversity of languages and cultures, and requires the acquisition of knowledge and skills necessary to learn and understand an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language and its cultural context.
For students who are from the language community but who did not grow up speaking the language, this pathway provides an opportunity to reaffirm their cultural identity through learning the language of their community.
The curriculum content and achievement standards in the Second Language Learner Pathway are generalised in order to cater for the range of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander languages that may be learnt as a second language. The content descriptions, content elaborations and achievement standards will need to be adapted for use with the particular language being taught; it will need to modified if the program occurs on-Country or if the learners are from the language community.
Summary of Key Features of the Second language learner pathway
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Second Language Learner Pathway |
Spoken right through (full linguistic code) Substantial range of speakers across all generations Curriculum written on the assumption that L2 programs will occur off-Country/Place and learners are typically not from the language community |