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Language knowledge and cultural knowledge strands

The language knowledge and cultural knowledge strands support the communication strand.

Language knowledge

The focus of this strand is on:

  • developing students’ capacity to learn new languages
  • finding out about the language and language-learning skills that students already have and progressively building on these
  • developing students’ knowledge and awareness of the target language
  • broadening students’ general language abilities and bringing them into sharper focus
  • helping students develop as active and motivated learners of a new language and the related culture(s)
  • helping students discover and develop language and language-learning skills that are useful beyond the classroom
  • helping students gain the confidence to experiment and take risks as part of the language-learning process.

Cultural knowledge

The focus of this strand is on:

  • helping students, from the beginning of their language learning, to link languages to social and cultural contexts
  • empowering students to develop intercultural competence by exploring the world view associated with a specific language and culture and to relate this to their own world view
  • developing students’ motivation and ability to acknowledge both their own and others’ identity, self-knowledge, attitudes, and skills
  • developing in students an understanding of the ways in which people who speak the target language, and whose culture is the target culture, think and behave
  • encouraging students to develop an exploratory and reflective approach to culture and language and to realise that they are inseparable
  • fostering students’ ability to make explicit comparisons and connections between languages and cultures
  • enabling students to learn to appreciate and enjoy the arts of the target cultures (for example, literature and dance).

Progression in the language knowledge and cultural knowledge strands, levels 1–8

As students progress in their learning, their knowledge moves from simple recognition to description, understanding, and finally analysis of the linguistic forms and cultural aspects of the target language and other known languages. This developing knowledge feeds into increasing intercultural communicative competence.

This progression is evident in the achievement objectives for the language and cultural knowledge strands. It may be summarised as follows:

Levels 1 and 2

Metacognitive aspect:

  • Recognition

Situational aspect:

  • Making connections to known languages and cultures

Levels 3 and 4

Metacognitive aspect:

  • Description

Situational aspect:

  • Comparing and contrasting with known languages and cultures

Levels 5 and 6

Metacognitive aspect:

  • Understanding

Situational aspect:

  • Understanding how languages and cultures are organised according to purpose

Levels 7 and 8

Metacognitive aspect:

  • Analysis

Situational aspect:

  • Analysing text type, purpose, and audience in order to make the most appropriate use of language and cultural knowledge.

Progression in the language knowledge and cultural knowledge strands, levels 6–8

Level 6

Students move beyond simply recognising and describing aspects of language and culture to understanding how language and culture are organised to suit different purposes.

Level 7

Students begin to identify and select appropriate linguistic and cultural forms in relation to features such as text type, purpose, and audience.

Level 8

Students analyse the communicative situation, considering features such as text type, purpose, and audience in order to make appropriate choices about the best use of the language and cultural knowledge they possess.

Progression: An example

Levels 1 and 2

Students recognise aspects of the target culture(s) and language(s) and make connections to the cultures and language(s) they already have knowledge of.

Example (French):

  • Students recognise that there are two ways of saying ‘you’ in French – tu and vous.

Students can identify similarities between French and other known languages and cultures in how people say ‘you’.

Levels 3 and 4

Students describe aspects of the target culture(s) and language(s) and compare and contrast cultural practices and languages.

Example (French):

  • Students can describe that tu is informal and vous is polite and that vous is also used for more than one person.

Students can compare and contrast informal and polite ways in which the word ‘you’ is expressed in French and other known languages and cultures.

Levels 5 and 6

Students understand how aspects of the target culture(s) and language(s) are organised for different purposes.

Example (French):

  • Students understand that the purpose of having both formal and informal words for ‘you’ in French helps to identify the type and level of relationship between speakers.

Levels 7 and 8

Students analyse how aspects of the target culture(s) and language(s) are organised for different purposes, audiences, and texts.

Example (French):

  • Students critically analyse whether to use tu or vous, in order to communicate effectively depending on the situation (in other words, decide when it might be appropriate to stop using vous with a particular person and start using tu).

Last updated March 26, 2013



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