Level BL Speaking and Listening

The students' performance in these tasks suggest that they are working within the range of Level BL in Speaking and Listening. The assessing teacher will need to consider a range of student samples in order to determine whether each student is at the beginning of BL, consolidating BL or at the BL standard in Speaking and Listening. 

At beginning Level BL students:            

• have very little or no oral English and do not respond meaningfully to English

and/or            

• may spontaneously repeat words or phrases without understanding their meaning

and/or            

• may not speak in the classroom except to same language peers

and/or            

• may initially attempt to communicate with the teacher using their home language

and/or            

• will join in activities, watching and copying what other students do in the classroom but may not speak

and/or            

• are likely to listen to extended texts in English with visual support.

At consolidating Level BL students:            

• are settling into situations where English is the dominant language
• begin to understand that communication with teachers and peers needs to be conducted in English
• begin to become familiar with patterns in the sounds, intonation, rhythm, grammar and meaning of English
• begin to learn the very basic oral English needed to manage learning in an English-speaking classroom, where the teacher adapts spoken texts to assist the students
• begin to adapt their limited, emerging English language resources to respond to new communicative and functional demands
• recognise the importance of non-verbal communication
• understand that different forms of language and levels of politeness are used in different situations and contexts through their home language experiences.

At Level BL Achievement Standard students:            

• communicate simply but effectively in familiar, social and classroom contexts, using simple formulaic and some creative structures
• learn through English that is well supported by context
• contribute relatively complex ideas through simple English, and use simple English to respond to the ideas of others
• produce short oral utterances in English characterised by varying grammatical accuracy, simple subject–verb–object construction and over-generalisation of rules
• use common adjectives and adverbs to describe or add emphasis
• use repetitive grammar patterns copied from stories, songs, rhymes or other short texts
• demonstrate comprehensible pronunciation, stress and intonation that carries elements of home language pronunciation
• use some basic communication strategies, asking for repetition, and questioning to check, clarify or confirm understanding
• use some basic strategies to initiate and sustain simple conversations in English, restating, repeating or re-pronouncing as appropriate.
  

Student information

The student is 11 years and eight months old and was born in Kenya. Her home language is Oromo which is a language spoken mainly in southern Ethiopia, and also in parts of Kenya and Somalia. She has had four years of interrupted schooling and cannot read or write in her home language. She has been in Australia for ten months and attended an English language school for nine and a half months.       

Task

The class has been learning about sea creatures. They learned about the topic from posters, a big book, short documentaries from the internet and from reading a variety of class texts. There was also a rockpool incursion at the school. The students have learned the relevant vocabulary for naming and describing the animals and their habitats. They have worked on recognising vocabulary and writing simple sentences using the target vocabulary.      

In this speaking and listening task the student was consolidating her understanding and showing the teacher what she had learned in the unit. In particular, the teacher was assessing how well the student could:       

• follow simple instructions
• identify basic information about the animals they have been learning about
• respond to key words in spoken instructions
• demonstrate active listening, attending to words they hear and other features of spoken language, such as intonation
• clearly say the names of the animals
• clearly describe basic information about the animals and their habitats.

In the transcript, the words spoken by the student being assessed are in bold. The words spoken by other students and the teacher are in normal font. 

This sample of student work demonstrates that the student can:

• Use common descriptive language (VCEALL177)
• Use appropriate gestures and intonation for social interaction (VCEALA170)
  
• Use a small range of learnt word patterns for appropriate purposes (VCEALL175)
• Create original expressions, substituting new words in learnt patterns or formulas (VCEALL174)

Overall, this student can also:

• Identify basic items of information in short spoken texts (VCEALC167)
• Use words from sets related to immediate communicative need, interest or experience (VCEALL180)
• Understand pronunciation and some non-verbal features (VCEALL181)
• Negotiate familiar social situations and learning activities with the teacher or with friends (VCEALC166)
• Respond appropriately verbally or non-verbally when spoken to (VCEALC163)
• Participate in predictable social interactions appropriately (VCEALA168)
• Distinguish spoken English from other languages and attempt to respond using basic English (VCEALA171)
• Use comprehensible pronunciation for familiar words (VCEALL182)
• Rely on other speakers to scaffold, interpret, clarify or elaborate short, simple conversations (VCEALC165)
  

Possible next steps for this student's learning

• Planning, practising and delivering an oral presentation about a sea animal (VCEALL182)(VCEALA170)
• Recording own speech to review and listen for areas for improvement (VCEALL183)
  

Pathways and transitions considerations

A Year 6 student working within the range of Level BL in any one language mode is not ready to transition to the English curriculum regardless of their proficiency in the other two language modes. This student will continue on Pathway B of the EAL curriculum in all language modes.

Student information

The student is 11 years and nine months old and was born in Sudan. His home language is Arabic. He has had two years of interrupted schooling in Sudan. He has been in Australia for four months and has been attending an English language school for twenty weeks.             

Task

The class has been learning about sea creatures. They learned about the topic from posters, a big book, short documentaries from the internet and from reading a variety of class texts. There was also a rockpool incursion at the school. The students have learned the relevant vocabulary for naming and describing the animals and their habitats. There has been work on recognition of words and the writing of simple sentences using this vocabulary.             

In this speaking and listening task the student was consolidating his understanding and showing the teacher what he had learned in the unit. In particular, the teacher was assessing how well the student could:             

• follow simple instructions
• identify basic information about the animals they have been learning about
• respond to key words in spoken instructions
• demonstrate active listening, attending to words they hear and other features of spoken language, such as intonation
• clearly say the names of the animals
• clearly describe basic information about the animals and their habitats.

In the transcript, the words spoken by the student being assessed are in bold. The words spoken by other students and the teacher are in normal font. 

This sample of student work demonstrates that the student can:

• Use common descriptive language (VCEALL177)
• Use appropriate gestures and intonation for social interaction (VCEALA170)
• Create original expressions, substituting new words in learnt patterns or formulas (VCEALL174)
• Use words from sets related to immediate communicative need, interest or experience (VCEALL180)

• Rely on other speakers to scaffold, interpret, clarify or elaborate short, simple conversations (VCEALC165)
  

Overall, this student can also:

• Understand pronunciation and some non-verbal features (VCEALL181)
• Negotiate familiar social situations and learning activities with the teacher or with friends (VCEALC166)
• Respond to key words in a range of familiar and common spoken instructions (VCEALL179)
  
• Use words from sets related to immediate communicative need, interest or experience (VCEALL180)
• Distinguish spoken English from other languages and attempt to respond using basic English (VCEALA171)
• Participate in predictable social interactions appropriately (VCEALA168)
• Demonstrate listening behaviour, attending to tone and intonation (VCEALC162)
  

Possible next steps for this student's learning

• Practising reading sentences about a sea animal to support oral language development (VCEALL175)
• Planning, practising and delivering an oral presentation about a sea animal (VCEALL182)(VCEALA170)
• Recording own speech to review and listen for areas for improvement (VCEALL183)
  

Pathways and transitions considerations

A Year 6 student working within the range of Level BL in any one language mode is not ready to transition to the English curriculum regardless of their proficiency in the other two language modes. This student will continue on Pathway B of the EAL curriculum in all language modes.           

Student information

This student is 8 years and 11 months old. They have been in Australia for 4 months and attend an English language school in a Year 3 class. They were born in Afghanistan and their home language is Dari. They had Interrupted schooling in Afghanistan for about 1 year and had limited exposure to English prior to coming to Australia.

Task

The student has been studying the beach in class. They have been reading and creating persuasive texts about being sun smart and learning to swim as part of learning about beach safety. They have also recently participated in school swimming lessons. In this speaking and listening task the student was consolidating their understanding and showing the teacher what they had learned in the unit. In particular, the teacher was assessing how well the student with support and scaffolding could:

• give an opinion on a designated topic
• provide statement of position, some reasons and evidence
• use text connectives, conjunctions (because and so) and negatives.

The student being assessed is having a conversation with their teacher, supported in their home language by a Multicultural Education Aide.

The words spoken by the student being assessed are in bold.

This sample of student work demonstrates that the student can:

• Demonstrate listening behaviour, attending to tone and intonation - using some appropriate body language, such as nodding or facial expressions, when listening (VCEALC162)
• Respond appropriately verbally or non-verbally when spoken to (VCEALC163)
• Check understanding of classroom English by asking for clarification from other home language speakers (MEA) (VCEALA172)
• Rely on other speakers to scaffold, interpret, clarify or elaborate short, simple conversations (VCEALC165)
• Use a small range of learnt word patterns for appropriate - using formulas copied from teacher, peers or texts (VCEALL175)
• Distinguish spoken English from other languages and attempt to respond using basic English (VCEALA171)
• Construct two- or three-word utterances, using common vocabulary and short formulaic expressions to communicate (VCEALL173)
• Beginning to using simple grammatical patterns, for example combining subject plus verb or verb plus object (VCEALL175)
• Use words from sets related to immediate communicative need, interest or experience such as family (VCEALL180)
• Beginning to use comprehensible pronunciation for familiar words (VCEALL182)
• Beginning to participate in predictable social interactions (VCEALA168)
• Take turns to speak or listen during class interactions (VCEALA169)

Possible next steps for this student’s learning

• Continue to take part in classroom activities that require negotiation of familiar social situations and learning activities with the teacher or with friends (VCEALC166)
• Continue to practise constructing two- or three-word utterances, with teacher support (VCEALL173)
• Practise substituting new words in learnt structures to form original sentences (VCEALL174)
• Practise using simple grammatical patterns, for example constructing sentences by combining subject plus verb or verb plus object (VCEALL175)

Pathways and transitions considerations

A student who has achieved the BL standard will continue on Pathway B to Level B1 of the EAL curriculum.

At the end of Year 6, all students who are working within the BL range or who have achieved the BL standard will transition to Pathway C in Year 7.

Under very limited circumstances, a Year 6 student may continue on Pathway B in Year 7 and 8 if:

• there is continuity in the school program from primary to secondary, for example, a middle years EAL program in a F-10 school
• it is developmentally appropriate for the individual learner.

Student information

This student is 12 years and 7 months old. They have been in Australia for 6 months and had limited exposure to English before then. They attend an English language school in a Year 3-6 class. They are in grade 6. They were born in Tanzania and their home language is Swahili. The student did not consistently attend school prior to coming to Australia and had very limited exposure to English prior to coming to Australia. 

Task

Students have been studying the beach in class. As part of this unit of work, they have been reading and creating persuasive texts about sun safety and water safety. In this speaking and listening task the student was consolidating their understanding and showing the teacher what they had learned in the unit. In particular, the teacher was assessing how well the student with support and scaffolding could: 

• give an opinion on a designated topic
• provide statement of position, some reasons and evidence
• use text connectives, conjunctions (because and so), negatives
• provide a summary of argument and re-statement of position.

The student being assessed is having a conversation with their class teacher. The words spoken by the student being assessed are in bold.     

This sample of student work demonstrates that the student can:

• Demonstrate listening behaviour, attending to tone and intonation (VCEALC162)
• Respond appropriately verbally or non-verbally when spoken to (VCEALC163)
• Distinguish spoken English from other languages and attempt to respond using basic English (VCEALA171)
• Negotiate familiar social learning activities with the teacher by giving simple responses, such as nodding or saying ‘yes’, ‘no’ or short learnt phrases (VCEALC166)
• Rely on other speakers to scaffold, interpret, clarify or elaborate short, simple conversations (VCEALC165)
• Use a small range of learnt word patterns for appropriate purposes - using formulas copied from teacher (VCEALL175)
• Participate in predictable social interactions appropriately by demonstrating a range of appropriate interactive behaviour, including listening, responding and turn-taking (VCEALA168)
• Use basic verb forms in context - using ‘no’ or ‘not’ with adjectives or nouns to express negative forms(VCEALL176)
• Create original expressions, substituting new words in learnt patterns or formulas (VCEALL174)
• Use words from sets related to immediate communicative need, such as referring to charts to select words required (VCEALL180)
• Beginning to use comprehensible pronunciation for familiar words (VCEALL182)

Possible next steps for this student’s learning

• Continue to participate in familiar social and learning situations, where they can practise negotiating activities with the teacher or with friends (VCEALC166)
• Explicitly practise creating original expressions by substituting new words in learnt patterns or formulas (VCEALL174)
• Learn and practise using basic adjectives and adverbs (VCEALL177)
• Continue to practise pronunciation of familiar and new words (VCEALL182)

Pathways and transitions considerations

A student who has achieved the BL standard will continue on Pathway B to Level B1 of the EAL curriculum.

At the end of Year 6, all students who are working within the BL range or who have achieved the BL standard will transition to Pathway C in Year 7.

Under very limited circumstances, a Year 6 student may continue on Pathway B in Year 7 and 8 if:

• there is continuity in the school program from primary to secondary, for example, a middle years EAL program in a F-10 school
• it is developmentally appropriate for the individual learner.

Student information

This student is 12 years and 7 months old. They have been in Australia for 6 months and had limited exposure to English before then. They attend an English language school in a Year 3-6 class. They are in grade 6. They were born in Tanzania and their home language is Swahili. The student did not consistently attend school prior to coming to Australia and had very limited exposure to English prior to coming to Australia. 

Task

Students have been studying the beach in class. As part of this unit of work, they have been reading and creating persuasive texts about sun safety and water safety. In this speaking and listening task the student was consolidating their understanding and showing the teacher what they had learned in the unit. In particular, the teacher was assessing how well the student, with support and scaffolding, could:   

• give an opinion on a designated topic
• provide statement of position, some reasons and evidence
• use text connectives, conjunctions (because and so), negatives
• provide a summary of argument and re-statement of position.

The student being assessed is having a conversation with their class teacher, supported in their home language by a multicultural education aide.   

The words spoken by the student being assessed are in bold.   

This sample of student work demonstrates that the student can:

• Respond appropriately non-verbally when spoken to - indicating agreement or non-agreement through body language or simple utterances such as ‘yes’ or ‘no’ (VCEALC163)
• Understand pronunciation and some non-verbal features - imitating the teacher’s speech (VCEALL181)
• Distinguish spoken English from other languages and attempt to respond using basic English (VCEALA171)

• Rely on other speakers to scaffold, interpret, clarify or elaborate short, simple conversations (VCEALC165)
• Demonstrate listening behaviour, attending to tone and intonation (VCEALC162)

• Use a small range of learnt word patterns for appropriate purposes - using formulas copied from teacher (VCEALL175)

• Beginning to respond appropriately verbally when spoken to (VCEALC163)
• Identify basic items of information in short spoken texts - answering specific questions about the spoken text based on familiar question stems such as ‘What is…’(VCEALC167)
• Create original expressions, substituting new words in learnt patterns or formulas (VCEALL174)

• Attempt basic self-correction - attempting to self-correct pronunciation when the listener does not understand the word being spoken (VCEALL178)
• Beginning to participate in predictable social interactions appropriately - demonstrating a range of appropriate interactive behaviour, including listening, responding and turn-taking (VCEALA168)
• Construct two- or three-word utterances, with the support of actions, gestures or visuals - pointing, miming or gesturing to supplement speech (VCEALL173)
• Use words from sets related to immediate communicative need, interest or experience - referring to charts or vocabulary lists to select words required for communicative needs (VCEALL180)

Possible next steps for this student’s learning

• Explicitly teach and practise questions to ask for repetition, check meaning or elicit help (VCEALC164)
• Participate in a range of classroom activities with the teacher or with friends to practise negotiating social situations and learning activities (VCEALC166)
• Explicitly teach simple language structures and practise substituting new words into the learnt patterns or formulas to create original expressions (VCEALL174)
• Continue to build vocabulary, using charts or vocabulary lists for reference (VCEALL180)
• Continue to practise pronunciation of familiar words (VCEALL182)

Pathways and transitions considerations

A student who has achieved the BL standard will continue on Pathway B to Level B1 of the EAL curriculum.

At the end of Year 6, all students who are working within the BL range or who have achieved the BL standard will transition to Pathway C in Year 7.

Under very limited circumstances, a Year 6 student may continue on Pathway B in Year 7 and 8 if:

• there is continuity in the school program from primary to secondary, for example, a middle years EAL program in a F-10 school
• it is developmentally appropriate for the individual learner.