Level C1 Reading and Viewing

The students' performance in this task suggests that they are working within the range of Level C1 in Reading and Viewing. The assessing teacher will need to consider a range of student samples in order to determine whether each student is at the beginning of C1, consolidating C1 or at the C1 standard in Reading and Viewing.       

At beginning Level C1 students:    

• can recognise the basic conventions of written texts in English, such as start and end of books, titles and paragraphing
• participate in shared reading activities by attending to the main reader, and may use their finger to track text as they listen
  
• attempt to draw on support from other resources to help them with the written text, such as sounding out words or using a bilingual dictionary
• are confident at attempting text that appears on computer screens and are able to recognise the letters on a keyboard.

At consolidating Level C1 students:    

• have begun to get the basic gist of short texts on familiar topics, although they have difficulty discussing what texts mean beyond the basic literal level
• have begun to use the conventions of texts, such as titles, illustrations, and sub-headings, to help them gain meaning
• are aware of punctuation and they attempt to modify their reading aloud accordingly although they may require reminders and guidance and might still make mistakes.

At Level C1 Achievement Standard students:    

• read and comprehend a range of short, simple, familiar factual or fictional texts developed by the teacher. These texts may be print or digital texts, including handwritten, visual, multimodal and interactive texts.
• understand a range of basic print instructions and questions in context
• discuss texts at a literal level, and show some inferential understanding
• demonstrate an understanding of basic text structure, reading for different purposes, and using titles and chapter headings to make predictions about texts
• read new texts with support, combining their developing knowledge of English sound–symbol relationships, their developing oral and sight vocabulary, their beginning knowledge of the conventions of print text organisation in English, and their emerging knowledge of English grammar
• read some common letter combinations and make logical attempts at reading new words
• use appropriate stress, intonation and phrasing when reading known texts aloud, showing an understanding of the function of basic punctuation.
  

Student information

The student is 12 years and eight months old and comes from Thailand. She has completed seven years of schooling in Thailand and speaks, reads and writes Thai well. She has been in Australia for nine months and has been attending an English language school for seven months.    

Task

The class has been working on a unit of work on multiculturalism and countries around the world. The students read about a Russian emigrant and used that text to compile a list of facts about Russia. The students then used ten headings to research facts about their own countries and compiled a ‘fact file’ text about their country of origin which they also presented as a poster. These were used to deliver oral presentations to the class.    

In this task the student is reading an information text about Australia. The student is asked to read the instructions and the information sections in the text. She is asked to locate where in the text certain information is provided, evaluate true or false statements, and answer comprehension questions with some teacher support. The teacher is evaluating how well the student understands the layout and conventions of the text such as, the title, subheadings and tables. The teacher also wants to know how well the student can read aloud, understand specific words and phrases and relate what she reads to other contextual support in the classroom to support her understanding of the text.    

In particular the teacher is observing how well the student can:    

• extract specific information from simple charts and tables
• find information presented in the text
• indicate her understanding of basic information presented in the text through a variety of tasks, including evaluating true or false statements, answering questions using information in the text, or locating information in the text
• gain meaning using headings and captions
• draw on background knowledge to perform text-related tasks
• identify the purpose of a task in written instruction
• show an understanding of simple coordinating conjunctions and recognises and can follow simple imperatives
• identify key vocabulary in instructions
• use visual support to interpret meaning.

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

This sample of student work demonstrates that the student can:

Student information

The student is from Burma and her first language is Karen. She is 15 years and four months old and has been in Australia for one year. She has been attending an English language school in Australia for eleven months. She had learned to read and write Karen in a refugee camp in Thailand but had limited education prior to coming to Australia.    

Task    

The class has been working on a unit of work on multiculturalism and countries around the world. The students read about a Russian emigrant and used that text to compile a list of facts about Russia. The students then used ten headings to research facts about their own countries and compiled a ‘fact file’ text about their country of origin which they also presented as a poster. These were used to deliver oral presentations to the class.
In this task the student is reading an information text about Australia. The student is asked to read the instructions and the information sections in the text. She is asked to locate where in the text certain information is provided, evaluate true or false statements, and answer comprehension questions with some teacher support. The teacher is evaluating how well the student understands the layout and conventions of the text such as, the title, subheadings and tables. The teacher also wants to know how well the student can read aloud, understand specific words and phrases and relate what she reads to other contextual support in the classroom to support her understanding of the text.

In particular the teacher is observing how well the student can:

• extract specific information from simple charts and tables
  
• find information presented in the text
  
• indicate her understanding of basic information presented in the text through a variety of tasks, including evaluating true or false statements, answering questions using information in the text, or locating information in the text
  
• gain meaning using headings and captions
  
• draw on background knowledge to perform text-related tasks
  
• identify the purpose of a task in written instruction
  
• show an understanding of simple coordinating conjunctions and recognises and can follow simple imperatives
  
• identify key vocabulary in instructions
  
• use visual support to interpret meaning.
  

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

This sample of student work demonstrates that the student can:

• Locate directly stated information in a text or illustration (VCEALL578)
• Pronounce a range of words comprehensibly based on knowledge of vocabulary and letter–sound relationships (VCEALL585)
• Read with understanding a range of simple texts based on predictable language structures and vocabulary (VCEALC570)
• Understand simple punctuation when reading (VCEALL586)
  
• Demonstrate understanding by performing a task (VCEALC569)
  
• Attempt to read familiar and unfamiliar texts with fluency (VCEALC567)
  

Possible next steps for this student's learning

• Developing 'word walls' to display new vocabulary, supported by visuals (VCEALL583)
• Asking open-ended questions to encourage the student to provide more information in response and demonstrate their understanding of the text (VCEALC571)
  

Pathways and transitions considerations

A Year 9 student who is working within the range of Level C1 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 C of the EAL curriculum.

Student information

The student was born in Iran and speaks Persian at home. They had age-equivalent schooling in Iran and came to Australia 4 months ago. They are 12 years and 11 months old and in Year 7. They are currently in a new arrivals program.

Task

In this task, the student read an unseen narrative text, The Snow Trip, from a short story collection. Students have studied other stories from this collection in their English class.

The teacher is assessing the student’s ability to: 

• read and comprehend a simple text
• summarise main events from a story in sequence
• respond to a text by answering literal, inferential and evaluative questions.

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

This sample of student work demonstrates that the student can:

• Read with understanding a range of simple texts based on predictable language structures and vocabulary (VCEALC570)
• Locate directly stated information in a text or illustration (VCEALL578)
• Demonstrate awareness of basic sentence and question patterns (VCEALL580)
• Understand simple descriptive language within sentences (VCEALL582)
• Recognise words for everyday items and actions, and topic-specific vocabulary that has been taught (VCEALL583)
• Respond in a personal way to a short, familiar text - comparing events from a text with personal experience (VCEALC571)

Possible next steps for this student’s learning

• Continue to perform text-related tasks to demonstrate understanding, for example, answering simple questions, indicating true/false statements or sequencing information (VCEALC569)
• Demonstrate understanding by performing a range of tasks, such as sequencing information, summarising key points or representing information in a visual form (VCEALC569)
• Continue to read a range of simple, familiar text types, such as simple recounts, narratives and procedures basing understanding on predictable language structures and vocabulary (VCEALC570)
• Use contextual cues to work out the literal meaning of unknown words in a simple text (VCEALL584)

Pathways and transitions considerations

A Year 7 student who is working within the range of Level C1 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 C of the EAL curriculum. 

Student information

The student was born in Iran and speaks Persian at home. They had age-equivalent schooling in Iran and came to Australia 5 months ago. They are 15 years and 2 months old and in Year 10. They are currently in a new arrivals program.  

Task

In this task, the student reads an unseen persuasive text, Classroom Rules. This is a modified text prepared by the teacher. The student has been learning about persuasive texts in their English class and has recently written their own persuasive text.  

The teacher is assessing the student’s ability to: 

• read and comprehend a simple text
• summarise main points in an argument
• respond to a text by answering literal, inferential and evaluative questions.

The words spoken by the student being assessed are in bold  

This sample of student work demonstrates that the student can:

• Locate directly stated information in a text - using organisational features, such as layout, illustrations and headings, to find information in texts (VCEALL578)
• Recognise and follow common imperatives (VCEALL581)
• Demonstrate understanding by performing a task - answering simple questions (VCEALC569)
• Identify what is being referred to by simple cohesive devices in a simple informative text (VCEALL579)
• Recognise words for everyday items and actions, and topic-specific vocabulary that has been taught - recognising in an unfamiliar text topic-specific vocabulary that has been taught (VCEALL583)
• Respond in a personal way to a short, familiar text (VCEALC571)
• Identify the basic purposes and audiences of different print and digital news media texts - suggesting the purpose and audience of a range of common news media texts (VCEALA573)

Possible next steps for this student’s learning

• Read with understanding an expanding range of simple texts based on predictable language structures and vocabulary (VCEALC570)
• Continue to practise identifying basic purposes and audiences of a wide range of texts (VCEALA573)
• Continue to discuss the features of texts, using appropriate metalanguages such as a title, illustrations, imperative verbs (VCEALA573)
• Compare or contrast texts in English to texts in other languages, for example, How would a persuasive text be structured in your language? (VCEALA575)

Pathways and transitions considerations

A Year 10 student who is working within the range of Level C1 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 C of the EAL curriculum.