Chinese: Background Language
Chinese: Background Language learning area contacts:
- Nadia Civa : +61 8 9273 6355 | Nadia.Civa@scsa.wa.edu.au
Interstate languages are accessed through the national Collaborative Curriculum and Assessment Framework for Languages (CCAFL) and interstate borrowing arrangements as part of the Western Australian Certificate of Education.
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Enrolment
A student who intends to enrol in a Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) Language course can only do so if they have approval from the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority). For a student to gain approval to enrol, they must complete an online Application for permission to enrol in a WACE Language course while they are in Year 10* and submit it to the Authority, along with the required supporting documentation, by the deadline published in the Activities Schedule. A student’s enrolment status is determined by the Authority on a case-by-case basis.
Submission dates of applications for enrolment in ATAR and General Language courses in 2022
Date
Year 10 students submit an online application*
Wednesday, 28 July 2021
or earlier where the school starts the 2022 school year in Term 4, 2021
Friday, 27 August 2021
or earlier where the school starts the 2022 school year in Term 1, 2022
*or Year 9 accelerated students
Target audience for ATAR or General Language coursesCriteria for permission to enrol in a WACE ATAR or General Language course-
In Western Australia, there are differentiated senior secondary language courses that meet the specific language learning needs of a particular group of students. Within each of these groups, there are differences in proficiency in using the language and its cultural systems.
Target audience for language courses
The descriptions below of the target audience for each language course are intended to provide you with general guidance to ensure you are enrolled in the appropriate course.
Second language courses
These courses are aimed at students for whom the language for which they are applying is a second (or subsequent) language.
These students:
- have typically learnt everything they know about the language and its culture through classroom teaching in an Australian school or similar environment, where English is the language of school instruction
- have typically studied the language for 200–400 hours at the commencement of Year 11
- may have experienced some short stays or exchanges (less than two years in total) in a country where the language is a medium of communication
- do not use the language for communication outside the language classroom
- are not exposed to the language outside the language classroom; that is, are not spoken to in the language by members of their immediate or extended family, or community members and friends.
Background language courses
These courses are aimed at students who have prior exposure to the language for which they are applying that provides a linguistic and cultural advantage.
These students:
- have had formal education (one to five years in total) in a school where the language is the medium of instruction, and/or
- have spent some time for holidays, family visits or exchange purposes (two to five years in total) in a country where the language is a medium of communication, and/or
- use the language for communication outside the language classroom, and/or
- are exposed to the language outside the language classroom and may have a connection to that culture.
First language courses
These courses are aimed at students who have a linguistic and cultural background in the language for which they are applying.
These students:
- have had formal education in the language for an extended period (five years or more at any time from Pre‑primary, or the equivalent onwards) in a school where the language is the medium of communication and/or school instruction, and/or
- were born in a country where the language is the medium of communication or have lived in the country for five years or more, and/or
- use the language for communication outside the language classroom, and/or
- are exposed to the language outside the language classroom and have a connection to that culture.
For the purpose of this application, speakers of dialects and variants of a language are considered to be speakers of the standard language:
- China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Christmas Island are considered Chinese‑speaking countries/places.
- Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands are considered Indonesian‑speaking countries/places.
- speakers of Indonesian and speakers of Malay are considered to be speakers of both languages.
- all Francophone countries are considered French‑speaking.
- Germany, Austria and Switzerland are considered German‑speaking countries.
- Italy and Switzerland are considered Italian‑speaking countries.
Information to be provided for residency, travel and schooling-
The criteria for enrolment have been designed to assess the degree to which a student has had previous experience in, and exposure to, the language they wish to study. Research into language acquisition has shown that people who learn a language during their ‘critical period,’ that is, between birth and around 10 years of age, have an advantage over those who learn the language outside of this period. It has also shown that children who are immersed in a language, for example, through growing up with the language at home, or spending time in a country where the language is a medium of communication and/or through attending a school where the language is the medium of instruction, have an advantage over other learners.
Criteria for permission to enrol in a WACE language course
There are three criteria against which your application for enrolment will be assessed:
- Education
- Residency and/or time spent in-country
- Use of the language for communication outside the language classroom.
PATHWAY
CRITERIA FOR PERMISSION TO ENROL IN A WACE LANGUAGE COURSE
Education
Residency and/or time spent in-country
Use of the language for communication outside the language classroom
Second language courses
Less than one (1) year in total of formal education (from Pre‑primary) in schools where the language is a language of instruction
Less than two (2) years in total of residency and time spent in a country where the language is a medium of communication
Use of the language for communication outside the language classroom with a speaker/s of the language is not permitted
Background language courses
One (1) to five (5) years in total of formal education (from Pre‑primary) in schools where the language is a language of instruction
Two (2) to five (5) years in total of residency and time spent in a country where the language is a medium of communication
Use of the language for communication outside the language classroom with a speaker/s of the language is permitted
First
language coursesMore than five (5) years in total of formal education (from Pre‑primary) in schools where the language is a language of instruction
More than five (5) years in total of residency and time spent in a country where the language is a medium of communication
Use of the language for communication outside the language classroom with a speaker/s of the language is permitted
Note: 1 In the Education criterion, the reference to a ‘year’ is an academic or school year.
2 In the Residency criterion, the reference to a ‘year’ is to a period of twelve months.
Enrolment guides-
Passports
If you were born, have resided in, and/or travelled to and/or attended school in a country or place where the language in which you wish to enrol is used for communication and/or school instruction and/or is studied as a second language, your application must include a copy of each of the following:
- the passport page showing your name, place of birth and nationality
- the passport page authenticating the date of entry into Australia as a resident if you were not born in Australia
- recent reports from the school/s that you have attended outside Australia (where applicable).
International Movement Records (IMR)
You may be asked to provide an International Movement Records (IMR) document to clarify aspects of your residency and travel with your application, if you have frequently travelled to countries as described above. This document is available from the Department of Home Affairs website at https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/form-listing/forms/1359.pdf.
The IMR document confirms dates of departure out of, and arrival into, Australia and lists all overseas travel in chronological order.
To obtain the IMR document, the student and their parents will need to complete an IMR request form.
To avoid any delays, the student/parents should ensure that:
- the IMR request form has been fully completed
- the supporting documentation such as a certified birth certificate and proof of identity are provided with the request
- records are requested from birth to the present and not for a specified period.
The number of travel records available from the Department is indicated in the top right-hand corner of the list. Incomplete records will not be accepted. Students/parents will be required to contact the Department of Home Affairs again to request any missing records.
The completed IMR request form should be returned to the Department of Home Affairs at request.movement@homeaffairs.gov.au. Do NOT send it back to the Authority. Once the student has received a copy of the list of travel records, it should be submitted to the Authority as soon as possible, so that the applications can be finalised.
Information to be provided for Use of the language for communication outside the language classroom- Student Portal: Student guide for online applications for WACE language courses (5.9 MB) Last updated: 10 Sep 2021 10:09am
- Student Portal: Student guide for online applications for WACE language courses (8.7 MB)
- Checklist for students online applications for WACE language courses (162.3 KB) Last updated: 05 Nov 2021 10:33am
- Checklist for students online applications for WACE language courses (87.3 KB)
- Student Records Management System: School guide for online applications for WACE language courses (4.6 MB) Last updated: 11 Jan 2022 7:41am
- Student Records Management System: School guide for online applications for WACE language courses (5.4 MB)
- School administrators guide for role assignment (2.3 MB) Last updated: 11 Mar 2022 9:05am
- School administrators guide for role assignment (2.9 MB)
- Checklist for schools online applications for WACE language course enrolment (173.7 KB) Last updated: 05 Nov 2021 10:34am
- Checklist for schools online applications for WACE language course enrolment (102.9 KB)
Information about the Parent acknowledgement document-
Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) National Data Collection form
As part of the National Goals for Schooling in the 21st Century, all Catholic, Independent and Government schools in Australia are asked, on behalf of their system/sector, to provide student/parent background information to enable nationally comparable reporting of student outcomes. The collected background information will also assist the Australian government in developing policies to:
- make available an education system which is fair for all Australian students
- provide targeted funding to those areas most in need.
The background information relates to:
- the sex of the student
- the country of birth of the student
- the indigenous status of the student
- parents occupation and educational qualifications
- the main languages spoken at home by each parent and the student.
The form is tied to federal funding, and the background details included in the National Data Collection form are collected across Australia in a uniform way against nationally consistent definitions. The form is completed when the student enrols at the school, typically before or at the start of Year 7.
If your school enrolment form provides information about the language/s spoken at home by:
- the student
- parent/guardian 1
- parent/guardian 2
then your school administration officer can upload the school enrolment form twice i.e. the same document for both the school enrolment form, and the MCEETYA National Data Collection form.
There is no requirement to add a different file name for this document.
Information in other languages-
Parent acknowledgement document
In the Parent acknowledgement document, parents confirm that the application has been completed truthfully and accurately.
The Parent acknowledgement document can be downloaded from the link within the application in the Student Portal. Students and parents must:
- print out the application
- print out the Parent acknowledgement
- sight the application
- complete the Parent acknowledgement
- scan or take a photo of the Parent acknowledgement
- upload it to the application
- submit the application from home.
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ATAR
The Chinese: Background Language ATAR course builds on and further develops a student’s language capability through engagement with the Chinese‐speaking communities, locally and overseas, and through the study of contemporary texts, topics and issues. The course affords students with a background in the language the opportunity to strengthen their personal connections to the Chinese language and culture. The course focuses on the interrelationship of language and culture, and further enhances the skills students possess to function in an increasingly globalised society, a culturally and linguistically diverse local community, and continues to build the foundation for life-long language learning. Relevant and engaging tasks, delivered through a range of appropriate topics, texts and issues, develop literacy in the Chinese language as well as extend literacy development in English.
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