VU23563 - Investigate issues in the Australian environment

Unit code:VU23563Study level:TAFE

Nominal hours

Location

Footscray Nicholson
St Albans
Sunshine
Werribee

Prerequisites

(Or equivalent to be determined by unit coordinator)
Co-requisites
(Corequisite units must be studied concurrently with this unit)

Overview

This unit describes the performance outcomes, skills and knowledge required by EAL learners to investigate and research issues in the Australian environment and present spoken and written information on a selected issue.
The outcomes described in this unit relate to:

the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). They contribute directly to the achievement of ACSF indicators of competence for Reading and Writing and Oral Communication at Level 3, and
the ISLPR (International Second Language Proficiency Ratings) descriptors for Speaking and Listening, Reading and Writing. They contribute directly to the achievement of ISLPR Speaking 2+, Listening 2+, Reading 2+ / 3 and Writing 2+ / 3.
This unit applies to learners wishing to develop their English language skills to increase their knowledge and understanding of environmental issues in the Australian environment and their potential impact.This unit is designed for integration and contextualisation with language units to support achievement of English language knowledge and skills.

Assessment

For Melbourne campuses

Assessment tasks will be designed to reinforce & extend knowledge and skill competence within set & controlled parameters in accordance with each unit's learning outcomes & performance criteria requirements, including the setting of work-based practical application tasks designed to provide evidence of competence outcomes, within periodic and scheduled timelines.

Students will be expected to demonstrate the following required skills:

analyse and take notes from at least two sources of information related to one environmental issue
use strategies to give a short verbal presentation that includes at least one opinion about a selected environmental issue
write a report with at least two structured paragraphs using appropriate features and format and including at least two possible solutions to the selected environmental issue.

Students will also be expected to demonstrate the following knowledge:

some specialised vocabulary related to selected environmental issues
verb tenses, such as present, present perfect continuous, such as have been melting, past perfect, present, past simple passive and simple future, such as will be and conditional, such as if and unless
sentence structures for compound and some complex sentences
modal forms, such as we should, we must, we have to…
common discourse markers, connectives and cohesive devices that link ideas and concepts, that add information or contrast ideas, such as in addition, therefore, as a result, finally
linguistic cues to clarify and state own viewpoint
features of paragraph organisation, such as topic sentence, supporting details and linking devices
format of a report, such as introduction, body, conclusion
dependent clauses introduced by words, such as although, when, if, while.
Sociolinguistic and Cultural Knowledge:
registers, styles and conventions used in spoken and written discourse
techniques used in spoken and written texts, such as use of understatement, exaggeration
stress and intonation to modify meaning, such as to convey emphasis on important information
distinction between fact and opinion and simple strategies to detect and respond to opinions or attitudes.

Required reading

The qualified trainer and assessor will provide teaching and learning materials as required in the form of workbooks produced by Victoria University and/or via the Victoria University e-learning system.