1. Unit 3 English Language

2. Informal Language & Social Purpose
LI: to gain an overview of the requirements for content knowledge, key skills and unit outcomes

3. Area of Study 1 Informal language
In this area of study students consider the way speakers and writers choose from a repertoire of language to vary the style of their language to suit a particular social purpose. They consider the features and functions of informal language in written, spoken and electronic interactions, understanding that the situational and cultural context of an exchange determines the language used.

4. Students examine the features that distinguish informal language from more formal language. They understand that informal language often lacks the carefully planned structure of formal texts and may play an important role in building rapport. They examine how users of informal language may be idiosyncratic in their linguistic choices and structure texts in a non-linear way, and they explore the role of colloquialisms and non-Standard English in establishing informal registers. Students study texts in which speakers use informal language including conversations, narratives, monologues, interviews and unscripted commentaries. They also examine informal texts produced by writers, including narratives, advertisements, journals, notes, and electronic or other written interactions involving one or more participants. Students consider features of ‘chat’ associated with both speaking and writing, such as a reliance on sequencing, cooperation and turn-taking, as well as features that are particular to each mode. Students learn that speakers have at their disposal a support system of prosodic and paralinguistic cues that they can use to organise and present information. They explore how writers may choose to rely on abbreviations, spellings which reflect pronunciation and prosodic patterns, emoticons and context-specific graphemes. Both written and spoken informal texts may contain non-fluency features, ellipses, shortened lexical forms and syntactic complexity.
Students investigate how informal language can be used to meet and challenge others’ face needs, both positive (the need to be liked, respected and treated as a member of a group) and negative (the need to be autonomous and act without imposition from others); how informal language choices can build rapport by encouraging inclusiveness, intimacy, solidarity and equality; and how informal language features such as slang and swearing patterns are important in encouraging linguistic innovation and in-group membership.

5. Outcome 1
On completion of this unit the student should be able to identify and analyse distinctive features of informal language in written and spoken texts.

6. Key knowledge
the role of Standard and non-Standard English in creating formal and informal texts
differences in the nature and functions of formal and informal texts
the relationship between the context and the features of language in informal texts
the role of discourse features and lexical choice in creating textual cohesion and coherence in informal written texts
stylistic features in informal speech and writing, including phonological patterning, syntactic patterning, morphological patterning, and lexical choice and semantic patterning
features of spoken discourse and major discourse strategies used by speakers and the ways in which cooperation can be achieved
the use of informal language for various social purposes, including:
–  encouraging intimacy, solidarity and equality
–  maintaining and challenging positive and negative face needs
–  promoting linguistic innovation
–  supporting in-group membership
conventions for the transcription of spoken English texts, including symbols, legend, and line numbers
metalanguage to discuss informal language in texts.

7. Key skills
use key linguistic concepts as they relate to informal language in texts
use key concepts and metalanguage appropriately to describe and analyse informal spoken and written
language use in an objective and a systematic way
analyse the effect of informal contexts on language choices
analyse the nature, features and functions of informal written texts and transcripts of informal spoken English.

8. SAC Assessments
School-assessed Coursework for Unit 3 will contribute 25 per cent to the study score.
School-assessed Coursework for Unit 4 will contribute 25 per cent to the study score.

9. External Assessment External assessment
The level of achievement for Units 3 and 4 is also assessed by an end-of-year examination, which will contribute 50 per cent.
Conditions
The examination will be completed under the following conditions:
Duration: two hours.
Date: end-of-year, on a date to be published annually by the VCAA.
The examination will be marked by assessors appointed by the VCAA.

10. Assessment U3O1 (term 1)

11. Assessment U3O2 (term 2)

12. Glossary
Language choices to build rapport by encouraging inclusiveness, intimacy, solidarity and equality
Repertoire of language
Social Purpose
Situational Context
Cultural Context
Informal Language Features
Register
Colloquial Language
Sequencing, cooperation and turn-taking
Non-fluency features, ellipses, shortened lexical forms and syntactic complexity.
Positive and Negative face needs
Informal language features such as slang and swearing patterns are important in encouraging linguistic innovation and in-group membership.
Sociolinguistic variables - domain, context, audience, purpose, mode, register
Phonological patterning, syntactic patterning, morphological patterning, and lexical choice and semantic patterning – looking at why this happens – what effect does it have?

13. Content Summary Standard and non-Standard English
Situational and cultural context
Typical stylistic features of informal texts in written and spoken modes
Examine a range of text types (conversations, narratives, monologues, interviews, commentaries, narratives, ads, journals, notes and chat)
The social purposes of informal texts

14. Glossary of metalanguage
Repertoire of language
- 3 accents in Australia: Broad, General and Cultivated; dialects, creoles, pidgins, other languages, ethnolects
a variety of repertoires in use
Social Purpose
- to build rapport by encouraging inclusiveness, intimacy, solidarity and equality

15. Glossary of metalanguage
Situational Context
- where and when language is being used in time and place
spoken: conversation, phone calls, YouTube, advertisements, television, radio, facetime/skype, music
written: on social media, texting, print/digital advertisements, blogs, merchandise, poetry, literature

16. Glossary of metalanguage
Cultural Context
- what are the cultural backgrounds of the interlocutors or correspondents (speakers/writers)?

17. Glossary of metalanguage
Informal Language Features and Colloquial Language
- slang, taboo language, swearing, abbreviations, spellings which reflect pronunciation and prosodic patterns, emoticons and context-specific graphemes.
Both written and spoken informal texts may contain non-fluency features, ellipses, shortened lexical forms and syntactic complexity
- a support system of prosodic and paralinguistic cues, discourse markers, hedges, pauses etc
Register
- A continuum of formal  informal; described as highly  more formal  less formal  more informal  highly informal

18. Glossary of metalanguage
Positive and Negative face needs

19. ad-existence-has-just-been-made
In an analytical commentary you would discuss – this is why I need to know this.
How does the lamb ad meet everybody’s face needs?
What prosodic and paralinguistic features is he using? How does these fit with his social purpose? What is the situational and social context? Break this down according to the table

20. Using informal language
To maintain and challenges positive and negative face needs
- Does Hillary Clinton calling Donald Trump ‘Donald’ in the presidential debates maintain or challenge his positive face needs? Why?
- Does Trump calling Hillary Clinton ‘Madam Secretary’ in the presidential debates maintain or challenge her positive face needs? Why?

21. Bringing it together
What is the situational context? Break this down according to the diagram
What is the cultural context? Brea this down according to the diagram
What prosodic and paralinguistic features is he using? How does these fit with his social purpose?
How do the ads respond to everybody’s face needs? Consider maintenance and challenges to both positive and negative face needs

22. Why use informal language?
It encourages intimacy, solidarity and equality
~ where do we see informal language being used?
- In what situational or cultural contexts can informal language encourage intimacy?
- In what what situational or cultural contexts can informal language encourage solidarity?
- In what situational or cultural contexts can informal language encourage equality?

23. What is informal language?
Using the glossary as a spring-board, discuss and come up with a list of what constitutes informal language in Australia.
Using the Subsystems as your basis, make notes on informal language features regarding:
Phonology & Phonetics
Morphology & Lexicology
Syntax
Semantics
Discourse

24. Using informal language
It promotes linguistic innovation
- what innovations to language can you think of?
It supports in-group membership
~ what social groups can you think of in Australia?

26. Doritos Advertisement Rebecca Swain VATE 2016
Sources:
Doritos Advertisement
Rebecca Swain VATE 2016
VCE English Language Study Design