On Tuesday 7th of June the Stage 2 Essential English classes visited a range of locations in the city to investigate how language is used in the community. We visited Adelaide Train Station, The Central Markets, The Art Gallery of South Australia and The South Australian Museum to see how we communicate in the community.
Students saw and heard examples of language which ranged from the everyday, informal and novice language, to the more academic, formal and expert language. They heard communication between friends, strangers, sellers and customers. Students also enjoyed hearing their own languages while out and about in the city, including Vietnamese and Arabic. Students were able to consider the meaning of signs and symbols and street art and how they communicate messages in diverse ways.
Student comments included:
“I saw that there were many statistics for me to understand and enjoy around the art at the Art Gallery. This place has many miraculous rooms such as the pumpkin art with the endless view. Also, the Art Gallery has so many excellent, realistic art pieces!”
“I enjoyed seeing new things that I had not see before.”
“In the Central Market, I saw a lot of shops selling everything that I like, such as sugarcane juice which is common in Vietnamese culture. I had a permission to talk in Vietnamese with a stall holder and we talked about her work.”
“I was interested to see the street sign names in the Central Markets.”
Students will be able to use their experience to inform their choice of language for their external Language Study, a chance to identify, analyse and evaluate language use in a specific community context.
Thank you to the staff who provided support: Molly Place, Tyson Richards, Hieu Nguyen, Wendy Gawne, Sharon Miels, Brett Hains.
