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Advice for teachers -
Bridging English as an Additional Language (EAL)

Unit 1: English for learning

Area of Study 2: English for academic purposes

Outcome 2

Understand a variety of print, spoken and multimodal academic texts, identifying key information useful for their learning purposes, and produce written or spoken texts for specific academic purposes.

Examples of learning activities

  • Access the VCE study design for a subject you are completing or intend to select and identify one of the areas of study. Compare the language used in a subject-specific text (such as a text book or test) and match it to the appropriate key knowledge or key skills of the area of study.
  • Produce a glossary of vocabulary, symbols and abbreviations for a specific subject or topic.
  • Compile a list of instructional language used in other subjects, such as ‘explain’, ‘evaluate’ and ‘justify’ and explore how you should respond to each.
  • Complete a test (related to a field you are studying or have recently studied) that uses a range of instructional language. Refer to a teacher-produced answer guide that includes why some answers would, or would not, be accepted based on language use.
  • Examine a guide on how to write a specific form of academic writing, such as a chemistry practical report, physics data analysis or annotated art folio.
  • Using a selection of your own writing from other studies, annotate for features, vocabulary use, language choices and how the text is made appropriate for its audience.
  • Conduct research on a set topic or question related to an area of interest. Articulate strategies used when researching, including ways to determine if a source is credible.
  • Take a text (for example, a short lecture) and explain the contents in a different academic form (for example, using diagrams or graphs) to a peer. Swap and give each other feedback on the clarity of the communication.
  • Collect a range of academic texts on the same topic (from textbooks, reference books, websites or journals) to annotate the features and explain the differing contexts and purposes for each one. Summarise the texts and identify common aspects or emphases.
  • Create bibliographies and examine ways to credit a source. Using sample texts that contain plagiarism, identify ethical concerns in an Australian context and edit them to provide correct sources and remove plagiarism concerns.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Identify a relevant area for academic research, collect sources of information, frame research questions to evaluate their credibility and answer these questions before presenting findings to the class.
Example icon for advice for teachers

Detailed example

Evaluating sources of information

  1. Identify a relevant area for academic research and collect sources of information that are readily accessible to students. These may include textbooks or digital resources, class notes, study guides or the school intranet.
  2. Frame research goals as questions to ensure the scope is not too wide. Students generate a range of questions together and evaluate which ones are the most appropriate to be used.
  3. Use research sources already available to students when answering the research questions. Relevant information, including the source, can be collected using a graphic organiser or structured note-taking method, such as Cornell Notes. 
  4. Share preliminary findings in a group discussion, using an appropriate organisation method. This may include a shared digital resource, such as Microsoft OneNote or Padlet. Students refine or change research questions as appropriate.
  5. Identify potential sources of information for wider research. This may include access to a library, including a public library; databases; magazines; journals; credible websites, including government or university sources; and individuals who could be approached, such as teaching staff or people who work in the field. Identify potential strengths and weaknesses for each source as well as potential pitfalls for some sources.
  6. Organise new findings, with sources, using the system selected for this task. Students discuss the credibility of their sources as well as to identify potentially conflicting information. The group can decide which sources they believe are most credible as well as others they may choose to mark as possibly problematic for the given topic.
  7. Determine the most appropriate way to share or present their findings. Credibility can be established through appropriately sourcing information and avoiding plagiarism.