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What Students Learn
The main shift in content from former English courses to the present HSC is one of emphasis from what the text means to the processes of making meaning.
This shift involves students' learning how we make meaning with different types of texts and have been extended to include the ones most commonly read nowadays (such as electronic and film texts) with the more traditional literary and non fiction printed texts. The shift also involves understanding the importance of context on the
- composer (a term to cover spoken, written and visual creation) of the text, and
- responder (reader, viewer, listener) of the text.
Context refers to such ideas as
- social, historical and cultural contexts, as well as
- the context of other texts (intertexts) that influence the ways we compose and respond to texts.
Understanding the processes of making meaning involves studying a wide range of texts so that various comparisons can be made. While there are opportunities for single text study, students usually consider texts in the context of other texts, as we do in the real world.
Students therefore need to understand in greater detail than previously, their own processes of reading, writing, viewing, representing information and ideas, speaking and listening.
They are also required to develop skills of independent learning, research and collaborative skills to prepare them for the workplace.