How can you tell they’ve got it: Formal and Informal English?

If they’ve got it, you’ll see things like: Identify whether a spoken or written example uses formal or informal language (e.g., 'Dear Sir' vs 'Hey mate'); Rewrite an informal sentence in a more formal way (e.g., change 'Can I have some?' to 'May I please have some?'); Explain why formal language might be used in one situation and informal in another (e.g., a letter to the headteacher vs a note to a friend). Or just try it together: Does your child understand the difference between how they'd write a text to a friend versus a formal letter — and can they explain why the language would be different?

English Vocabulary Ages 7–10

Formal and Informal English

Your child can tell formal, polite language from casual language. They know we write to a principal one way and to a friend another way.

In curriculum terms

Recognise and compare formal and informal uses of English, understanding that language choices vary based on audience, purpose and context

Ages are typical, not deadlines — follow your child’s pace. How to help at home →

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

Identify whether a spoken or written example uses formal or informal language (e.g., 'Dear Sir' vs 'Hey mate')
Rewrite an informal sentence in a more formal way (e.g., change 'Can I have some?' to 'May I please have some?')
Explain why formal language might be used in one situation and informal in another (e.g., a letter to the headteacher vs a note to a friend)

🖨 Print this page to keep the checklist — it prints beautifully.

Try this together

Does your child understand the difference between how they'd write a text to a friend versus a formal letter — and can they explain why the language would be different?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Describing Aloudages 4–8Oral expression skills support understanding formality in speech

Using New Vocabularyages 5–9Using acquired vocabulary supports recognising register differences

Formal and Informal Englishthis skill · ages 7–10

Unlocks

Adapting Speech to Contextages 10–11Adapting speech builds on formal/informal register

Choosing Formal Vocabularyages 10–11Formal vocabulary builds on recognising formal/informal register

Dialects & Registersages 10–11English varieties builds on formal/informal register

Vivid Word Choicesages 8–10Word choice for effect benefits from register awareness

Choosing Form and Tone for Your Audienceages 9–10Formal/informal register awareness supports matching tone to audience and purpose

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Where this fits in the official school curriculum — our best automated guess, not yet checked by a person.

Show candidate curriculum codes · 3 ACARA · 1 NSW · 3 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9E4LA01medium confidenceYear 4 · Language

explore language used to develop relationships in formal and informal situations

AC9E1LA01low confidenceYear 1 · Language

understand how language, facial expressions and gestures are used to interact with others when asking for and providing information, making offers, exclaiming, requesting and giving commands

AC9E2LA01low confidenceYear 2 · Language

investigate how interpersonal language choices vary depending on the context, including the different roles taken on in interactions

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

EN1-OLC-01low confidenceEnglish K-10 · Stage 1

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2E4LA01high confidenceEnglish · Level 4 · Language strand

VC2E6LA01low confidenceEnglish · Level 6 · Language strand

VC2E2LA02low confidenceEnglish · Level 2 · Language strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Word Families and Root Wordsages 7–9 Defining Wordsages 6–9 Literal vs Figurative Languageages 8–9 Root Words & Inflectionsages 6–9

All Vocabulary skills →