How can you tell they’ve got it: Standard English?

If they’ve got it, you’ll see things like: Explain three differences between how we speak informally and how we write formally (e.g., contractions, slang, sentence completeness); Identify features of Standard English and explain why it is used in formal contexts; Rewrite an informal spoken passage (e.g., a text message) in formal written Standard English. Or just try it together: Does your child understand that the way they speak with friends is different from how they should write in school — and can they adjust their language for formal situations, using standard grammar and vocabulary?

English Grammar & Punctuation Ages 11–13

Standard English

Your child can see how speaking and writing differ in how formal they are. They use Standard English with care in formal writing and talk.

In curriculum terms

Know and understand the differences between spoken and written language — including differences in formality, register, grammar, and vocabulary — and between Standard English and other varieties of English, using Standard English confidently in writing and speech

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.

Explain three differences between how we speak informally and how we write formally (e.g., contractions, slang, sentence completeness)
Identify features of Standard English and explain why it is used in formal contexts
Rewrite an informal spoken passage (e.g., a text message) in formal written Standard English

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Try this together

Does your child understand that the way they speak with friends is different from how they should write in school — and can they adjust their language for formal situations, using standard grammar and vocabulary?

Where this sits on the map

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

Builds on

Choosing Formal Vocabularyages 10–11Register awareness extends KS2 formal vs informal vocabulary

Standard Englishthis skill · ages 11–13

Unlocks

Speaking Formally and Giving Presentationsages 11–14Confident spoken Standard English requires understanding spoken vs written language differences

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 · 2 NSW · 3 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9E5LA03low confidenceYear 5 · Language

describe how spoken, written and multimodal texts use language features and are typically organised into characteristic stages and phases, depending on purposes in texts

AC9E5LA08low confidenceYear 5 · Language

understand how vocabulary is used to express greater precision of meaning, including through the use of specialist and technical terms, and explore the history of words

AC9E6LA01low confidenceYear 6 · Language

understand that language varies as levels of formality and social distance increase

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

EN3-CWT-01low confidenceEnglish K-10 · Stage 3

EN3-SPELL-01low confidenceEnglish K-10 · Stage 3

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2E5LY12low confidenceEnglish · Level 5 · Literacy strand

VC2E6LY05low confidenceEnglish · Level 6 · Literacy strand

VC2E6LA01low confidenceEnglish · Level 6 · 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

Advanced Punctuation for Clarityages 11–14 Grammar for Effectages 11–14 Literary and Language Terminologyages 11–14 Phrases & Clausesages 11–13

All Grammar & Punctuation skills →