"Literacy is about more than reading or writing – it is about how we communicate in society. It is about social practices and relationships, about knowledge, language and culture. Those who use literacy take it for granted – but those who cannot use it are excluded from much communication in today’s world. Indeed, it is the excluded who can best appreciate the notion of “literacy as freedom”.
-UNESCO, Statement for the United Nations Literacy Decade, 2003–2012
The English curriculum is based on the belief that language learning is critical to responsible and productive citizenship, and that all students can become successful language learners. The curriculum is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills that they need to achieve this goal. It aims to help students become successful language learners.
Successful language learners:
- understand that language learning is a necessary, life-enhancing, reflective process;
- communicate – that is, read, listen, view, speak, write, and represent – effectively and with confidence;
- make meaningful connections between themselves, what they encounter in texts, and the world around them;
- think critically;
- understand that all texts advance a particular point of view that must be recognized, questioned, assessed, and evaluated;
- appreciate the cultural impact and aesthetic power of texts;
- use language to interact and connect with individuals and communities, for personal growth, and for active participation as world citizens.
(Ontario Ministry of Education, The Ontario Curriculum Grades 11 and 12: English, 2007. p. 4)
Would you like to learn more? Take a look at The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9 and 10: English, 2007 (Revised) and The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 11 and 12: English, 2007 (Revised).