ABSTRACT
The Australian English Curriculum consists of three interrelated strands: Language, literacy and literature. Woven across these strands are the modes of language: Speaking and listening, writing and reading and viewing. Progress in one mode is supported by development in each of the other modes. For example, comprehension of visual and linguistic texts is supported by talk. English is a complex ‘subject’ in that it draws on a range of disciplines, including literature, literary analysis, linguistics, child development, psychology, sociology, philosophy and cultural studies. This makes it difficult to pin down precisely what subject knowledge in English might be. There are four main interconnected strands to subject knowledge in English which need to be combined to create successful English teaching: contextual subject knowledge, textual subject knowledge, linguistic and other semiotic subject knowledge, and pedagogical (teaching and learning) subject knowledge.
