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59343 Experiencing Australian Language and Culture

Warning: The information on this page is indicative. The subject outline for a particular semester, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.

UTS: International Studies: Arts and Social Sciences
Credit points: 6 cp

Subject level:

Undergraduate

Result type: Grade and marks

There are course requisites for this subject. See access conditions.

Handbook description

This is one of five subjects specifically for international students in the Australian Language and Culture program. This subject consists of three components: the in-class segment; the audited subject; and the expedition,for which students follow the relevant faculty timetable.

Subject objectives/outcomes

At the completion of this subject, students are expected to be able to:

  1. display in written form knowledge of issues relevant to contemporary Australian history, society, political system and culture
  2. understand the broad social parameters and divisions of contemporary Australian society and people
  3. demonstrate knowledge of the cultural constraints operating in an Australian tertiary environment
  4. show evidence of reflective and critical thinking.
  5. communicate cross-cultural ideas and issue
  6. comprehend and evaluate information and be open to new ideas and possibilities
  7. express themselves orally in basic communicative English.

Teaching and learning strategies

Students are provided with opportunities to interact with a variety of oral and written texts in order to develop the cultural understanding, skills, knowledge and confidence required to use English and to participate actively in a variety of academic and non-academic settings. Students explore these aspects through a variety of media.

Content

  1. In-class: This component investigates three domains of student experience: living in Australia; being based in Sydney; and studying at UTS. Class activities also include language preparation for, and feedback on the audited subject.
  2. Audited subject: Students will audit the subject Japanese Language and Culture. They will attend the lectures and tutorial as observers. Students will deliver a written report on this experience together with their observations of teaching and learning at UTS and how it compares with their experience of university education in Japan towards the end of the course.
  3. Cultural expedition: This component is part of the interactive learning of Australian history, culture, and people. There will be three excursions conducted during class time. Visits to other locations in Sydney are recommended out of class as a part of students' acculturation.

Assessment

Assessment Item 1: Reflective journal

Objective(s):

a, b, d, e, f, g
Weighting: 30%
Criteria:
  • Content (description and analysis)
  • Reflection (self-critique)
  • Expression (vocabulary choice, grammatical accuracy, paragraphing, appropriate style)

Assessment Item 2: Oral report on an aspect of Australia culture that the student has observed

Objective(s):

b, d, e, f, g
Weighting: 30%
Criteria:
  • Content: required areas covered (description, comparison, culture); main ideas supported by evidence; all material relevant to topic; PowerPoint or overheads used effectively to deliver content
  • Presentation: voice (volume, pace, intonation); body language enhanced presentation
  • Organisation: structure (introduction, sub-sections, conclusion); clear transitions from point to point; timing within prescribed limits (3–5 mins)
  • Expression: grammatical and lexical accuracy ensured clarity of meaning

Assessment Item 3: Written report on course content related topics on Australian society and culture

Objective(s):

a, b, c, d, e, f
Weighting: 40%
Criteria:
  • Content: required areas covered
  • Presentation: appropriate layout, conventions of report style (title page, sub-headings, page numbers, double or 1.5 spacing, 12 point font)
  • Organisation: structure (introduction, body with sub-sections, conclusion); sub-sections organised logically
  • Expression: appropriate grammatical structures, lexical choice; no errors of spelling, punctuation or typing

Minimum requirements

In order to pass the subject, you must

  • attempt, complete, and submit each assessment task,
  • earn an overall total of 50 marks or more for the subject;
  • attend 80% of the subject. Attendance will be monitored each day. Insufficient attendance will lead to a Fail mark being recorded.

Required texts

Students are provided with a variety of written and oral texts in class.

Recommended texts

Ang I. et al 2006, Connecting Diversity: Paradoxes of Multicultural Australia, Bond University ePublications@bond, accessed 18/08/2011
http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=hss_pubs
Bruce, T. & Wensing, E. 'She's not one of us': Cathy Freeman and the place of Aboriginal people in Australian national culture' in Australian Aboriginal Studies, No. 2, 2009, pp. 90 - 100, accessed 20/08/2011
http://www.lib.uts.edu.au.ezproxy.lib.uts.edu.au/drr/28139/013982_bruceshes.pdf
Cope, B. & Kalantzis, M. 2000, A Place in the Sun: Re-creating the Australian Way of Life, HarperCollins, Sydney.
Couch, R. & Hage, G. (eds) 1999, The Future of Australian Multiculturalism, Research Institute for Humanities & Social Sciences, Sydney.
Greig, A., Lewins, F. & White, K. 2003, Inequality in Australia, CUP, Cambridge.
Hayward, P. 1992, From Pop to Punk to Postmodernism: Popular Music and Australian Culture From the 1960s to the 1990s, Allen & Unwin, North Sydney.
Holt, R. F. 1991, Neighbours: Multicultural Writing of the 1980s, University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia, Queensland.
Jupp, J., Nieuwenhuysen, J. & Dawson, E. 2007, Social Cohesion in Australia, CUP, Melbourne.
Kessler, L. & McDonald, D. 2000, When Words Collide: a Media Writer's Guide to Grammar and Style, 5th edn. Wadsworth, Belmont, CA.
Kramer, L. 2003, The Multicultural Experiment: Immigrants, Refugees and National Identity, Macleay Press, Paddington, NSW.
Rose, D. B. 1992, Dingo Makes Us Human: Life and Land in an Aboriginal Australian Culture, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Stempleski, S. & Tomalin, B. 1990, Video in Action, Prentice Hall, New York.
Vasta, E. & Castles, S. 1996, The Teeth are Smiling: The Persistence of Racism in Multicultural Australia, Allen & Unwin, Sydney.
Zinsser, W. 1998, On Writing Well: the Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction, 6th edn, HarperCollins, New York.

References

Students must reference all sources used in TASK 3 - Final Report. Please use the referencing conventions -
Harvard UTS - outlined in the FASS: "Guide to the Writing and the Presentation of Essay". This guide is available
from the following link http://www.fass.uts.edu.au/students/assessment/preparing/presentation-essays.pdf

Other resources

Newspapers: Sydney Morning Herald, The Australian, Financial Review, etc.
Social Network: Blog
UTS Library http://www.lib.uts.edu.au/
TV programs
Movies: Ten Canoes, Rabbit Proof Fence, etc.
Internet
Parliament of Australia http://www.aph.gov.au/
Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW http://www.eccnsw.org.au/
NSW Aboiriginal Land Council http://www.alc.org.au/
Australia's heritage http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/
Australian Heritage Council http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/ahc/index.html
Department of Immigration and Citizenship http://www.immi.gov.au/