Samoa Year 13 Curriculum - English

The Samoa Year 13 English curriculum, as presented in the 2004 textbook published by the Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture, Samoa, covers a range of language and literature topics. The textbook is divided into two parts: Language and Literature.

Part 1: Language

Unit 1: Reading Comprehension I focuses on understanding how language adapts to different contexts, from formal written language to instructional manuals. Students analyze real-world texts like university program requirements and a maritime training prospectus. Activities include comprehension questions, vocabulary exercises, and writing assignments like advertisements and essays. An excerpt from Han Suyin's A Mortal Flower* is also included for analysis and writing practice.

• Unit 2: Language Study I explores synonyms, antonyms, homonyms, and figurative language, including idioms, similes, metaphors, and proverbs. Students practice identifying and using these language elements.
• Unit 3: Reading Comprehension II delves into poetry analysis and the language of news reporting, using a poem about education standards and a World War II news story as examples. Activities include analyzing vocabulary, style, and bias in news reporting, as well as exploring the use of active and passive voice and verb tenses.
• Unit 4: Language Study II addresses circumlocution and verbosity, encouraging concise writing. It also explores the history of the English language, from its Celtic roots to modern influences, and includes exercises on word origins and vocabulary development.
• Unit 5: Reading Comprehension III focuses on different journalistic styles, using a passage about professional wrestler The Rock as an example. Students analyze the writer's techniques and the use of wrestling jargon.
• Unit 6: Oratory—The Art of Speech Making examines the art of public speaking, including its purpose, different forms, and historical development. William Faulkner's Nobel Prize speech is analyzed, and students explore structural features of oratory, such as balance, parallel constructions, and the use of rhetorical devices.
• Unit 7: Language in the Workplace explores problem-solving and communication strategies in professional settings. Students analyze a document on workplace problem-solving and another on humor in the workplace, and engage in activities like skits and speech preparation.
• Unit 8: Visual Language—Static and Moving Images examines how images and words convey meaning in visual texts. Students analyze advertisements for Levi's and Coca-Cola, focusing on elements like participants, setting, imagery, appeals, and viewpoint.
• Unit 9: Essay Writing provides guidelines on essay structure, quotations, references, and formatting. Students learn about different types of quotations, referencing styles (footnotes and endnotes), and how to organize a bibliography. An example of a well-formatted essay is included.

Part 2: Literature

Unit 10: Writer's Tools and Styles of Writing in Literature explores how writers use language to achieve different effects. Students analyze statements about words and language use, and examine an excerpt from Joseph Conrad's Youth* to identify stylistic devices like ornate descriptions, predicative adjectives, and figurative language.

• Unit 11: Short Stories features several short stories for analysis, including Albert Wendt's "A Descendant of the Mountain," Katherine Mansfield's "The Doll's House," Janet Frame's "The Bath," and Litia Alaelua's "Ghosting." Students explore themes, characterization, setting, style, and the use of language in each story, and engage in activities like plot summaries, vocabulary exercises, creative writing, and research projects. Several poems are included for related and extended activities.

• Unit 13: Poetry introduces students to various poetic devices and forms, including simile, personification, alliteration, onomatopoeia, imagery, and symbolism. Poems by William Wordsworth, John Donne, Robert Zend, Robert Frost, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Ruperake Petaia, Talosaga Tolovae, Kauraka Kauraka, Joyce Kumbeli, Jully Makini, Emma Kruse Vaai, Nora Vagi Brash, Dylan Thomas, and others are included for analysis and discussion.

• Unit 15: Revision reviews different literary genres and styles, and provides guidance on exam preparation and pacing oneself during examinations.

Appendices:

The textbook includes appendices on basic word parts (prefixes, roots, and suffixes), grammar (word classes, phrases, clauses, and sentences), and supplementary texts (poems and short stories). It also includes sample examination papers from previous years.