AC9E4LA01: Explore language used to develop relationships in formal and informal situations

1. Outcome Overview & Core Concepts

I can keep my message clear while choosing language that suits the listener, purpose and situation. I can explain a wording choice, welcome different people into a conversation, and check a person’s preferred name or greeting rather than guessing.

Formal and informal language are not the same as polite and rude. A friendly request can be respectful. A formal message can be short and clear. Think about who is listening, how well you know one another, what each person knows and what you are trying to do.

Success looks like: two suitable versions of the same message; an explanation using an exact word or phrase; a genuine invitation to contribute; and a respectful check when a convention is unknown.

Lesson guide: about 20 minutes, with paper or a preferred communication aid. Use invented school situations; no student needs to contact a stranger or perform a cultural greeting.

Key vocabulary

Audience

The person or people receiving a message.

Purpose

What the message is trying to do: ask, invite, report, explain or disagree.

Formality

How official or conversational language sounds in its situation.

Register

A set of language choices that fits a situation or group.

Tone

The attitude suggested by words and voice; it is not only loudness.

Expertise

Knowledge or skill gained through learning and experience.

Inclusive language

Words that welcome people and avoid unfairly excluding or judging them.

Convention

A usual way of communicating in a particular group or situation; conventions can differ.

Boundary: compare familiar speaking and writing situations and explain choices. You do not need difficult vocabulary, a single rule for every culture or advanced formal-letter terminology.

2. Subject-Specific Content & Key Examples

Same request, different relationship

To a classmate: Pass me the pencil, please. To a less familiar adult: Could I please borrow a pencil? Both requests can be respectful. The second uses a question to ask for something from a person you know less well. Name the audience and point to the language; do not just call one version “better”.

Formality is a continuum: messages can be more or less conversational. A contraction such as “I’m” is a clue, not proof that a message is rude. An idiom such as “went bananas” may be lively in conversation but unclear in a factual report. Use the whole context, not one word or the sentence length, to judge the choice.

Repair without changing the meaning

Hey, check this before lunch. could become Could you please check this before lunch? Both keep the checking task and deadline; the revision makes a considerate request. An overly distant invitation to a friend, I hereby request your attendance, could become Would you like to come with us? A suitable revision keeps the important information and respects the other person’s choice.

Adjust language when the context changes

Group members often share background knowledge. A report needs to explain that knowledge to new listeners. In the poster example below, the group is comparing a small-letter poster with a large-letter poster while standing at the back of the room. These shared facts explain what “that” and “here” mean.

Teacher models: “I will keep the group’s idea. I will name the place and explain the reason so new listeners can follow.” Do not change “we chose” into “I chose”, invent a measurement or replace a specific time with “sometime”.

We do: Our group says, We want the meeting after lunch, so everyone can finish eating. Draft a report together. Possible answer: Our group proposes meeting after lunch so everyone has time to finish eating. Check that the proposal and reason stay the same.

Role changes language

A student speaking as a game captain may give clear directions: Please line up behind the cone. The same student asking a teacher for help might say, Could you help us check the rule? The purpose and roles changed; respect is useful in both situations.

Age, expertise and familiarity can influence interaction, but none gives a complete rule by itself. A younger person may know more about a camera than an older beginner. Ask Could you show me how to focus it? because of that person’s experience. When explaining to a beginner, use a clear landmark or example without talking down to them.

A close friend can also be the group leader. You can stay friendly while listening to their directions. An unfamiliar listener may need the name of the activity or object instead of “that thing”. Ask for clarification when you need it; pretending to understand is not required for respect.

Conventions vary: use the name or title a person gives you. If unsure, ask What would you like me to call you? Do not assume every family or culture greets the same way. Respect cannot be judged from constant eye contact, accent or voice volume alone.

Quick check: A younger classmate has practised using a microscope and an older visitor has not. Who could explain the focus control? Answer: the experienced classmate, while treating both people respectfully. Reteach if the only reason given is age.

Use inclusive language

Inclusive language helps people take part rather than assuming they all have the same family, abilities or preferences. An invitation can offer speaking, writing, drawing or other useful roles. Ask what support would help instead of choosing for someone.

Do not allocate jobs just because someone is a boy or a girl. Ask how to pronounce an unfamiliar name rather than replacing it. Do not claim “we all agree” before checking other people’s views: silence is not always agreement.

We do: Change Only loud speakers can share an idea. Possible answer: Everyone can share an idea by speaking, writing or using their usual communication support. Check: the new version offers actual participation, not just permission to watch.

First Nations Elders and greeting conventions

First Nations Australian communities have their own cultural knowledge and conventions. Learn from appropriate local knowledge holders or community-endorsed resources with teacher support. One account of greetings describes its named community and context; it is not a rule for all First Nations Australians.

Before a class visit, the teacher should consult the visitor and appropriate local guidance. Check the preferred form of address and what greeting guidance may be shared. Do not automatically call every Elder “Aunty” or “Uncle”. If a visitor explicitly invites a particular title or name, follow that invitation in that situation.

Model of checking, not an invented cultural greeting: What name or form of address would you like our class to use? Then ask separately whether any part may be recorded and what may be shared. Permission to speak with a class is not automatically permission to record or publish.

Source-based classroom learning: A teacher can choose a locally endorsed account in which First Nations people describe greeting one another. Identify the people/community and source, discuss what they explain about respect, and note what the account does not tell you. Do not ask a student to speak for all First Nations Peoples, imitate cultural authority or invent traditional language.

Explore a First Nations-published account

Common Ground’s guide to communicating with Elders describes First Nations people often using Aunty or Uncle for Elders, while explaining that this is not universal and an invitation may be needed. It also describes people establishing connections at first meetings by asking about place and belonging. These examples help us notice how language can recognise relationships and build connections.

Discuss the account: What can these choices communicate? Possible answer: an invited form of address can recognise an Elder’s place in a community; questions about connection can help people understand how they are related to people and places. This is an account to learn from, not a script for students to copy. Nobody needs to disclose their identity, family or Country/Place. Keep individual preferences, local variation and teacher-supported guidance in view; do not claim every community uses the same conventions.

Quick check: Your source describes one community. Can you write “all communities do this”? Answer: no; name the source and its local scope, and seek suitable guidance for another context. If the required source is not available, record the question for later learning rather than invent an answer.

4. 4-Step Instructional Sequence

1. Explicit Teaching & Modelling — I do: use the pencil requests. Say who receives each message, underline the request words and explain how each suits the relationship.
2. Guided Analysis — We do: transform the after-lunch group discussion into a report. Ask what new listeners need to know. Check that the decision, people and reason are unchanged.
3. Collaborative / Independent Practice — You do: partners write or rehearse two versions of a new invitation. Add an inclusive choice of roles. Each learner identifies one precise change and explains its effect. Writing and usual communication supports are valid.
4. Formative Assessment: use the exit ticket below without copying the model. Inspect the actual messages and explanation. If a learner labels informal language as rude, return to the respectful friend request; if information changes, compare the original and revision side by side.

Support / Core / Extend

Support: supply an audience card and an opening such as “Could you please…?” Let the learner speak, point to choices, dictate or write before explaining one choice.

Core: compose two suitable messages and explain the relationship cue. Include a respectful disagreement or an invitation to contribute.

Extend within this code: keep the same familiar person but change roles, for example friend during play and group representative at a formal meeting. Explain why relationship alone does not decide every language choice.

3. Common Student Misconceptions

• “Formal means long or difficult.” A precise short request may work best. Ask which information helps this listener.
• “Informal means rude.” Compare a friendly question with a command. Respect and formality are different dimensions.
• “One word decides the whole tone.” A contraction or idiom is a clue; consider the whole message, purpose and relationship.
• “The oldest person always knows most.” Identify the relevant experience before choosing who can explain.
• “Quiet means agreeing or not trying.” Offer thinking time and different communication choices without guessing someone’s view.
• “One greeting applies to every community.” Keep a source’s local scope and check preferred address and local guidance.

Important questions and answers

Can a formal request be short? Yes: Could you confirm the start time, please? is clear when both people know the event. Add its name if the listener does not.

Must friends always use informal language? No. Their purpose and roles can change, such as when one presents a group report to the other.

Does an inclusive invitation guarantee everyone can participate? No. It is a useful start; listen to preferences and any further support needed.

Assessment-style questions and review hints

Question: A report says, We chose the courtyard because every group fits there. A revision says, I chose the courtyard because it is pretty. What needs repairing? Answer: restore the group decision and the space-for-groups reason. Review hint: suitability must not come at the cost of changed meaning.

Question: A newcomer says they do not know a game. Write an inclusive invitation. Possible answer: Would you like us to explain the rules and try a round together? Review hint: offer a useful way to join, not only a place to watch.

Exit ticket

Write an invitation to help choose a class display for a close friend, then adapt it for an unfamiliar student. Keep the task unchanged, offer a meaningful way to contribute and explain one wording change. You may speak or use your usual communication support with an adult.

Possible response: Want to help choose our class display? becomes Would you like to help choose pictures or words for our class display? I can explain our ideas so far. The second gives an unfamiliar student more context and useful options.

Adult evidence: inspect both actual messages, unchanged task, a genuine participation option and an explained language choice. Accept suitable alternatives. Reteach if the only explanation is “it is longer”, if a title is assumed, or if the learner has only selected an answer without creating the requested message.

Curriculum Coverage & Elaborations

AC9E4LA01: explore language used to develop relationships in formal and informal situations

• E1: recognising that language is adjusted in different contexts; for example, in degree of formality when moving between group discussions and presenting a group report
• E2: understanding how age, expertise and familiarity influence the ways in which people interact and how these codes and conventions vary across cultures
• E3: recognising the importance of using inclusive language
• E4: exploring cultural respects for First Nations Australian Elders, and greeting conventions between First Nations Australians

E1 is taught through the discussion/report models; E2 through roles, expertise and conventions; E3 through participation and revision models; E4 through local source-based learning and consultation. No elaboration is excluded from teaching.

Official Australian Curriculum v9 source. Curriculum wording © ACARA. Teaching examples are original SkillrHub examples.

Teaching references: IXL: comparing formality (closest inspected Year 5 benchmark, used within this Year 4 boundary; no direct LA01 skill in the inspected Year 4 plan); Khan Academy: scale of formality; NSW Department of Education: oral language and communication. IXL is the primary external benchmark; the other references are supplementary. All activities here work without an external account.

Closest English curriculum alignments

Mapped skill: choosing language for formal and informal relationships. These are closest alignments, not exact equivalence of every outcome or cultural elaboration. AC9E4LA01 remains this lesson’s authority.

Mappings checked 8 September 2026. Ontario-specific alignment was not verified and is not claimed here. Overseas comparisons do not add later-year formal grammar to this Year 4 lesson.

• Australian Curriculum Version 9.0
• Victorian Curriculum F-10
• NSW Curriculum
• Common Core State Standards
• England National Curriculum
• New Zealand Curriculum
• NCERT textbooks

• AC9E4LA02: Identify the subjective language of opinion and feeling, and the objective language of factual reporting
• AC9E4LA03: Identify how texts across the curriculum have different language features and are typically organised into characteristic stages depending on purposes
• AC9E4LA04: Identify how text connectives including temporal and conditional words, and topic word associations are used to sequence and connect ideas
• AC9E4LA05: Identify text navigation features of online texts that enhance readability including headlines, drop-down menus, links, graphics and layout
• AC9E4LA06: Understand that complex sentences contain one independent clause and at least one dependent clause typically joined by a subordinating conjunction to create relationships, such as time and causality
• AC9E4LA07: Investigate how quoted (direct) and reported (indirect) speech are used
• AC9E4LA08: Understand how adverb groups/phrases and prepositional phrases work in different ways to provide circumstantial details about an activity
• AC9E4LA09: Understand past, present and future tenses and their impact on meaning in a sentence