CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND COMPONENTS OF THEMATIC

I wasn’t able to attend to the last discussion regarding to the Conceptual Framework
and Components of Thematic Curriculum. However, I found out that there are lots of
factors that were considered.

As language being the basis of communication: thinking, learning, and language

are interrelated. Language is a huge account of rules and systems which we use to
explore and communicate meaning. It also defines culture which is necessary in
understanding oneself, creating interpersonal relationships, gathering experiences,
realizing thought and action, and contributing to a better society. Language, therefore, is
key to the peoples, intellectual, social and emotional development and has an essential
role in all key learning areas.
Language is the key concept of all human relationships. Everyone’s relationship
is established by effective communication. Our thoughts, values and understandings are
developed and expressed through language. This so-called process allows the learners
to make meanings and express feelings in the world which they live and contributes to
the development of their perspectives in the society.

Language Learning Process

As a person progresses, even in their career path, one’s skills can only be
demonstrated, to a great extent, through words or written language. It is said that
human beings are born illiterate, as human survival is not dependent upon the written
word. However, the fact is that language development can either negatively or positively
affect one’s learning process because now we live in a ‘text-rich’ environment in which
individuals need to be able to read so as to be ‘educated’.
When we consider language as being a common item in the education process,
we have in mind a child growing up, and that whatever he or she hears has a greater
effect than what he/she sees. Then one begins to learn to speak through listening to the
sounds created by people around them. Eventually they start attaching meanings to
those sounds. It is such sounds that, later, one takes and relates to the written text. This
is not a simple process.
As a basis for all communication, language in the educational set-up is of vital
importance in putting across developmental thoughts, information and data. Therefore,
in order for a sender of a message to be able to send that message – to ensure that the
message is received and then have it interpreted correctly and understood properly –
there must be a common language. Hence, it follows that in schools, teachers and
students must understand each other, linguistically, so that communication of ideas and
information is passed effectively.
In simple terms, if a teacher cannot speak the same language as the learners in
his or her classroom, then ideas and information cannot be passed along. It is in this
vein that there is need to emphasize the fact that language is, indeed, the common item
in education. 
Effective Language Use
Culture and language have often been described as inseparable and the
relationship between them is highly complex. Language isn’t just the sum total of words,
grammatical principles and sentence construction, but also unique cultural norms, social
systems and cognitive processes. Understanding these cultural-specific contexts along
with linguistic principles of a particular culture is central to effective language
acquisition.
So, what does it mean to understand language? Well, simply put, it means that
you can understand the relationship between words and the objects they refer to. Then
the next question is, what does it take to understand these relationships? It requires
what we call “world knowledge”. The words only represent concepts, but a system that
can understand language needs to understand what these concepts mean.
As students shift from the skills emphasis of elementary grades to the content
emphasis of secondary grades, they face greater demands to read information from
textbooks, take notes from lectures, work independently, and express understanding in
written compositions and on paper and pencil tests). Simply put, a learning strategy is
an individual's approach to complete a task. More specifically, a learning strategy is an
individual's way of organizing and using a particular set of skills in order to learn content
or accomplish other tasks more effectively and efficiently in school as well as in
nonacademic settings. Therefore, teachers who teach learning strategies teach
students how to learn, rather than teaching them specific curriculum content or specific
skills.

Making Meaning through Language

Words and Language are quite amazing and unique human attribute and
invention. For a start, words don’t just create meaning, they also create feeling.
Meaning can be straightforward or literal. Some people call this word’s “denotation” ;or it
can be quite ‘deep’ and ‘hidden, that is, we can say a word literally means one thing but
somehow suggests quite another( this is also called a word’s “connotation”.
This is the process of interpretation and this always relies on context. It is the
effect of context the helps us towards a particular interpretation of a word .

Holistic assessment
Holistic assessment refers to the process of using multiple sources to continually
gather information on a child’s development, to provide feedback to support and guide
learning. HA focuses on achieving quality, balance and child-centricity in school
assessment systems, to support decision-making and increase student motivation and
success in learning. Teachers use assessment information formatively, to adjust
instruction and provide students with feedback and targeted practice to move learning
forward. Students clarify learning intentions, assess themselves and one another, set
goals for improvement, and track and communicate their progress.