Certain conceptual understandings of language are fundamental to successful communication and should be developed in all DP language acquisition courses

Audience: Students understand that language should be appropriate for the person(s) with whom one is communicating. 
Stimulus questions 
How can the perceived needs and interests, or previous knowledge, of the recipients of a text influence its production? 
How would the language used in a given text need to change if the same basic message needed to be communicated to a different audience? 

Context: Students understand that language should be appropriate to the situation in which one is communicating. 
Stimulus questions 
How does the situation or setting influence the production or reception of a text? 
How is the relationship between the producer and the recipient(s) of a text (or the relationship of interlocutors in a conversation) reflected in language use?

Purpose: Students understand that language should be appropriate to achieve a desired intention, goal or result when communicating. 
Stimulus questions
When I read or listen to a text, what helps me to understand the intention of the person who produced the text? 
When I need to communicate for a specific reason, how do I plan my message and language use in order to achieve my goal?

Meaning: Students understand that language is used in a range of ways to communicate a message. Stimulus questions 
How are literal and figurative (non-literal) language used by producers of texts to create desired effects?
What does the producer of a text do to make the message clear (or, on the contrary, to make it ambiguous) when there is no opportunity for the recipient(s) to reply to the text?

Variation: Students understand that differences exist within a given language, and that speakers of a given language are generally able to understand each other. 
Stimulus questions 
How or why does a language change over time, across geographical boundaries or from one social or cultural group to another? 
What does it mean to say that aspects of a text are “lost in translation” from one language to another?