Japanese language syllabus

The Finnish National Board of Education published a new National Core Curriculum for General Upper Secondary Schools in 2015.   Japanese was included as a foreign lanugage  for the first time in the history of Finnish education,  under the title of Asian and African languages along with Chinese and Arabic. Below you can read excerpts from the National Core Curriculum that concern Japanese language education in Finnish upper secondary schools.  ( You may also want to check out the video published by Ippo to celebrate the historical event. :))

The Japanese language syllabus for upper secondary schools covers description of eight courses, but a the moment (October 2016) there is no Finnish secondary school offering eight courses. (Most typically the number of courses offered by schools ranges from 1 to 4 courses per school year.) All upper secondary schools are to follow the National Core Curriculum, but local school districts create their own more detailed syllabus based on the National Core Curriculum. We will publish the English translation of the local Japanese language syllabus created by Ippo Project in a later blog post. (Japanese translations are also on their way.)

Excerpts from the National Core Curriculum for General Upper Secondary Schools 2015 published by the Finnish National Board of Education

5.5 Foreign languages

The teaching and learning of foreign languages advances the language education and development of language awareness started in basic education. The students are guided in developing their proficiency in different languages and expanding their plurilingual competence as well as developing their metalinguistic skills. The instruction of languages is based on a broad definition of text, according to which a text refers to both spoken and written language.

The language instruction contributes to promoting the students’ confidence in their own abilities in learning languages and using them confidently, and provides possibilities of experiencing the joy of learning. The instruction strengthens the students’ desire and ability to act in culturally, internationally and linguistically diverse environments and contexts. All of the students’ language proficiency is utilised, and instruction also builds bridges between different languages as well as the student’s language use in their leisure time. The students are guided in reflecting on the significance of attitudes and values and developing their skills in acting constructively in different contexts. The instruction helps the students to develop their capacity for participation and active involvement in the international world, and develops the students’ competences of global citizenship.

The students are encouraged to acquire lifelong language-learning skills by recognising ways of learning foreign languages that are the most suitable for them, assessing the progress of their learning, and perceiving language proficiency also as a working life competence. Language learning and language choices strengthen gender equality by encouraging the students to be open-minded and dealing with different topics in a versatile manner.

The language instruction utilises inquiry-based learning by using diverse and student-orientated methods. The students are guided in acquiring, assessing, and processing information in the languages they know. Information and communication technology is used as a natural part of the learning environments.

The language instruction deals with themes through which language learning becomes part of multidisciplinary work and the command of entities in upper secondary school studies. The students are offered meaningful, open-ended, and sufficiently challenging tasks. Cross-curricular themes, thematic studies, and other multidisciplinary studies encourage the students to utilise their language skills, even when their skills are limited, and their plurilingual competence.

The students progress at a different pace in levels of proficiency. This requires differentiation of tasks or other support, and is taken into account in their instruction.

General objectives of the instruction in foreign languages

General objectives of the teaching and learning in the different syllabi in foreign languages is that the students

• gain confidence to utilise their language proficiency creatively in studies, at work, and during leisure time
• reinforce their proficiency in the target language, language awareness and ability to also apply linguistic knowledge across languages
• develop as goal-oriented language-learners and are able to apply language-learning strategies
• understand the significance of a multi-faceted language proficiency and the opportunities to take action along with the growing language proficiency
• are able to evaluate their competence and to plan their language studies for their future needs from the perspectives of further studies, working life and internationalisation

The objective is that the students accomplish the levels of the Evolving Language Proficiency Scale (Appendix 1) in different languages or syllabi in accordance with the table below and are able to relate their  competence to the levels set for language proficiency. The students set goals for themselves, assess the development of their skills and further develop their goals.

Assessment

Assesmentin foreign languages is based on the achievement of the general objectives of the instruction in foreign languages and of special, syllabus- and language -specific objectives. Course-specific emphases and the closely related general and syllabus-specific objectives of foreign languages are taken into account for each course. Versatile feedback on the student’s progress is provided at the different stages of the learning process in all courses. Feedback on the student’s progress in the different areas of language proficiency is provided, as well as on other objectives, such as language learning-skills and capabilities to act in target language environments. The students are guided to utilise self and peer assessment. Language portfolios can be utilised in all courses, also crossing boundaries of individual subjects.

The Evolving Language Proficiency Scale based on the European Framework of Reference is used where applicable as a support for the assessment, as a tool for the teacher and an instrument for the student’s self and peer assessment.  The students’ ability to develop their language-learning  skills is emphasised in the the provision of feedback in the beginning of the studies. As the studies progress, the Evolving Language Proficiency Scale can be increasingly utilised in defining the level of the students’ interaction, interpretation and production skills.

In the Specialisation Course 8 of the A Syllabus, and the Specialisation Course 6 of the B1 Syllabus, the assessment of performances is based on the grade awarded for the Finnish National Board of Education’s Oral Skills Test as well as the student’s knowledge and skills demonstrated during the course. The students are awarded numerical grades on the scale of 4-10 for the course. A grade on the scale of 4 to 10 is awarded also for the Oral Skills Test that is part of the course. A special certificate of the Oral Skills Test is appended to the General Upper Secondary School Certificate.

Changing syllabi

It is appropriate that the students continue persistently with the studies in the syllabus they have started. When changing syllabi from a more advanced syllabus to a more basic syllabus in foreign languages, credits in languages other than Latin can be transferred as follows.

Credits for other studies completed in the more advanced syllabus may be transferred to the shorter syllabus as specialisation or applied courses, as decided in the local curriculum. Upon request from the student, opportunities for additional demonstrations shall be arranged for the student in order to determine their level of competence. When changing from a more basic syllabus to a more advanced syllabus, the student may be required to provide additional proof of learning and the grade will also be considered accordingly.The student may also study the courses of another syllabus without changing syllabi. In this case, the courses in question may be included as specialisation or applied courses in the student’s actual syllabus as decided in the local curriculum.

Courses

The codes for foreign language courses are made up of the language code, the syllabus level code and the course number. For example, RAB32 stands for French, syllabus 3, course number 2. The following codes will be used for foreign languages.

EN=English

LA=Latin

RA=French

SM=Sámi language

SA=German

VE=Rusiian

IA=Italian

EA=Spanish

PO=Portugese

KI=Chinese

JP=Japanese

KX=other language

5.5.6 Foreign languages, Asian and African languages, B3 Syllabus

Asian and African languages refer to prominent languages in the world, such as Japanese, Chinese, and Arabic, which use many kinds of writing systems.

Objectives of instruction

Specific objectives of the teaching and learning in the B# syllabus in the non-European languages are that the students

• find building their linguistic repertoire meaningful
• develop as users of the target language and actors in the culturally diverse world
• find interesting target-language environments
• are able to take into account central cultural conventions in their communication
• form an understanding of the special  features of the target language that differ from European languages and develop their command of the writing system of the target language
• are able to relate their competence with the A2.1 level of the Evolving Languages Proficiency Scale in interaction, spoken text comprehension, and production skills and A1.3 level in written text comprehension and production skills, assess the development of their knowledge and skills, and develop these further.

National specialisation courses

The first courses emphasise oral initiative situations and small written interactive situations that are connected to these. The students also practise listening. The share of written communication increases gradually, and the students are guided in using necessary aids in reading comprehension and text production. Oral communication continues to be practised in all courses. It is essential to develop basic capabilities for everyday communication.

A lot of themes supporting the competence related to the culture, geography, history and societies of the target language are dealt within the courses. This enables natural integration into different subjects. In the courses it is possible to deal in more detail with current topics, topics mutually agreed upon, or themes highlighted by the students.

Multiliteracy can be promoted by dealing with literature, film, music, theatre, visual arts or the media in all the courses. The students learn and practise structures flexibly in connection with appropriate themes. If necessary, time is reserved for establishing good pronunciation and listening comprehension habits in all of the courses.

1. Getting to Know Each Other and the New Language

The students familiarise themselves with the status of the studied language in the world and develop an understanding of the relationship between the new language and other languages they have studied or know. The practise interaction in situations related to daily life, the communication strategies necessary in these situations, and the most important phrases of politeness.They familiarise themselves gradually with the writing system, practise recognising and reading the characters.

2. Travelling in the World

The students practise coping in different situations of social encounters and typical transactions. The students learn more about using communication strategies and different compensation methods. They also familiarise themselves with some non-verbal features of social encounters. They practise writing more (simplified) characters and limited messages. When possible, the students familiarise themselves with how the language is written on a computer.

3. Important things in life

The students practise interaction skills using different communication channels. Themes and situations related to young people and their daily lives, relationships and networks, leisure time and hobbies are dealt with. They go on practising the reading of the most common characters. They learn to use character dictionaries. They practise writing simplified characters and producing their own short texts using the characters, utilising information and communication technology when necessary.

4. Cultural encounters

In this course, attention is paid to differences in social codes. The themes deal with communication in different encounters in Finland and foreign countries. The use of characters is gradually increased. The students utilise both traditional and electronic dictionaries and vocabularies in writing and reading texts.

5. Well-being and care

In this course, the students learn to act as conversation partners and language-learners who listen to others in different interactive situations. They practise skills in forming opinions and negotiating meaning on topics connected to daily life. They familiarise themselves with different texts related to well-being, interpersonal relationships and stages of life, and practise discussing related issues. The students also reflect on the change brought on by technology and digitalisation to interaction and well-being.

6. Culture and the media

This course emphasises practising reading and listening comprehension strategies . The students familiarise themselves with the cultural phenomena and media of the target language area or areas from a topical perspective that speaks to young people. They continue producing their own texts written in the characters, both writing by hand and utilising information and communication technology.

7. Study, work and the future

In this course, the students pay attention to the cultural appropriateness of communication. The themes are related to school, future studies and the world of work as well as young people’s plans for the future.

8.Our common globe

The students continue practising conversations and revise linguistic knowledge according to their needs. The students familiarise themselves with opportunities to participate in international cooperation. The themes emerge from nature, different living environments and a sustainable way of living.