Japanese

Japanese

Head of Department – Mrs V.K. Allen

Japanese is taught as part of the IB curriculum in Years 12 and 13. It is offered at Ab Initio level allowing all learners to study the culture and language from first principles. Students come to the language and culture for many reasons from an interest in manga and anime, to the beauty of the written language and the many artisan products, to the thrill of new challenge. The Rugby World Cup and the ‘Postponed’ 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games will continue to pique the interest of many more students.

The Japanese course at TBGS offers the academic challenge of learning a new, non-Roman script language and broadening one’s horizons. This will stretch the learner’s way of learning and encourages students to see the world around them in a different way. Many of the fundamental things, which we take for granted on a daily basis, simply do not work in the same way in Japan, starting with chopsticks and bowing, and working through to honorifics and the focus on the importance of the group in society.

Through lesson-by-lesson cultural points, the first term aims to enable students not only to take the first steps in reading and writing Japanese but also to consider Japanese culture and compare and contrast with one’s own. This reflection in itself is at the heart of the IB curriculum.

The Curriculum
Intent

To broaden the views of students linguistically; help students appreciate their own cultures and those of other countries; to encourage students to reflect on their learning using different methods to enable them to work with a non-Roman script language and its syllabaries.

Implementation

Through a range of inclusive strategies, the department aims to reach every kind of learner and encourage them to open their minds to new ways of learning, thinking and reflecting about language and culture. We help students to discover cultural concepts in Japanese which cannot be easily translated into English.

Impact

Our students, whether they study Japanese only for the IB course or beyond, take away a respect for other cultures and an appreciation of languages which are very different from their native tongue. After leaving TBGS, many IB students choose to travel, study or work in Japan; some of them continue Japanese at university.

The Ab Initio Course

No previous knowledge of the language is required, however, a grade 6 or above in a European language is a requirement.

The Ab Initio course level is equivalent to the first year of an A Level. The following topics are covered:

  • Personal information (yourself, your family and your house);
  • At school (subjects, opinions, studies);
  • Holidays (the weather, at the tourist office, booking a table and ordering a meal, leisure activities, booking accommodation, lost property);
  • Travelling (places in town, directions, accidents and illnesses);
  • Work (commuting, future jobs and careers);
  • Shopping (food and clothes, complaining about problems with purchases);
  • Going out (buying tickets, arranging to go out);
  • Problems (at home and at school, environmental issues);
  • National holidays and celebrations (o-shougatsu, hanami, o-bon etc).

Assessment features an individual oral with general conversation questions and a picture description takes place in January/February of year 13 and is worth 25%. At the end of the course, there are 2 external examination papers:

  • Paper 1: Production skills – one short writing task; one extended writing task (25%)
  • Paper 2: Receptive skills – Listening section (25%); Reading section comprising of four texts (25%)
Future careers

There are very few careers which are not enhanced by the ability to speak a foreign language. Previous students have used their language ability in business, software, engineering, teaching, PR and law to name a few. Many employers are impressed by the ability to learn a hard-script language such as Japanese, Mandarin, Korean, Arabic or Russian as it provides an insight into the resilience and determination of the individual concerned. These traits can be useful tools in themselves, or can provide a springboard for organisations to send individuals on more specific language-learning courses to fully familiarise themselves with the technical language of the business concerned.

がんばってね!