Developing a program
The VCE Japanese First Language Study Design outlines the nature and sequence of learning and teaching necessary for students to demonstrate achievement of the outcomes for a unit. The areas of study describe the specific knowledge and skills required to demonstrate a specific outcome. Teachers are required to develop a program for their students that meets the requirements of the study design including: areas of study, outcome statements, key knowledge and key skills.
Teachers should use the study design and this advice to develop a teaching and learning program that includes appropriate learning activities to enable students to develop the knowledge and skills identified in the outcomes for each unit.
The learning activities form part of the teaching and learning program; they enable students to develop their knowledge and skills and demonstrate performance on the outcomes. It is expected that teachers will spend a number of lessons on learning activities, depending on the particular needs of their group of students. It is also expected that teachers will provide students with frequent exposure to relevant Japanese vocabulary and language structures, giving them opportunities to develop skills in all five modes of reading, writing, viewing, listening and speaking. Within the learning focus for each unit, students should have the opportunity to be exposed to a wide range of texts, text types and styles of writing.
The themes and topics to be studied are prescribed in the VCE Japanese First Language Study Design. The themes and topics are broad and allow teachers the flexibility to develop a teaching and learning program that meets the needs of their students.
Examples of learning activities (organised under themes, topics and subtopics) are provided for each outcome, as well as one detailed learning activity. It is not expected that students will undertake all of the sample learning activities provided. Teachers should ensure that they plan activities that relate best to the topics they have chosen, that meet the needs of their students and the requirements of the study, and that are appropriately resourced. Activities can be organised in a range of ways, ensuring that across Units 1 to 4 students can access learning that addresses all the prescribed themes and topics.
In Units 3 and 4, School-assessed Coursework and assessment tasks are prescribed. In Unit 4, Areas of Study 2 and 3 require an extended study of language and culture drawn from any one of the prescribed topics of Literature and the Arts, Stories from the past or Youth issues under the theme ‘Tradition and change in Japanese-speaking communities’. This is detailed in the study design and should be appropriately resourced. The contribution that each task makes to the total School-assessed Coursework is also stipulated.