What will I gain from doing this course

Aims/Objectives

What will I do

The Edexcel Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced GCE in Japanese aims to encourage students to:

• develop an interest in, and enthusiasm for, language learning
• develop understanding of the language in a variety of contexts
• and genres communicate confidently, clearly and effectively in the language
• for a range of purposes develop awareness and understanding of the contemporary
• society, cultural background and heritage of countries or communities where the language is spoken consider their study of the language in a broader context.

The Edexcel Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced GCE in Japanese
enables students to:

• derive enjoyment and benefit from language learning
• acquire knowledge, skills and understanding for practical use,
• further study and/or employment
• communicate with speakers of the language
• take their place in a multilingual global society.

Course Content

Style of Teaching and Learning

First Year – Advanced Subsidiary GCE in Japanese (AS)
Students are required to convey their understanding of written Japanese through a series of reading tasks. They also need to draw upon and apply their knowledge of Japanese language, grammar and lexis to produce a short translation from Japanese into English, as well as demonstrate an ability to manipulate Japanese language in continuous writing. Students will be expected to recognise and use Japanese in a variety of contexts and in relation to the following general topic areas:

• Youth culture and concerns
• Lifestyle: health and fitness
• The world around us: travel, tourism, environmental issues and the Japanese- speaking world
• Education and employment.

Assessments:
2 hour 45 minute paper in three sections.

Section A: Students will need to understand, retrieve and convey information from a short series of different Japanese-language texts. They will be required to provide a mix of non-verbal and Japanese-language responses. In addition, five marks will also be given for Kanji in response to one of the reading questions.

Section B: Students will be assessed on their ability to transfer meaning from Japanese into English. They will be required to apply their knowledge of Japanese language, grammar and lexis to produce a short translation from Japanese into English.

Section C: Students will write an essay (350-400 characters), in Japanese, responding to a short Japanese-language stimulus and related bullet points. The assessment rewards learners for communicating relevant information effectively as well as for the quality of the Japanese language produced.

All students for this unit will be assessed by Edexcel.

Second Year – Advanced Level in Japanese (A2)

Students are required to demonstrate skills in advanced level Japanese reading and in the transfer of meaning from English into Japanese. To promote research and a greater knowledge and understanding of Japanese culture and/or society, students must produce two Japanese-language essays in response to questions related to their chosen topic(s) and/or text(s).

Students will be expected to recognise and use Japanese in a variety of contexts and in relation to the following general topic areas:

• Youth culture and concerns
• Lifestyle: health and fitness
• The world around us: travel, tourism, environmental issues and the Japanese-speaking world
• Education and employment
• Customs, traditions, beliefs and religions
• National and international events: past, present and future
• Literature and the arts.

Assessment:
3 hour paper in three sections.

Section A: Students will be required to read a Japanese-language passage and to retrieve and convey information from this via a series of questions and answers in Japanese.

Section B: Students will be expected to undertake a short translation from English into Japanese.

Section C: Students must answer two questions, in Japanese, that each relate to a topic or a text chosen from the prescribed list featured in Section 2.3 Content. A choice of two questions will be offered for each of the prescribed topics and texts.

All students for this unit will be assessed by Edexcel.

The knowledge and understanding requirements of this Advanced Subsidiary and Advanced GCE specification are inextricably linked to the two language skills of reading and writing in Japanese in line with the requirements of the subject criteria. Although speaking and listening skills are not directly assessed, these will be developed in the course.

What support will I receive

Where can I get further information

As a specialist language college, we benefit from outstanding facilities for MFL teaching. Lessons will be in the SLC or SLC2 (IT3) to take advantage of our digital language laboratories. Course materials will be available in electronic format on Moodle to enable effective study at home.

An A level in a Modern Foreign Language is an asset which is very highly prized by higher education institutions and by employers. According to the CiLT – the National Centre for Languages:

• 60% of UK trade is with non-English speaking countries
• Customers addressed in their mother tongue are three times more likely to buy

It is no surprise therefore that students with A levels in a Modern Foreign Language, have improved employability by comparison with their peers who have not studied a language.