Japanese
At Key Stage 3 Pupils have two hours of Japanese study a week, and a homework, and are split into Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced groups.
At Key Stage 4 Pupils have three hours of Japanese study a week, and a longer homework, and are split into Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced groups.
Intermediate and Elementary Japanese
These are Modern Foreign Language classes. There is a real emphasis on MFL techniques involving pupil/ teacher and peer group interaction through the use of repetition, pairwork, and card games. However, the intellectual commitment that we expect from our pupils is considerable. All four skills are equally emphasised at Year 7, 8, and 9. However, Kanji are not explicitly taught until pupils have taken the GCSE speaking and listening exams.
The new GCSE syllabus, which has a full speaking element, represents a wonderful opportunity for our pupils. From 2011, Year 8 pupils of MFL Japanese who are in the Intermediate Class focus on taking a Speaking and Listening GCSE exam in Year 9 which qualifies as a short course GCSE. Should Intermediate Level pupils wish to continue studying Japanese they will be able to expand the short-course qualification in Year 10 by taking the Reading and Writing element of the exam. Pupils who are in the Elementary class in Year 9 who opt for Japanese at Year 10 and 11 will complete the Speaking and Listening GCSE in Year 11 as usual. Pupils in Year 11 Intermediate Japanese will be working towards AS level Japanese, which they may take at the end of Year 11, if they are deemed to have reached the required level.
Advanced Japanese (for fluent speakers)
A significant proportion of the pupils at the British School have Japanese as a home language and are already fluent when they come to us. Pupils are granted access to the Advanced Class when they take a fluency test, from which point they will concentrate on a curriculum with elements of both Kokugo and MFL qualification. In Key Stage 3 pupils are expected to take the GCSE speaking and listening test, followed by the reading and writing test a year later. The year in which they sit the test is slightly affected by the advent of BST’s Edexcel status and the phasing in of the two year modular format in 2011.
No English is used in Advanced classes. AS and A2 Japanese, well recognised British University Entrance qualifications form the basis of our exam syllabus for Key Stage 4 pupils. For more detailed information on how pupils qualify for these classes, please contact the Head of Japanese.
Extra-curricular opportunities
Our classroom teaching is enhanced by extra-curricular opportunities with both our Showa University hosts, and the wider community. We are committed to exploiting the unrivalled opportunity to learn about Japanese culture and language in which we find ourselves here at BST. Look at the News and Events section of the website for more detail.
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Ben Stainer
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Tomoko Yoshizawa
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Chizuru Nakatsuka
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