Japanese

Subject Intent

The Japanese department seeks to develop ambitious and resilient linguists who enjoy a challenge and strive to gain inter-cultural understanding. 
We aim to enable students communicate effectively in a range of topics and contexts whilst being enthused about the culture and customs of the language. We intend to build our students up to be inquisitive and curious about the culture, knowledgeable and understanding as they step out to explore and reflective as they see how they grow and develop through Foreign Language learning. 

Subject Implementation

 
The Japanese department uses an array of strategies to engage students and tackle the five key skills of Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking and Translation. We use regular 10-point testing to build memory, modelling, flipped learning to give students ownership, interactive competitions to engage, and group and pair work to build teamwork and communication skills. Lessons are differentiated to meet the varying needs of students. Our implementation goes beyond the classroom walls when we are lucky enough to welcome Japanese visitors to the school or even sometimes visit Japan ourselves.  

Subject Impact

We strive to achieve at least ALPS Grade 3, meaning that our students are well above average, and we work towards achieving even better results each year. However, not only do we achieve a strong set of examination results, but our impact also goes far beyond data. Our students become well rounded and understanding individuals who show a cultural understanding and enthusiasm towards to languages.