The Australian Curriculum: Languages is designed to enable all students to engage in learning a language in addition to English. The interrelationship of language, culture and learning provides the foundation for the Australian Curriculum: Languages.
In the Languages learning area the focus is on both language and culture, as students learn to communicate meaningfully across linguistic and cultural systems, and different contexts. This process involves reflection and analysis, as students move between the new language being learnt and their own existing language(s). It is a reciprocal and dynamic process which develops language use within intercultural dimensions of learning experiences.
Students are given the opportunity to participate in rich immersive language and cultural experiences, including in-school culture days, visits to points of interest in the community, a study tour of Brisbane and international travel. In Japanese, our students have many opportunities to develop their skills by interacting with native speakers at school, in the homestay environment, and through participation in our biennial trip to Japan.
Japan Tour
The pinnacle of the Languages cultural experience, the Japan Tour, offers the students an unrivalled language and cultural experience in Japan. The ultimate immersion experience, students will live, breathe, and study Japanese for a 1 week block of homestay as Japanese high school students. This trip takes place in the odd years, but is subject to student interest, with the Brisbane Study tour and Sister School Homestay occurring in the even years.
Sister Schools
Our 2 sister schools are Hashimakita Senior High School and Hattori Junior High School.
Subject Outlines
Year 7 Japanese – Memorable Places and Oral Traditions
The Year 7 curriculum provides students with the opportunity to study Japanese language and culture to explore memorable places around the Japanese-speaking world, as well as use Japanese to communicate ideas relating to oral traditions which engage and entertain audiences.
Year 8 Japanese – Time Capsule and Mealtimes
The Year 8 curriculum provides students with the opportunity to study Japanese language and culture to communicate ideas about the representation of time demonstrated through objects of significance placed in a time capsule, with students later exploring cultural values and practices relating to eating in Japan and Australia.
Year 9 Japanese – Global Connections, Generation Gap, Social Issues and Life Stories The Year 9 curriculum provides students with the opportunity to study Japanese language and culture to communicate ideas relating to immigration, as well as exploring the ways in which people communicate about youth-related social issues in Japan and Australia. In Semester 2, students explore the concept of generation and generational difference in
Japan and Australia, as well as exploring their connections with the wider global community including links with Japanese culture.
Year 10 Semester – Youth Subcultures, Environmental Conservation, Jobs and Advertising The Year 10 curriculum provides students with the opportunity to explore representation within the context of youth cultures, as well as examine language and cultural values relating to the concept of animal conservation in Japan and Australia. In Semester 2, students develop an understanding of how language and culture influence their hopes, dreams and aspirations in the context of teenage life, as well as studying Japanese language and culture to communicate within the context of advertising.
Senior school
The senior suite of subjects at Rockhampton State High School offers students an opportunity to continue their studies in Japanese as a General Subject. Students study Japanese language and culture in a variety of contexts including family, friends, lifestyle and leisure, travel and technology, roles and relationships in socialising and connecting with peers, with study culminating in a study of students finishing secondary school, plans and reflections, responsibilities and moving on from high school.
Ms. Sally Dee – Head of Social Science and Languages