Norwegian Subject Curriculum (NOR1-05)

Purpose

Norwegian is a key subject with regard to cultural understanding, communication, enlightenment and developing an identity. By actively using the Norwegian language, children and young people are introduced to culture and society and become prepared for participation in working life and democratic processes. Norwegian language tuition provides an arena in which they can find their own voice, express themselves, and be heard and get answers.

Tuition in the subject should also develop the pupils' linguistic competence according to the abilities and potential of each individual pupil. Oral skills and competences in reading and writing are both a goal in themselves and a prerequisite for learning and comprehension in all subjects and in every year of study. The subject should stimulate the pupils' desire to read and write, and it should help them develop good learning strategies.

The pupils encounter a wide range of texts in the subject. Tuition in the subject is based on a text concept that encompasses spoken, written and composite texts in which writing, sound and images all interact. The pupils should learn how to navigate this multiplicity of texts, and the subject should provide room for both stimulation and reflection. During the course of study they should read fiction and non-fiction, develop their capacity for critical thought, and acquire a perspective on the history of the written word. Using oral and written communication, they will be able to put their thoughts into words and to convey their opinions and reflections. They should produce their own texts in different styles using appropriate tools, and they should adapt language and form to suit a variety of purposes, recipients and media. Eventually they will be able to study specialist topics in more depth and to better convey specialised content to others.

The subject spans from the historical to the contemporary, from the national to the global. By seeing Norwegian language, culture and literature in a historical and international perspective, the pupils can gain a better understanding of the society in which they live. Norway's cultural heritage offers a multitude of texts that can take on new and unexpected meanings when perspectives are broadened. Our cultural heritage is a living tradition that evolves and recreates itself, and tuition in the Norwegian language should encourage the pupils to become active contributors to this process.

Norwegian and Sami are the two official languages in Norway, while the written language forms Bokmål and Nynorsk enjoy equal status. Norwegians speak a wide variety of dialects and vernaculars, but also languages other than Norwegian. Linguistic diversity is an asset in the development of linguistic competence in children and young people. In view of this language situation, children and young people should develop awareness of linguistic diversity and learn to read and write both Bokmål and Nynorsk. The aim of the tuition is to reinforce the pupils' linguistic self-confidence and identity, to develop their language comprehension, and to provide them with a good starting point for mastering the two written language forms both socially and in the workplace.

The Norwegian curriculum is also studied by pupils with Sami or Finnish as their second language. Tuition in Norwegian combined with tuition in their second language should help improve these pupils' bilingual competence. For pupils receiving bilingual tuition it is therefore important that there is a degree of integration between the two subjects.