Main subject areas
The subject has been organised into main subject areas with competence aims. The subject areas complement each other and should be seen in the context of each other.
The subject is a core subject on all study programmes in upper secondary education and training. The tuition should therefore be made relevant to the pupils by adapting it to the various study programmes.
There are competence aims in Norwegian Sign Language after Years 2, 4, 7 and 10 at the primary and lower secondary stages, and after Levels Vg1, Vg2 and Vg3 on upper secondary general study programmes.
On vocational study programmes there are competence aims after Level Vg2 and after completing Supplementary Studies to Qualify for Higher Education.
Summary of main subject areas:
Year | Main subject areas | ||
1–10 Vg1–Vg3 | Oral communication | Sign Language texts | Language, literature and culture |
Oral communication
The main subject area of Oral communication involves listening to and producing statements in Sign Language in interaction with others and being part of a linguistic community. Listening to and interacting in Sign Language are part of everyday communication and are key to developing social and cultural competences. Listening is a proactive endeavour during which the pupils should use all their senses to understand, interpret and evaluate statements made by others. By using different communicative strategies, the pupils should develop their ability to communicate with others and express their own thoughts, opinions and ideas. The main subject area also includes developing different linguistic roles and genres and gaining an understanding of how to adapt language and form to different recipients and purposes.
Sign Language texts
The main subject area of Sign Language texts involves reading, text comprehension and text production. These are parallel processes in each student's course of study, ranging from the initial introduction to the study of reading and production to the systematic further development of these competences. The tuition should stimulate the pupils' desire and ability to read and create their own texts in Sign Language, and it requires the pupils to read different types of texts both in order to learn and for the experience itself. Critical assessment and analysis is also part of this main subject area. The tuition should also help make the pupils conscious of their own development as recipients and creators of Sign Language texts. Producing texts in Sign Language involves communicating thoughts and opinions in different types of Sign Language texts and being able to refine the texts after receiving feedback. Good textual competence requires a good vocabulary, an ability to structure text, knowledge of the conventions of Sign Language and deaf culture, and an ability to adapt text for a given purpose and recipient. Composite texts form a natural part of the types of texts that the pupils should read and create. Being able to read a composite Sign Language text involves deriving meaning from the totality of the text based on the different forms of expression being used.
Language, literature and culture
The main subject area of language, literature and culture covers Norwegian, Nordic and international deaf culture. The pupils should develop awareness of their own language situation and acquire knowledge of Sign Language as a step towards developing their language skills and identity. The pupils should develop an understanding of Norwegian Sign Language and Sign Language texts and gain an insight into how language and text have evolved and continue to evolve over time. They should be given the opportunity to study different types of texts from different periods and places. They should also familiarise themselves with the traditions of Norwegian Sign Language / deaf history in a comparative perspective between past and present and in light of national and international impulses.
Side 2 Av 14