Norwegian Sign Language Curriculum (NOR4-04)

Established as a regulation by the Ministry of Education and Research 05.07.2013.

Gjelder fra: 2013-08-01T00:00:00 +2

Gjelder til: 2022-07-31T00:00:00 +2

Purpose

Norwegian Sign Language is a key subject with regard to cultural understanding, communication, enlightenment and developing an identity. One key objective of the tuition given in Norwegian Sign Language throughout primary and secondary education is to generate linguistic self-confidence and confidence in one's own culture as a basis for developing an identity, respect for others, and lifelong learning. By actively using Sign Language, children and young people are introduced to culture and society. For deaf and hearing impaired pupils Sign Language is the key to active participation in large and small groups. In Norwegian Sign Language pupils should be able to find their own voice, express themselves, be heard and get answers.

Norwegian Sign Language is a visual-gestural and national language developed by the country’s deaf community. The language is described as visual because it is interpreted by vision and works independently of sound. It is described as gestural because it is communicated using hand, eye, facial, eyebrow, mouth, head and body movements. There are geographical and social variants of Norwegian Sign Language. Norwegian Sign Language should allow the pupils to develop linguistic and textual competence according to the abilities and potential of each individual pupil. Competences in expressing oneself and interacting with others are both a goal in themselves and a tool for learning and comprehension in all subjects and in every year of study.

Norwegian Sign Language tuition incorporates a wide range of texts from different genres, both original texts in Sign Language and translated or retold texts from languages with different modalities or from other Sign Languages. The texts may be spontaneous or prepared. The subject is based on an extended text concept whereby text can be made up of Sign Language, writing, film and images. The tuition should stimulate the pupils to experience and create Sign Language texts and help them to develop good learning strategies in a continuous progression throughout the 13 years of study.

Norwegian Sign Language reflects a culture characterised by extensive communication and cultural exchange both nationally and internationally. This tradition has had an impact on language, social conventions and perspectives. Our cultural heritage is a living tradition that evolves and recreates itself, and tuition in Norwegian Sign Language should encourage the pupils to become active contributors to this tradition. By seeing Norwegian Sign Language and deaf culture in a historical, national and global perspective, the pupils can gain an insight into and understanding of the society in which they live. In view of this language situation, children and young people can develop awareness of linguistic diversity and of their own linguistic competence.

Norwegian Sign Language is an autonomous subject with core skills and competence aims exclusive to the subject. The Norwegian Sign Language Curriculum should also be seen in the context of the Norwegian Subject Curriculum for the Hearing Impaired. In combination the two languages provide the necessary foundations for the tuition of pupils who will go on to become functionally bilingual in Norwegian society. The two languages should also help create a basis for multilingualism and provide opportunities for participation in international arenas.

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.

Teaching hours

Teaching hours are given in 60-minute units:

PRIMARY

Years 1–7: 2,059 hours

LOWER SECONDARY

Years 8–10: 678 hours

GENERAL STUDY PROGRAMMES

Vg1: 75 hours

Vg2: 75 hours

Vg3: 75 hours

VOCATIONAL STUDY PROGRAMMES

Vg1: 56 hours

Vg2: 56 hours

SUPPLEMENTARY STUDIES TO QUALIFY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION ON VOCATIONAL STUDY PROGRAMMES

Vg3: 113 hours

Basic skills

Basic skills are integrated into the competence aims, where they help develop and form part of the pupils’ academic skills. Basic skills in Norwegian Sign Language are as follows:

Oral skills involve listening and interacting in different communication situations and creating meaning by comprehending and expressing oneself in Sign Language. Listening means using all the senses to understand, interpret and evaluate statements made by others. The pupils' oral skills are developed by active interaction and the use of different communicative strategies. This means mastering oral genres in increasingly complex situations and adapting the language to a given purpose and recipient.

Producing text involves expressing oneself in Norwegian Sign Language with clarity and precision. It is also a way of developing and structuring ideas and thoughts, and it is an important tool for learning. The subject has a particular responsibility for developing the pupils' ability to plan, create and refine increasingly complex Sign Language texts adapted for a given purpose and recipient. Producing composite texts in Sign Language involves combining elements such as Sign Language, written text, sound and images to form a coherent whole. Acquiring skill in producing Sign Language texts requires a systematic approach to textual knowledge, various strategies and formal skills in Sign Language.

Reading skills are both a core skill and a cultural competence. Reading involves comprehending and deriving meaning from texts in different genres on screen and in direct communication while taking a critical and independent view of the texts. Being able to read means immersing oneself in texts and gaining an insight into other people's thoughts, experiences and creativity. It also involves aesthetic experiences and developing imagination and mental images. Furthermore, it means being able to find information in different texts, acquiring subject knowledge, and comprehending logical reasoning and presentation in a wide range of text types. This takes place both in direct interaction with others and via a third person such as an interpreter, for example. The pupils should develop reading skills by working systematically on reading strategies adapted to the given purpose and to different types of text in the subject. They should progress from basic decoding and comprehension of simple texts to understanding, interpreting, reflecting on and evaluating increasingly complex texts.

Numeracy involves interpreting and understanding information in texts containing figures, quantities or geometrical shapes. This means being able to evaluate, reflect on and communicate about complex texts containing graphic representations, tables and statistics. Numeracy skills are developed by deriving comprehensive meaning from increasingly complex texts where different forms of expression must be seen in the context of each other.

Digital skills involve using digital tools, media and learning resources to obtain and process information, creating and editing different types of text, and communicating with each other. In this context it is important to be able to critically evaluate and use sources. Digital skills are part of the process of learning how to read and produce increasingly complex texts and involve identifying, using and eventually evaluating and citing digital sources in own texts.