Norwegian Subject Curriculum for the Hearing Impaired (NOR5-04)

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 for the Hearing Impaired 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 prepare themselves for participation in working life and democratic processes. Together with Norwegian Sign Language the subject creates arenas where pupils can find their own voice, express themselves, be heard and get answers – all based on the potential of the individual pupil.

Tuition in the subject should also help develop the pupils' linguistic competence based on the abilities and potential of each pupil with respect to language, auditory perception, communicative strategies and use of audiological equipment. Oral and literacy skills are both a goal in themselves and a prerequisite for learning 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.

In Norwegian for the Hearing Impaired the pupils will encounter a wide range of terms, signs, words and different types of spoken, written and composite texts where writing, picture and sound all play a part. The subject should help the pupils navigate this multiplicity of texts, and it 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. 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.

Norwegian for the Hearing Impaired spans from the historical to the contemporary, from the national to the global. By seeing Norwegian language and culture in a historical and national perspective, the pupils can gain a better understanding of the society they live in. International perspectives in the subject can help develop cultural understanding, tolerance and respect for others.

Norwegian and Sami are the two official languages in Norway, while the written language forms Bokmål and Nynorsk enjoy equal status, and Norwegian Sign Language is a fully recognised language. Norwegians speak a wide variety of dialects and sociolects, as well as languages other than Norwegian. Linguistic diversity is an asset in the development of linguistic competence in children and young people. In view of the language situation in Norway, children and young people should develop awareness of linguistic diversity and learn to read and write Norwegian.

Norwegian for the Hearing Impaired should be seen in the context of the Norwegian Sign Language curriculum. 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 participation in international arenas.

Main subject areas

The subject has been organised into main subject areas with associated competence aims.

The three 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 for the Hearing Impaired 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	Written communication	Language, literature and culture

Oral communication

The main subject area of oral communication involves listening and communicating using varying degrees of speech in various settings. Listening and expressing oneself in Norwegian or in Sign Language are key to developing social and cultural competences. Listening is a proactive endeavour during which the pupils should use all their senses to learn and understand by comprehending, interpreting and evaluating statements made by others. By giving prepared oral presentations and engaging in spontaneous oral interaction, the pupils should develop their ability to communicate with each other and to express their own thoughts and ideas using a varied vocabulary within different genres.

Written communication

The main subject area of written communication covers reading and writing the Norwegian language. It ranges from the pupils' first introduction to reading and writing to the systematic advancement of their literacy skills for the duration of their course of study. Reading training should encourage the pupils to read and requires them 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. Reading tuition should also help make the pupils conscious about their own development as readers and writers. Writing involves expressing, processing and communicating thoughts and opinions in different types of texts. Good written communication requires a good vocabulary of words and terms, knowledge of written language conventions, an ability to structure text, and an ability to adapt text for a given purpose and recipient. Composite texts form a natural part of the texts that the pupils should read and create.

Language, literature and culture

The main subject area of language, literature and culture covers Norwegian and Nordic languages and written culture and incorporates international perspectives on both Norwegian language and Sign Language. The relationships between Norwegian language, Sign Language and the status of minority languages also form part of this main subject area. The pupils should develop an independent understanding of Norwegian language and literature and gain an insight into how language and text have evolved and continue to evolve over time. The pupils should acquire knowledge of the language as a system and of the language in use. They should read and reflect on a large and varied selection of old and new texts in different genres and from different media.

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: 113 hours

Vg2: 112 hours

Vg3: 168 hours

VOCATIONAL STUDY PROGRAMMES

Vg1: 56 hours

Vg2: 56 hours

SUPPLEMENTARY STUDIES TO QUALIFY FOR HIGHER EDUCATION ON VOCATIONAL STUDY PROGRAMMES

Vg3: 280 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 for the Hearing Impaired are as follows:

Oral skills involve deriving meaning by lip-reading, listening and expressing oneself using varying degrees of speech or Sign Language chosen on the basis of the pupil's circumstances. Oral skills are associated with Sign Language situations, speech situations and combinations thereof and involve listening actively and being able to speak, both spontaneously and after preparation. It also involves being able to co-operate on subject-related topics, problems and texts using different languages, communicative strategies and media, and being able to adapt the language for a given purpose and recipient. A systematic approach to oral genres and strategies in increasingly complex listening and conversation situations is key to developing the pupils' oral skills.

Writing skills involve expressing oneself in an appropriate manner and communicating with others using written language. This means being able to write texts relevant to the subject and using linguistic terminology. Writing Norwegian is also a way of developing and structuring ideas and thoughts and a method for learning. Taking pleasure in writing is key to developing writing skills. Writing texts in a wide range of genres using appropriate tools is an important aspect of the subject. This means being able to plan, create and refine texts adapted for a given purpose and recipient. Developing Norwegian writing skills requires a systematic approach to formal writing, textual knowledge and various writing strategies in order to be able to write increasingly complex texts.

Reading skills involve deriving meaning from contemporary and historical texts from a wide range of genres. This means immersing oneself in texts and gaining an insight into other people's thoughts, experiences and creativity. It also involves being able to find information and understand logical reasoning and presentation in different types of text and taking a critical and independent perspective on the texts being read. To develop their skills pupils must read much and often, and they must work systematically on reading strategies appropriate to the objective of the reading, and on different types of texts in the subject. They should progress from basic decoding and comprehension of simple texts to understanding, interpreting, reflecting on and evaluating increasingly complex texts in different genres. Reading training for deaf and hearing impaired pupils also involves drawing on their linguistic resources in the confluence between Norwegian and Sign Language.

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 consciously evaluate and use sources. Digital skills are part of literacy training in the subject and involve identifying, using and eventually evaluating and citing digital sources in written and spoken texts as well as producing increasingly complex texts. It also involves developing knowledge of copyright and data protection and taking a critical and independent view of different types of digital sources.