AC9LJ10EC05 Year 9 Languages

AC9LJ10EC05 – Year 9 Languages: Mediating meaning in and between languages

Strand

Communicating meaning in Japanese

Substrand

Mediating meaning in and between languages

This Content Descriptor from Year 9 Languages provides the specific knowledge and skills students should learn. Use it to plan lessons, create learning sequences, and design assessments that align with the Australian Curriculum v9.

Content Descriptor

apply strategies to interpret and translate non-verbal, spoken and written interactions and texts to convey meaning and intercultural understanding in familiar and unfamiliar contexts

Elaborations

• explaining why some terms cannot be used interchangeably in Japanese as they can in English, for example, すみません／ごめんなさい。ください/おねがいします。こんにちは／もしもし。
• using print, electronic and online dictionaries effectively by taking context into account when interpreting the meaning of words or phrases, for example, ただいま、おかえり、ねます (go to bed), あし (foot/leg)
• evaluating the effectiveness of electronic translators, for example, comparing back-translations of short texts or formulaic phrases, identifying instances of non-equivalence and noticing the potential pitfalls of literal translation
• translating texts such as public signs, notices or advertisements from Japanese into English and vice versa; comparing elements such as levels of politeness or degree of directness, for example, ましょう form in Japanese, ‘Keep clean’ きれいにしましょう translates into ‘Do not litter’ in English
• considering differences between Japanese and English expressions and idioms (including loan words) used to describe characteristics or personality traits, for example, センスがいい、こころ大きい、あたまがいい、はながたかい and how these cannot be translated literally
• discussing incidences in Japanese language exchanges when miscommunication has occurred, and reflecting on why or how this happened
• applying understanding of cultural values such as humour and the importance of hierarchical status to convey appropriate cultural meanings in texts, for example, understanding how roles and relationships define interaction せんぱい、こうはい、ぼけ、つっこみ in Manzai (漫才)

Achievement Standard This Supports

This Content Descriptor contributes to the following Achievement Standard:

Year 9 ASLANJAP7_10Y910

Year 9 Languages Achievement Standard

By the end of Year 10, students initiate and sustain Japanese language to exchange and compare ideas and experiences about their own and others’ personal world. They communicate using non-verbal, spoken and written language to collaborate, plan and reflect on activities and events. They interpret and analyse information and ideas in texts and demonstrate understanding of different perspectives. They synthesise information and respond in Japanese or English, adjusting language to convey meaning and to suit context, purpose and audience. They use structures and features of spoken and written Japanese to create texts. They use a combination of kana and a range of familiar kanji appropriate to context.Students apply features of the Japanese sound system to enhance fluency. They demonstrate understanding of the sound system in spoken exchanges and scripts for written texts, and select and use sentence and grammatical structures to interact, make meaning and create texts. They identify multiple readings of familiar kanji in different compounds. They support discussion of structures and features of texts, using metalanguage. They reflect on their own language use and cultural identity, and draw on their experience of learning Japanese, to discuss how this learning influences their ideas and ways of communicating.