Norwegian 2

Introduction

Norwegian 2 builds on Norwegian 1, and expands on the theoretical and disciplinary aspects by emphasising text interpretation and the historical dimensions of the subject. The curriculum is divided into two parts: The first part is common to all students and concerns linguistic and literary topics, with particular emphasis on the dissemination of literature and reading and writing skills. The second part comprises a particular, larger area of specialisation, to be chosen individually.

Target Group and Admission Requirements

Norwegian 1

Aim of the Programme

Norwegian 2 focuses on subjects particularly relevant for the lower secondary school, but provides a good basis for teaching other age groups in primary and secondary schools.

Important aims are to:

• strengthen the students’ theoretical basis from which to teach literature
• develop the students’ didactic and analytic knowledge of working with texts
• expand the students’ knowledge of how pupils may develop appropriate reading/writing strategies
• increase the students’ experience with disciplinary and discipline-specific didactic use of ICT

Curriculum and structure

Curriculum and structure

Norwegian 2 is taught over the course of one academic year.

The programme includes lectures, seminars and group activities, workshops and student presentations. The programme presupposes that students attend the scheduled classes.

Students will receive a scheduled plan for their teaching practice period; as before, a teacher at the practice school, the mentor, will be responsible for supervision of the students.

Norwegian 2 carries 30 ECTS. Providing that the reflection assignment is approved, the project assignment counts for 15 ECTS, while the examination counts for 15 ECTS.

Common to all students

In terms of workload, this part constitutes about 50% of the total workload. It is a theoretical and didactic specialisation study of the subjects covered in Norwegian 1. Norwegian 2 is primarily a study of texts viewed from a more historical approach than in Norwegian 1, simultaneously emphasising both the teaching aspect and how teachers might teach reading and writing. Students will study 12 literary works and around 1500 pages of literary theory.

History and traditions of the subject, Norwegian

Course unit:

• Norwegian disciplinary tradition
• Attitudes towards Norwegian as a school subject, a field of study and as a field of research
• Teaching aids

A selection of texts illustrating traditions of and developments in Norwegian as a school subject and as a field of research

The Norwegian language – development and variation

Theoretical themes central to Norwegian 1 will be continued and expanded upon, and new themes will be introduced.

Course unit:

• History of the Norwegian language
• Variations in the Norwegian language
• Style
• Rhetoric

Literature and the dissemination of literature

The course unit focuses on a thorough reading of the selected texts through of a more methodical examination of the principle works and a close examination of literary-pedagogical topics. The theoretical segment of the course will allow students to become more reflective readers and skilled teachers of literature.

Course unit:

• Reading theories
• Literary discussion
• Literary genres and methods of interpretation
• Teaching children’s and adolescent literature
• Teaching literary cultural heritage and fiction for all ages
• Literary history

Texts will be selected in part from primary and lower secondary school anthologies. The combined literature of Norwegian 1 and Norwegian 2 covers the period from old Norse times until the present. Norwegian 2 includes 12 works.

• From the old Norse period until 1800: A selection of prose and poetry, and one play by Ludvig Holberg. Two works in total.
• The 19th century: One play by Henrik Ibsen, a novel, a selection of short stories and poems. Three works in total.
• 1900 until the present: A selection of novels (including children’s and adolescent novels), short stories, essays and poems, and one film adaptation of a literary work. Seven works in total.

Development of reading and writing skills

Course unit:

• reading and writing theories (‘the other method of teaching reading and writing’)
• analysis of pupils’ texts from the lower secondary school
• literature, identity and education
• use of ICT in Norwegian
• reading and writing: Norwegian as a second language

Individual part

The individual part consists of a project assignment chosen by the student. The project assignment should have a specific focus on the subject Norwegian and /or a subject-didactic topic.

The work on the project assignment should represent about half of the total workload.

Course overview

Teaching and Learning Methods

Lectures, seminars, group activity, writing workshop, student presentation of work, supervision and self-study.

Assessment Methods

Norwegian II comprises two types of assessment – continuous and final assessment. The continuous assessment includes the evaluation of a reflection assignment. The final assessment is a final grade calculated after the evaluation of a project assignment and a final examination.

Reflective assignment. At the end of the first semester students must submit a reflective assignment related to the project assignments which students are required to write. The reflective assignment will be assessed pass/fail. Students will receive guidelines for writing the assignment.

Project assignment. The deadline for the submission of the project assignment is May 1st. The assignment should be 20 pages in length with line spacing of 1.5 and font size 12. In addition to the linguistic quality of the assignment, the assessment emphasises a clearly formulated problem approach and a sound treatment of the material. Students will receive supervision while writing the assessment. Students must consult the supervisor at least three times, and during these meetings they must be able to document their progress in the writing process. The project assignment counts for 40% of the final grade.

Written final examination. The aim of this examination is to assess the student’s knowledge of the subject, Norwegian, and the skills the student has acquired during the course of the programme. The examination is of 6 hours duration, and counts for 60% of the final grade.

Requirements regarding language variant used in written work. The project assignment and the reflection assignment must be written in a different language variant from the final examination, i.e. bokmål and nynorsk.

Students will receive a grade on their final certification, graded A to F, where A is the highest grade and E the lowest pass grade. Each course unit must have achieved a passing grade in order to achieve a passing grade for the main course.

Pensum

Minor adjustments may occur during the academic year, subject to the decision of the Dean