AP® Japanese Language and Culture
Advanced Placement Program
The College BoardSufumi SoGeorge Mason UniversityMarch 20101

Backgroundg•

The College Board's Advanced Placement (AP®) Program in existence since1955 to present•

The May 2009 AP exams taken by a total of approx. 800,000 students inabout 17,000 schools – an increase of approx. 45% and 20% respectively
over the 5‐5‐year period since 2004

•g g courses and exams in French, German, and SpanishphaveModern language
existed since the beginning•In 2003 AP Program launched its World Languages Initiative to expand itsportfolio  addition of Chinese and Japanese•World Languages Initiative = The College Board
Board’ss commitment tofurthering multiculturalism and multilingualism in secondary education
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Brief History of AP Japanese•

2004‐05: AP Japanese Task Force of 12 members (6 secondary‐school
teachers and 6 college/university professors) convened three times tocreate the draft Course Description and initial exam specifications.

•2005‐06: AP Japanese Development Committee of 6 members (including
some members of the Task Force)– refined the Course Description;– finalized exam specifications;– wrote exam questions; and– assembled the first forms of the 2007 exam.

•The Development Committee has since continued its appointment andwork beyond 2005‐06

3The Content of AP Japanese
AP Japanese Course targets the curriculum of second‐year college courses
AP Japanese Exam targets students who have completed approximately 300 contact
hours of college‐level instruction (equivalent to four semesters or six quarters inmost college programs)
AP Japanese reflects voices of many Japanese language teachers– demanding a departure from the formats and purposes of conventional language tests;
and– calling for the kind of exam capable of measuring students' language proficiency as
opposed to their knowledge of the language.
“Proficiency‐based performance assessment is the way to go and it should be based onstandards‐based curricula and ppedagogies
g g that stress the developmentpoff communicative andcultural competence.”

AP Japanese is tied to the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines and the Standards forJJapaneseLanguage
L
Learning
Li foundfd in
i theh Standards
S d d ffor Foreign
F i Language
LLearning
Liin the 21st Century.
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Japanese‐language education in the U.S.:Recent Trendd•••

24.1% increase in the number of Japanese‐language learners in the U.S.
from 1998 to 2003
Dropped to 118,000 learners marking a 15.9% decrease in the 2006 survey
Approx. 88% of these Japanese‐language learners are studying theg g in educational institutions
language– In 2003, 60% for K‐12 learners; 30% for college students– In 2006, 50% for K‐12 learners and 38% for college students
Survey Report on Japanese‐Language Education Abroad (The Japan Foundation)....................................................
•••

2006 statistics  the situation just before AP Japanese was implemented
AP Japanese Exam takers – a dramatic increase by approx
approx. 25% from 1
1,667667
of the inaugural year 2007  2,085 in the year 2009
Nearly 200 AP Japanese programs authorized to offer the AP Japanese
course through the AP Course Audit
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The Impact of AP Japanese onJapanese Language EducationdWhat benefits has AP Japanese brought toJapanese language education at large?
What are its implications for Japanese‐Japanese‐language
students and teachers of today andtomorrow?

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The Impact of AP Japanese on Japanese Language Education

Potential Benefits Identified by teachers, administrators,students, and parents before the launch of AP Japanese• improved articulation between secondary and college Japanese
programs• development of a field
field‐wide
wide set of expectations and standards• improved feedback to teachers and students on students'
accomplishment• strengthening of Japanese curricula• increased stability of Japanese programs• retention of the best students in Japanese programs• an increase in the numbers of students in advanced‐level courses• a heightened awareness of the availability and strength of Japanese
language instruction in the U.S.

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What has happened since theimplementation
loff AP Japanese?
The earlier predictions are seen to be holding mostly true andth expectations
thet tillargely
l met.
tA shift in the wind has definitely been taking place in the field ofJapanese‐‐language education in the U.S. since theJapanese
implementation of AP Japanese. This emerging change can be
f l infelt
i atmospherehwith
i h positivei i expectations
ii theinh fieldfi ld at allll
levels from elementary to secondary school to university.

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What has happened since thei l
implementationt ti off AP JJapanese??
. . . continued•AP curriculum
i las wellll as instructional
iil andd assessment materials
i ldownloadable from the College Board website are used as a guide forteachers of Japanese to develop standards‐based instruction for students
at all levelslevels.

•Many teachers throughout the nation have started working proactively
andd systematicallytti ll tto ddevelopl andd implement
i lt a verticallyti ll aligned
li d JapaneseJ
program aimed at helping students develop gradually the skills necessary
for success in AP Japanese.

•The number of on‐site and online teacher training workshops andinstitutes for Japanese‐language teachers has increased; they are oftend i d arounddesignedd theth AP Japanese
Jcurriculum.
i l9

What has happened since theimplementation of AP Japanese?
. . . continued•

Professional opportunities for dialogue among Japanese‐language
teachers of all educational levels have been created in various places in
the U.S. to facilitate articulation between levels and encourage thecontinuedti
d growth
th off JJapanese llanguage educationd ti iin thisthi nation.
ti•AP Japanese became a point of interest for officials of the Japanese
government and Japanese business leaders who have begun to see thevalue of soft power hidden in the teaching of Japanese language andculture overseas.

•However, systematic research must be conducted to investigate the true
impact of AP Japanese on Japanese‐language education in the U.S.

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Professional Development•

Most current information on professional development opportunities is available on the AP
Central site, the College Board’s official website exclusively on AP, at
http://apcentral collegeboard com/apc/Pageflows/InstitutesAndWorkshops/InstitutesAndWo
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/Pageflows/InstitutesAndWorkshops/InstitutesAndWorkshopsController.jpf•

Serving as AP Exam Reader is a unique professional development opportunity. Moreinformation on AP Exam Reading is at
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/homepage/4137.html
AP Japanese Reader applications can be submitted online at
http://etscrs.submit4jobs.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=85332.viewjobs&CID=85332&notes_id=1•

The latest information on AP Fellows and state and federal funds is at
http://professionals collegeboard com/k‐12/awards/ap‐grants/fellows
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/k‐12/awards/ap‐grants/fellows•The AP Japanese Electronic Discussion Group (EDG) is a venue for people to not only stay intouch but also stimulate one another on professional matters relevant to AP Japanese.
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/homepage/7173.html/// ///
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Advocating AP Japanese
to administratorsd• The existence of AP in general can raise the bar for academic
achievement
hit iin theth school.
h l• High schools that participate in competitive programs such as AP
demonstrate their commitment to academic excellence
excellence, putting
them at the forefront of pre‐collegiate studies.
• AP teachers are more motivated because they are presented withthe opportunity to work in greater depth with motivated and well‐
prepared students.
• Incorporating AP into a Japanese program will establish a strong
curriculum throughout, with clear articulation between levels,
hence strengthening the entire existing program.
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Advocating AP Japanese
to administrators. . . continued•

The automatic inclusion of the 5 Cs (Communication,(Cultures,Connections, Comparisons, Communities) of the national standards in theAP curriculum guarantees the credibility of the program.

•Highlighting the challenging and competitive course on the school's
website or brochure could help to attract families that are moving into thearea.

•The existence of AP in a school's Japanese program will attract Japaneseteachers of high caliber.

•Enrollment in Japanese language classes will improve across the board but
especially at the higher levels, at which enrollment traditionally declines.

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Advocating AP Japanese
to students
dandd parents
•
•

•
•
•

The rigorous curriculum of AP will encourage a student's best possiblework. This is something they can be proud of.
There is a certain pprestige
g associated with the highg academic standard ofAP. This association can help students on their college applications andresumes, as well as give them a boost of confidence.
With a clearlyy laid‐out ggoal‐oriented curriculum,, students can learn thevaluable life skills of setting goals for themselves and following through.
AP courses are weighted in most schools (i.e., counted as having a higher
ggrade ppoint),), thus ggivingg students the opportunitypp
y to raise their GPA.
It has been documented that success in AP courses and exams iscorrelated to successful academic performance at college.

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Advocating AP Japanese
to students and parents. . . continued••More than 90 percent of four‐year colleges and universities in the U.S.
reward qualifying AP Exam scores with credit, advanced placement, orboth (http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/ap/scores/credit‐policies).
By scoring a 3 or better on the AP exam a student can earn course credit
and/or be placed in a higher‐level course at most universities. This
represents not just the chance to save on college tuition and graduate
early from college but also frees up time in a student's college schedule,
allowing the student to take more advanced courses, double major, orexplore
ladditional
ddi il didisciplines
i li
andd opportunities.
ii

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Resources•

The best place to go to for most useful information about AP in generaland AP Japanese is AP Central, the College Board’s official website
exclusively on AP Program, http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/•

The homepage of AP Japanese Language and Culture Course is
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/37222.html
Once at the homepage all the information and relevant links are available
such as course description,p, course audit information,, exam information,,and exam and instructional resources.

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