6. Using ınteractive Japanese ı in the classroom (notes for teachers).
This text is designed to allow you to make your class active and student-centered. Since both
language and sociocultural points are explained in the text students can be encouraged to read
these prior to class so valuable class time can be spent on meaningful activities.
The following is a typical class structure :
1. Briefly introduce the new topic and direct students’ attention to the material in the textbook.
Once you have convinced your students of the value of previewing the lesson this will take very
little class time.
2. Go over the new vocabulary or structures which are introduced paying attention to
pronunciation and intonation. The CDs can assist you in this.
3. Set the scene for the dialogue. This is done briefly in the textbook but experienced teachers
may wish to extend this by introducing props.
4. Ask the class some simple comprehension questions relating to the dialogue to focus them on
the content.
5. Play the CD a couple of times using "pause" if necessary.
6. Check comprehension and direct students' attention to the main points of the dialogue.
7. Have the students practice the dialogue in pairs. At first they can read it verbatim, then
substitute different words for those underlined. Finally, have them use their creativity to extend
and modify the dialogue. Encourage students to switch partners and roles. In some cases you
may wish the students to memorize the dialogue and perform it. Some students are willing to do
this for the whole class but others are not. Having all student pairs perform at the same time
while you monitor their progress is one way of overcoming this problem and using class time
more effectively.
8. Explain the pair-work practice activity and the proper use of the A and B sections. The first
time you do this kind of activity you need to make things very clear and also check that each pair
is doing the right thing. Once students understand that the point of these activities is to use
spoken language to convey information and written language to record it, the set up time for
these activities will be greatly reduced.
Since some pair-work practice sections focus upon vocabulary learning the pronunciation of new
items may need to be covered prior to commencing the activity.
This can be found on the CDs/tapes.
9. Allow the students to do the pair-work practice until most have fìnished. The faster students
can swap roles or swap partners.
10. Experienced teachers can now add a freer activity. This could be :
· working in pairs or small groups to construct a dialogue which they then perform, or record and
self correct with minimal assistance from the teacher
· writing a short paragraph, Postcards or diary entry, relating to the topic which they extended
with other students or groups then self correct and discuss.
· an extended listening activity aimed at listening for specific information using a tape.
· a group discussion activity pertaining to sociocultural points covered in the lesson.
· bring authentic materials, such as food packets, containing hiragana and have students work
out what is written on them.
The above is a general model which is not applicable to all sections and requires adaptation to
the individual topic, the experience of the teacher, and the ability of the student group.
We suggest that teachers use as much spoken Japanese in the classroom as possible and the
gradual introduction of classroom commands in Japanese is a good way to do this. The number
and form of such commands is highly dependent upon the teacher and the student group so we
have not included them in this textbook.
The writing practice sections are placed at the end of the lessons but this does not mean that this
section should be practiced last. It may be advantageous to begin with this section so the new
characters learned can be practiced throughout the lesson. In classes in which latecomers are
common we have found that encouraging students, as a group, to practice their writing on the
board while assisting them with their writing style is a good way to begin the class. We have also
found that introducing the new characters at a natural break point during the lesson is a good
way of adding variety to the class. It is also quite possible to accelerate the rate of introduction
of Japanese script. In the textbook it takes fifteen lessons to cover all the hiragana based upon
the allocation of about 10 minutes per lesson to the learning of script and the assumption that
students will do some homework. Although there is a two-lesson lag in the removal of
romanization for learned characters from the text, in our own teaching we use all learned
characters when writing on the board and encourage students to acquire the hiragana as fast as
possible. From Lesson 16 there is no writing section since we would expect katakana to be
introduced at this point if not earlier.
The textbook assumes students will do some homework and a homework section is included
after each lesson. These not only revise the structures given in the lesson but also introduce new
vocabulary items relevant to the characters learned to date.
This text is designed to allow you to make your class active and student-centered. Since both
language and sociocultural points are explained in the text students can be encouraged to read
these prior to class so valuable class time can be spent on meaningful activities.
The following is a typical class structure :
1. Briefly introduce the new topic and direct students’ attention to the material in the textbook.
Once you have convinced your students of the value of previewing the lesson this will take very
little class time.
2. Go over the new vocabulary or structures which are introduced paying attention to
pronunciation and intonation. The CDs can assist you in this.
3. Set the scene for the dialogue. This is done briefly in the textbook but experienced teachers
may wish to extend this by introducing props.
4. Ask the class some simple comprehension questions relating to the dialogue to focus them on
the content.
5. Play the CD a couple of times using "pause" if necessary.
6. Check comprehension and direct students' attention to the main points of the dialogue.
7. Have the students practice the dialogue in pairs. At first they can read it verbatim, then
substitute different words for those underlined. Finally, have them use their creativity to extend
and modify the dialogue. Encourage students to switch partners and roles. In some cases you
may wish the students to memorize the dialogue and perform it. Some students are willing to do
this for the whole class but others are not. Having all student pairs perform at the same time
while you monitor their progress is one way of overcoming this problem and using class time
more effectively.
8. Explain the pair-work practice activity and the proper use of the A and B sections. The first
time you do this kind of activity you need to make things very clear and also check that each pair
is doing the right thing. Once students understand that the point of these activities is to use
spoken language to convey information and written language to record it, the set up time for
these activities will be greatly reduced.
Since some pair-work practice sections focus upon vocabulary learning the pronunciation of new
items may need to be covered prior to commencing the activity.
This can be found on the CDs/tapes.
9. Allow the students to do the pair-work practice until most have fìnished. The faster students
can swap roles or swap partners.
10. Experienced teachers can now add a freer activity. This could be :
· working in pairs or small groups to construct a dialogue which they then perform, or record and
self correct with minimal assistance from the teacher
· writing a short paragraph, Postcards or diary entry, relating to the topic which they extended
with other students or groups then self correct and discuss.
· an extended listening activity aimed at listening for specific information using a tape.
· a group discussion activity pertaining to sociocultural points covered in the lesson.
· bring authentic materials, such as food packets, containing hiragana and have students work
out what is written on them.
The above is a general model which is not applicable to all sections and requires adaptation to
the individual topic, the experience of the teacher, and the ability of the student group.
We suggest that teachers use as much spoken Japanese in the classroom as possible and the
gradual introduction of classroom commands in Japanese is a good way to do this. The number
and form of such commands is highly dependent upon the teacher and the student group so we
have not included them in this textbook.
The writing practice sections are placed at the end of the lessons but this does not mean that this
section should be practiced last. It may be advantageous to begin with this section so the new
characters learned can be practiced throughout the lesson. In classes in which latecomers are
common we have found that encouraging students, as a group, to practice their writing on the
board while assisting them with their writing style is a good way to begin the class. We have also
found that introducing the new characters at a natural break point during the lesson is a good
way of adding variety to the class. It is also quite possible to accelerate the rate of introduction
of Japanese script. In the textbook it takes fifteen lessons to cover all the hiragana based upon
the allocation of about 10 minutes per lesson to the learning of script and the assumption that
students will do some homework. Although there is a two-lesson lag in the removal of
romanization for learned characters from the text, in our own teaching we use all learned
characters when writing on the board and encourage students to acquire the hiragana as fast as
possible. From Lesson 16 there is no writing section since we would expect katakana to be
introduced at this point if not earlier.
The textbook assumes students will do some homework and a homework section is included
after each lesson. These not only revise the structures given in the lesson but also introduce new
vocabulary items relevant to the characters learned to date.