an archive of lesson plans

Category: Japanese (Page 2 of 9)

Japanese Conversation class

JP F20 INT/ADV: Haiku

Language Resident/Assistant Name:  

Kozue Matsumoto 

Day and Date:  

Monday October 5, 2020   

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):  

Intermediate / Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed:  

  • Haiku 

Goal of the class:  

  • Learn about Haiku 
  • Create haiku and kigo 

How did you structure the class?  

  1. Good news (5min) *We share positive stories at the beginning of each class.
  1. Today’s plan and watch a video: https://youtu.be/BNyPE93fXh8  (10 min) 
  1. Example of “kigo” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_kigo#Autumn:_8_August_%E2%80%93_6_November (5 min) 
  1. Break out room (2-3people) (25 min)  
    1. How we appreciate season? Any new “kigo” that we can create that’s specific to American seasonal moments? 
    2. What reminds us of seasons? What kind of things do we appreciate in a season? What do we do, see, hear, taste or feel in a season?  
    3. Let’s make a haiku! 
  1. Main room (15 min) 
    1. Share the haiku each group made.  

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.) 

Class agreement, breakup rooms 

Zoom, Breakout room, emails, YouTube and internet resources.   

What worked well in this class? What did not work? 

  • They knew the basics of haiku. The video helped them understand a little deeper about haiku. 
  • “kigo” is an interesting concept. Instead of telling them this as a rule, I let them think about and come up with their own “kigo” in their own environment (American or California or whatever they think of) 
  • I believe it’s a nice activity to reflect how we are related to our environment, such as nature or seasonal events.  
  • This also turned into finding a little nice or memorable moment in their daily life relating to a season 
  • They enjoyed thinking of “kigo” and they explained how seasonal a certain word is to me, as I’m not quite familiar to American seasonal practice.  
  • They enjoyed making haiku, too, and they are using some techniques such as ji-amari (extra letter) or taigen-dome (ending a phrase with a noun)   
  • I also had them type their poem into the chat so I can make sure I know what they did and also I can save it. 
  • This was also finding a little nice or memorable moment in their daily life 

How could this class be improved/ modified? 

  • We focused on fall as it’s fall now, but we can do this any seasons 
  • We can also do “senryu,” which is like haiku, but you do not need to use “kigo” in it. So this could be a little freer and more hilarious.  

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well. 

Some concepts: 
俳句、季語、字余り、字足らず、倒置法 

Student works (with my quick translation): 

天の川(あまのがわ)
 
今晩月は(こんばんつきは)
 
珍しい(めずらしい) 
With Milky way, tonight’s moon is rare. 

紅葉狩り 
カリフォルニアで 
火事がある 
While enjoying the colorful fall tree leaves while it’s on fire in California 

コーン畑 
踊って来てる 
骸骨は 
At Corn field, a skeleton is coming while dancing 

花枯れる (はなかれる) 
BTS が来る (ビティエスがくる) 
うれしいな 
The season the flowers die, it’s also a season BTS comes here. Feels happy. 

タコ火曜
 
感謝祭と
 
食べすぎる 
Taco Tuesday, also Thanksgiving, I’m eating too much 

秋のくれ(あき) 
カボチャをほって 
光入れ(ひかりいれ) 
At dusk, I curve a pumpkin and light inside. 

秋の時間 
色々な色 
思い出す 
Fall time, I remember lots of colors. 

秋に来る 
外を見る時 
しあわせな 
Coming in the fall, I feel happy looking outside 

春寒のころ 
電車を待ち中 
あの子見た 
In early spring, while waiting for a train, I saw the girl. 

宿題が 
飛んで行ってる 
貝寄風のおかげ 
My homework is all blown away, thanks to a strong spring wind! 

蝉の音 
種を吐き出せ 
ネバネバな手 
Cicada sounds, let’s spit out seeds with my sticky hands 

最初の雨 
上に雪が降る 
山眠る
 
The first rain, and then snow falls, the mountain sleeps 

大雨で 峰
白くなり 
山眠る 
A huge rain fall, the peak of mountains become white as mountains sleeps 

雨の後  
雲吹き飛ばし  
白い山 
After the rain, the clounds are blown away and I see a white mountain.  

JP F20 INT: Embarrassing Stories

Language Resident/Assistant Name:  

Kozue Matsumoto 

Day and Date:  

Wednesday October 14, 2020   

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):  

Intermediate 

Class theme/topics discussed:  

  • Student suggested theme #2 
  • Embarrassing Stories 

Goal of the class:  

  • Share embarrassing stories. 

How did you structure the class?  

  1. Good news (5 min) *We share positive stories at the beginning of each class.
  1. Continue from last class (5 min) 
  1. Today’s plan (5 min) 
    1. Your embarrassing story is awesome, but something you witnessed counts, too. For example, your siblings.
  1. Break out room (2-3people) (25 min)  
    1. Share embarrassing stories 
    2. Ask at least 1 question to each other’s stories 
  1. Main room (20 min) 
    1. Share each others’ story. 
    2. My partner’s story is like this. I asked this question, and their answer was that.  

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.) 

Class agreement, breakup rooms 

Zoom, Breakout room.   

What worked well in this class? What did not work? 

  • They have hilarious stories! I thought the last class “Childhood stories” were amazing, but this was as amazing as last time if not more.  
  • We didn’t get to share all the stories, so we will start next class with sharing the rest of the stories. 
  • Students spoke a lot, and we laughed a lot.  
  • I felt students are trying very hard to tell a story as they wanted to deliver the story and how funny the story is. Also I sensed that everyone was listening hard because they didn’t want to miss the funny point.   
  • They were definitely sharing more stories while I wasn’t with them in breakout rooms.   
  • This is one of classes students chose as the best.

How could this class be improved/ modified? 

  • Several students said that they had hard time remembering any stories as they wanted to forget embarrassing stories. So I think it was a good idea to let them know that it’s ok to use some embarrassing stories that they witnessed as well as their own stories.  

JP F20 INT/ADV: Onomatopoeia

Language Resident/Assistant Name:  

Kozue Matsumoto 

Day and Date:  

Wednesday November 4, 2020   

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):  

Intermediate  / Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed:  

  • Check in with everyone and see how they are doing 
  • Onomatopoeia 

Goal of the class:  

  • See if everyone is cool to do a class (This class was right after the presidential election)
  • Explore Onomatopoeia 

How did you structure the class?  

  1. How are you doing? Hanging there? Good news if any??? (7 min) 
  1. Introduce Onomatopoeia (8 min) 
    1. ザーザー and パラパラ 
    2. Animal voices etc. 
  1. Breakout room (30 min) 
    1. Describe a moment or create a story 
    2. Pick 3 or 4 Onomatope from https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/japanese-onomatopoeia/ and use it in sentence. One sentence one onomatope. 
  1. Main room (15 min) 
    1. Share the sentences that each group creates 
    2. Wrap up. Stay positive, and stay calm

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.) 

Class agreement, breakup rooms 

Zoom, breakout rooms online resource 

What worked well in this class? What did not work? 

  • Students were tired and stressed out with election situations. 
  • Students loved Onomatope. They sound funny and cute apparently. 
  • In the breakout rooms, students were laughing so hard finding new Onomatope and how they sound like 
  • They were so creative about making a story. This is a lot more than I expected. 
  • In the main room, students typed what they created in a chat and read aloud. It became almost like a theatre at some point. One student acted character A, another one was character B, and another one was a narrator, etc. 
  • They were so good at creating, writing, and using new words. I gave a little grammar correction to make a phrase sound natural after every group presented their stories. 
  • I enjoyed so much how engaged they were in today’s activity.  
  • I wanted this class to be somewhat fun. I’m glad that this class created some cheerful moments for them, especially after hearing them saying that other classes were all ok today and that they were just ok. 
  • This is one of classes students chose as the best.

Advanced:

  • They knew a lot more onomatope than the intermediate class. 
  • They were very nervous and worried about the election results.  
  • We ended up with talking a lot of feelings and situations around the election with onomatope.  
  • We also had some fun moments with some fun and positive and funny onomatope.  
  • Students also expressed some feelings about COVID. 
  • Onomatope are very nuanced expressions, so it was a great exercise to think about what the equivalent expressions are in English. I ended up with doing a lot of acting and facial expressions to tell them the nuances. That was fun.  
  • Manga is a great way to learn onomatope. 

How could this class be improved/ modified? 

  • Onomatopoeia is very fun and great things to know. I used an entire class focusing on this. But also it’s possible to introduce a few Onomatopoeia at the beginning of every class. This would give students some laugh and create a positive mood to start a class. 
  • I used a breakout room with 3-4 people. It could be smaller groups. 

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well. 

https://www.tofugu.com/japanese/japanese-onomatopoeia/

Student works: Each group created a story. 

  • ある日かえるさんとあひるさんが、いけに会いました。あひるさんは、かえるさんにかっこつけて、大きな声で 「ガーガー」と泣きました。かえるさんは、これを聞いてクスクス笑いました。じつは、あひるさんはじこあいせいでしたので、笑われたことがなかったです。あひるさんは、これを聞いて「ブルブル」ふるえました。かえるさんは、それを見て「おほん、きみはキャンセルドだ!」と言いました。あひるさんはもじもじして、こいにおちました。そして、かえるさんは、「へんなやつだなー」と思ってたたたたにげました。
 
  • ある日、マイケルジャクソンは馬をみました。馬はマイケルに向かってサクサク走りました
。
マイケルも馬に向かってタタタタ走りました。

マイケルのマネージャーは「マイケル!馬の話をできない」と言いました。
でも、マイケルはガミガミだけを聞きました。
マイケルは気にしませんでした。

馬は「ひひいん」と言いました。
マイケルはうっとりです。
マイケルは「ひひ」と言いました。
その後、マイケルは馬と友達になりました。
マイケルは歌手をやめて、カウボーイになりました。 

サクサク = stepping in dirt 
タタタタ = running 
ガミガミ = being lectured/nagged by someone above you 
ひひいん = sound of a horse 
うっとり = being fascinated by something beautiful 

  • 昔々 きみちゃんという六歳の子供は もりに すたこらに あるいていた。

きゅうに おおきくてこわいくまが 起こった。

でも きみちゃんは ゆうかんな子供 泣かなかった。


くまさん、大丈夫ですか?一人で もりにいるのは さびしいでしょう
。
くまさんは、ええええ、何これ?どうして この子 怖くならないの?

きみちゃんは、私の方が くまさんより こわいよ!それで、どんなに大きくても ぜんぜん ぶるぶる ふるえない!
くまさんは、そうなんだ。じゃあ、一緒に 世界せいふくをしよう!
きみちゃんは、世界征服 したくないけど。でも、人間は 最悪から 一緒に 森を 守ろう!
それ以下 きみちゃんとくまさんは もりを守ったり 毎日ラーメンをたべたり 幸せに 住んでいた.
 

JP F20 INT/ADV: Music Videos

Language Resident/Assistant Name:  

Kozue Matsumoto 

Day and Date:  

Monday November 9, 2020   

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):  

Intermediate  / Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed:  

Goal of the class:  

  • Get to know some contemporary attempt of Japanese traditional music 
  • Describe music videos, what do you see? What do you hear?

How did you structure the class?  

  1. How are you doing? Hanging there? Good news if any??? (7 min) 
    1. We are trying to stay calm with the presidential election result being updated.
  1. Today’s plan (3 min) 
  1. Breakout room (30 min): Each group has a different music video
    1. Watch the videos 
    2. How many people are there?  
    3. What are they doing? What are the instruments? 
    4. What do they wear? 
    5. What kind of music? 
    6. What is traditional and what is not traditional? 
    7. Do you like it or not and why? 
  1. Main room (20 min) 
    1. Explain the music video and watch video 
    2. Wrap up. Stay positive, and stay calm,  

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.) 

Class agreement, breakup rooms 

Zoom, breakout rooms, youtube videos 

What worked well in this class? What did not work? 

  • Students were a little tired at the beginning with upcoming exams and all the homework they have 
  • Each breakout room had a different music video. So I told them to describe the video really in detail. 
  • They enjoyed the videos.  
  • We learned some way of describing music, terms such as “traditional,” “contemporary,” and other terms used for traditional clothing.  
  • In breakout rooms, they asked me some words that explain musical moments, things artists are wearing, or the scenery. They used these terms when shearing in the main room. 
  • I first let all the groups explain what they watched. After that is done, I shared my screen and played all three videos at once. They loved it.  
  • Students enjoyed the music, costumes, the techniques of artists, and other details.   
  • This is one of classes students chose as the best.

Advanced:

  • Students enjoyed the music, costumes, the techniques of artists, and other details. 
  • We ended up with talking a lot about Japanese arts and elements in videos. 
  • Students have a little more knowledge about Buddhism in this class, and it made some discussions very interesting. 

How could this class be improved/ modified? 

  • I noticed that students used chat a lot as we all watch the videos together. Probably I can make use of the chat function more effectively with music moment. I don’t know how yet though. Something to keep thinking for the next time.  

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well. 

Videos Shared:

Vocabulary that we learned: 

袴:はかま 
ばち 
伝統的:でんとうてき:traditional 
楽器:がっき:musical instrument 
稲荷:いなり 
畳:たたみ 
和室:わしつ 
襖:ふすま 
和紙:わし 
障子:しょうじ 
きつね 
竹:たけ 
竹林:ちくりん 
帯:おび 
頭巾:ずきん 
お経:おきょう 
般若心経:はんにゃしんきょう 
袈裟:けさ 
邪道:じゃどう 

Students’ comments on chat for each video

https://youtu.be/KHna8ngTaOg
17:06:41     From Lena She-Her : This lit 
17:06:50     From Mason Cai : ^^ 
17:06:54     From Marina Aina : ^^^ 
17:07:00     From Ruby Hoffman : ^^ 
17:07:10     From Ashley Cheng : ^^^^^ 
17:07:32     From Marina Aina : The mv visuals are so nice too 😮 
17:07:48     From Alyssa Zhang : those masks damnnnnn 
17:08:06     From Mason Cai : :OOOoOOO: 

https://youtu.be/cbObLy5MjWU  
17:10:24     From Marina Aina : Ive never felt more untalented in my life LMAO they’re so good 😮 
17:10:32     From Kate McHale : this really slaps 
17:10:34     From Ashley Cheng : It really do be one of those days 

https://youtu.be/nvIGCMhjkvw?t=120  
17:12:03     From Kano Cheng : I want to be this man when I grow up 
17:12:29     From Ruby Hoffman : yes oh my god 
17:12:37     From Marina Aina : i think you can accomplish that dream :,) 
17:12:40     From Kate McHale : immaculate vibes 
17:12:42     From Ashley Cheng : I wonder if my buddhist grandma would appreciate this 
17:13:07     From Alyssa Zhang : i want to know what hes saying 

JP F20 INT/ADV: Naomi Osaka

Language Resident/Assistant Name:  

Kozue Matsumoto 

Day and Date:  

Wednesday September 16, 2020   

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):  

Intermediate / Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed:  

  • Naomi Osaka  

Goal of the class:  

  • What Naomi Osaka did, and how the story was told.  
  • Think about racism and BLM movement, think about them in Japanese context, and express ideas in Japanese 

How did you structure the class?  

  1. Good news? (5min) *We share positive stories at the beginning of each class.
  1. Ask about some Japanese news they know (5min)  
  1. Listen to the news (10 min)  
    1. https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/easy/k10012615261000/k10012615261000.html  
    2. Check the basics of the news (Who she is, what she did, her action of wearing masks etc.) 
  1. Breakout room (30 mim) 
    1. What do you think about her action of wearing masks during the US Open? 
    2. Lots of Japanese people believe that top athletes like her shouldn’t talk about any political or controversial issues. What do you think about it? 
    3. For so long time, for Japanese people, “Japanese people” mean people who look like Japanese, speak Japanese, live in japan for entire their life, and have both Japanese parents. Now things are changing. The Japanese society needs to adjust to multi-cultural, multi-racial, multi-everything reality. As a person who lives in USA, what would you like to suggest, advise, or teach Japanese people about living in a diverse community? 
  1. Main room (10 min) 
    1. Share ideas regarding the last question (4.c) 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.) 

Class agreement, breakup rooms 

Zoom, Breakout room, chat section, news web site 

What worked well in this class? What did not work? 

  • Listening to Japanese news stories (created specifically for children and non-Japanese native people) seemed to be a little difficult, but they got a basics about the story (I believe the photos helped too.) 
  • Students had so much to say about this topic.  They had thoughts and ideas. They sometimes struggled to express it in Japanese. But I felt their willingness to challenge themselves and share their thoughts in Japanese. I think this is great. 
  • I had another news story to discuss as I thought that one topic wouldn’t cover the whole hour. I was wrong. Students had a lot to think and share.
  • I tried to reflect some reality of Japanese society. Also, I tried to have them think about it in relation to their reality in the USA. I received a lot of great points about question 4.c. One said that the USA has lots of issues itself and that it is difficult to provide any advice. This is understandable, too. 
  • I wasn’t sure how students would react to this topic, but they were very serious, and I can tell that this is not a new topic for them. They have been thinking about this issue for a while.  

Advanced:

  • Even before we start first discussion about Naomi Osaka, students had a lot of questions about Japanese society, such as how Japanese people understand things like BLM, whether there is racism in Japan and if so what kind, how Japanese people think about being different, whether and how people talk about politics, about the media’s political stance, how people learn about the USA. We had a good discussion. 

How could this class be improved/ modified? 

  • Providing a basic key terms in Japanese at the beginning of the class might have helped. But at the same time, if I did it, that’s going to frame how and what they are going to think. So probably, just start free flowing, and help them when they ask about certain words.  
  • I see that the advanced class can learn and discuss a lot about Japan’s social and political issues as well as cultural things. I appreciate their curiosity.  

JP F20 INT: Hometown with Google Map

Language Resident/Assistant Name:  

Kozue Matsumoto 

Day and Date:  

Wednesday September 2nd, 2020   

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):  

Intermediate 

Class theme/topics discussed:  

  • Your Hometown 

Goal of the class:  

  • Introduce hometown using Google Map

How did you structure the class?  

  1. Sara introduces language table, language partners, and tutors (5min) 
  1. About Labor Day (3 min) 
  1. Good news (5 min)  *We share positive stories at the beginning of each class.
  1. Introduce the topic: Hometown (5 min)  
    1. Where is it? What’s there? 
    2. Anything special about the town 
    3. What did you do? What do you remember? 
  1. Breakout rooms: 3-4 people (30 min)  
    1. Share stories each other using Google Map
  1. Back to main room. Share briefly each other’s stories (12 min)  

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.) Class agreement, breakup rooms 

Zoom, Beakout room, google maps, share screens. 

What worked well in this class? What did not work? 

  • Hometown stories developed to family stories and high school stories.  
  • Students enjoyed showing their homes, hometowns and the places they know using google maps and episodes related to such places
  • Internet became a little slow when zoom and google maps were used at the same time. But students were handling it with no problems 
  • This time each student spoke for a long time when they were sharing stories. Rather than exchanges of a couple of short sentences, this time it was more like a speech.  
  • I didn’t get to hear everyone’s stories as I was moving around among breakout rooms, but apparently, they were sharing some funny stories when I wasn’t there and laughing. 
  • It was good to see that one student talks about another student’s story when I ask what’s been happening. It means they were engaging conversations and finding something interesting in stories. 
  • One dog joined at the beginning. That was cute. 
  • Students liked this, and one of them used this activity for another class/session.

How could this class be improved/ modified? 

  • Today’s class was more like each one’s story sharing with a few questions from others (as far as I saw). Next class probably I will try to do a more interview-oriented topic.  

JP S20 ADV Gadgets

Language Resident Name: Miki Saigo

Day and Date: April 21, 2020

Language and Level: Advanced Japanese

Class theme/topics discussed:

  • Handy gadgets from Japanese dollar stores

Goal of the class:

  • Describe how to use something

How did you structure the class?

  • Warm-up: Greetings
    – Ask what students did in the weekend. Ask what they think about the P/I grading policy in Pomona.
  • Activity I: Guess how to use these gadgets
    I show pictures of handy/funny/cute gadgets from dollar stores in Japan (e.g. kitchen tools, cleaning tools, stationeries). I ask students to guess what they are for/how to use them. We watch video clips that show how to use them afterwards. I ask students if they would buy any of the gadgets we saw.
  • Activity II: Discussion
    I ask students if they know any handy gadgets from daily life. (e.g. smartphone stand, cheese grater, tiny stapler)
  • Activity III: Advertisement
    We watch a video clip from a tv shopping channel to observe how people advertise a product (with great energy!):
    https://youtu.be/KBrWprkHt6o (first 30 seconds)
    I ask students what they noticed (“They speak energetically and without pause,” “They use many onomatopoeias”). We pick one of the gadgets from Activity I and try to make sentences to advertise it like a shopping channel.

What technology, media or props did you use?

  • Google Slides
  • Youtube videos
  • Pictures from the internet

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

  • Students seemed to have had fun seeing the funny gadgets.
  • Activity III could be developed more if it’s done in a physical classroom.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

  • If I do this class in person, I would develop Activity III more: I would bring a gadget to class and have students explain how to use it and advertise it like a commercial. (I found it awkward to do it when you don’t actually have the item in your hands.)
  • It would be smoother if you ask students to bring/think about a gadget for Activity II before class.

Material: Google Slides:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Qpt32B8ED56OAuu5QjO1Q80MfTDv0OJ4m7OTdVUhk4Y/edit?usp=sharing

JP S20 INT/ADV Job Interview

Language Resident Name: Miki Saigo

Day and Date: February 5, 2020

Language and Level: Intermediate Japanese

Class theme/topics discussed:

  • Job interview

Goal of the class:

  • Learn what job interviews in Japan are like
  • Learn what to talk about in a job interview

How did you structure the class?

  • Greetings and announcements
    – Study Break: Calligraphy Feb. 6th
    – Oldenborg Open House Feb. 13th
  • Activity I: Film Nanimono (2016)
    I first introduce the term shukatsu (‘job-hunting’). Next, I briefly explain the setting of Nanimono, a film that well-portrays the situations of job-hunting in Japan, and we watch the opening scene of the film. We watch it twice, and I ask students what they saw (e.g. black suits, interviews, resumes etc.) as I write them down on the board. We watch another scene from the film about a group interview and talk what we noticed.
  • Activity II: Job interview
    After watching what a job interview is like in Activity I, we practice how to talk in a job interview. I give students a handout that lists sample questions and ideas to build the answers. I explain the meanings of the advanced vocabulary in the handout, explain the typical structure of a good answer, and demonstrate some examples. I also show some video clips for more examples (skip to relevant scenes):
    https://youtu.be/L9fO-xpWF18
    https://youtu.be/U_jI1KQkmsk
    https://youtu.be/Ayb2pWPK9ko
    Finally, in pairs, students ask each other the questions and practice how to answer. I ask some students to share their answers to the whole class.
  • Activity III: What would you do?
    Students in pairs discuss what they would do in the following situations:
    1. Your boss pronounces your name incorrectly everytime. What would you do?
    2. You go to karaoke with your boss and colleagues. Your boss is a terrible singer but asks what you think his singing is. What would you say?
    In a few minutes, I ask some students to share what they discussed.

What technology, media or props did you use?

  • PowerPoint slides
  • Handout
  • Youtube videos
  • Film (DVD from FLRC)

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

  • This class was successful. The job interview practice was challenging for the students, but they find it practical and were very engaged. Every student took notes in their handout and brought it back with them (Usually some students leave handouts in the classroom when they don’t need them after class, but not this time). Students left the class with accomplished faces!

How could this class be improved/ modified?

  • Students, especially those actually planning to apply for Japanese companies, would want more feedback. Because it was hard to correct all of their errors when they were talking at the same time, next time I would ask more students to present their answers after the practice time so that I can correct them.

Materials (Download the files for better view):

JP S20 ADV Fashion

Language Resident Name: Miki Saigo

Day and Date: January 28, 2019

Language and Level: Advanced Japanese

Class theme/topics discussed:

  • Fashion

Goal of the class:

  • Discuss preferences and opinions on fashion

How did you structure the class?

  • Greetings and announcements
    – Study Break: Calligraphy Feb. 6th
    – Oldenborg Open House Feb. 13th
  • Activity I: Whose outfit?
    I show students pictures of various outfits. In groups of three, students discuss who/what kind of person would wear them to where and if students themselves would try wearing these outfits. After they discuss in groups, they discuss with the whole class.
  • Activity II: Discussions on fashion
    In groups of three, students discuss the following questions:
    1. What type of outfit do 5C students wear?
    2. What would you wear when you go to:
        – a family gathering for Christmas
        – a friend’s wedding
        – a job interview
    3. Do you take time to pick clothes in the morning? What do you do when you can’t decide?
    4. Do you stick to certain brands? Do you like fast fashion?
    5. Imagine you traveled to a somewhere far away… and you find people there wear completely different from you (e.g. everybody is wearing ルーズソックス!). What would you do?
  • Activity III: Idol group audition
    I mention how idols/groups wear unique fashion and do various types of activities on media (e.g. singing, dancing, cooking, comedy, acting, harvesting…). I divide the students into groups and tell each group to imagine they are going on an audition as an idol group. Using a worksheet, students first ask each other their hobbies, skills and things they want to try in the future. Students list up the keywords and then discuss what they can do as an idol group using their talents. They also decide their group name, goals and theme fashion (draw what they are going to wear on media).
    When they are done, they present their idea to the whole class.

What technology, media or props did you use?

  • PowerPoint slides
  • Pictures from the internet (for the picture cards)
  • Worksheet

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

  • Activity I was visually entertaining. It is open-ended and made students talk, too.
  • Students had fun in Activity III. They were creative and talked spontaneously to share their ideas. It was nice to have them draw their costumes.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

  • I would add a discussion on trend fashion next time. (e.g. What kind of fashion item is popular now/went popular in the past?)

Materials (Download the files for better view):

JP S20 INT Causative-Passive

Language Resident Name: Miki Saigo

Day and Date: May 4, 2020

Language and Level: Intermediate Japanese

Class theme/topics discussed:

  • Causative and causative-passive verbs

Goal of the class:

  • Review the grammar rules of causative and causative-passive verbs
  • Use causative-passive verbs in conversation

How did you structure the class?

  • Warm-up: Greetings
    – I ask students to participate in the course evaluation (distributed via email) after class.
  • Activity I: Quarantine Bingo
    Using the bingo sheet made by the advanced class last week, we play a bingo game in teams (two students per team); if the statement in a cell applies to either of the team member, they the cell. At the end, the team with most bingos wins.
    (To do this in the online environment, I made copies of the bingo sheet on a document on Google Doc and had students mark in the synced document.)
  • Activity II: Causative
    First, we review the usage and conjugation rules of causative verbs (-せる/させる; make someone do-). Then, to drill the conjugation, I show some pictures and have students describe them with causative verbs (e.g. “I made my child study,” “I made him eat vegetables,” “I made him go to school”). I write down the sentences on the slides as students answer. Next, we play a game that uses causative verbs; it is a rock-scissors-paper game, except students have to follow the commands, “You win/lose” or “Make the opponent win/lose”.
  • Activity III: Causative-passive
    I introduce causative-passive verbs (させられる; be made to do-) by rewriting some of the sentences from the previous activity. We review when and how to use causative-passive verbs. Then, I ask students to describe the pictures from the previous activity with causative-passive verbs (e.g. “I was made to study,” “I was made to eat vegetables,” “I was made to go to school”).
    Next, we discuss the following questions, using causative-passive verbs:
    1. Were you forced to do anything as a child? (e.g. music lessons, sports, fashion etc.) As an example, I show a picture of myself wearing a kendo uniform as a child and talk about my memories back then (e.g. “I was made to learn kendo,” “I was made to wear the uncomfortable uniform”).
    2. Have you ever been forced to buy anything by your family, friends or salesclerks?
  • Closing: briefly explain what we will be doing in the next class (Final class!)

What technology, media or props did you use?

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

  • I chose this grammar rule as the topic because it is one of the hardest in the intermediate/advanced grammar. I designed this class by setting the target grammar first, and then the activities. This way, I was able to structure the class logically and with a clear goal. (I know this was the ideal way to design a class but I often failed to follow this process this semester.)
  • Because my original lesson plan turned out too short in the advanced class, I added more drilling of the conjugations in Activity II and III. This became a good guided practice, especially to intermediate students; they find the task helpful to practice the complicated conjugations.
  • They liked seeing my childhood pictures. It is nice to use personalized materials sometimes in order to catch students’ attention.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

  • It would be better with a couple more open-ended tasks. I would add some discussion questions that make students use causative verbs after Activity II.

Materials:

JP F19 ADV Facial Expressions, Gestures & Emojis

Language Resident Name: Miki Saigo

Day and Date: December 3, 2019

Language and Level: Advanced Japanese

Class theme/topics discussed:
Face expressions, gestures and emojis

Goal of the class:

  • Talk about emotions and certain situations to use gestures/emojis
  • Learn cultural differences about gestures and facial expressions

How did you structure the class?

  • Warm-up: Greetings and announcements
    – Cultural events
    – Lunch Table attendances
  • Activity I: Emojis
    I give students Handout of emojis and briefly explain what “emojis” are. In pairs, I ask students to discuss (i) what kind of emotions/meanings the emojis represent, and (ii) in what kind of context people would use the emojis in a message. After a while, I ask the questions to the whole class and discuss together. If needed, I explain cultural backgrounds of some of the emojis. I also ask if there are other emojis that students often use.
  • Activity II: Gestures
    I show a list of words/situations on the screen (“to call,” “thank you,” “when you meet your friends” etc.) and ask students to think of gestures they might use in the situations. Students work in pairs, and when they are done, I ask them to act out each gesture. We talk about cultural differences found in the gestures.
  • Activity III: Discussions
    In pairs, students discuss the following questions:
    1. Are there other gestures you use/ have seen? (To give examples at first, I mention a couple gestures that I have seen in American TV shows.)
    2. When you travel abroad and you don’t know the local language, what do you do? (It could be gestures or other ways to communicate.) For example, when you’re at a store or in a taxi?

What technology, media or props did you use?

  • Handout with pictures
  • PowerPoint slides

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

We had lively and interesting discussions throughout the class. Students enjoyed talking about emojis more than I had expected. I think it was a good topic for our generation. The first few emojis in Handout were meant to be basic expressions (e.g. smile, laugh, cry etc.), but they developed way more than that and had a huge discussion (e.g. “It is a fake smile you make when you don’t like something,” “You don’t use this crying face when you are actually sad,” “It could be happy tears”). Moreover, students in this class had culturally diverse backgrounds, so it was interesting to compare the cultural differences in gestures (e.g. how to count with your fingers in China).

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I was going to do another activity (storytelling by using emojis), but students spent a long time discussing emojis (which is fine because they enjoyed and talked a lot). Depending on the audience, however, I would use another activity to adjust the time.

Handout & Slide (Activity I):

絵文字(えもじ)
A.

B.

JP F19 ADV Onomatopoeias & Slang

Language Resident Name: Miki Saigo

Day and Date: September 24, 2019

Language and Level: Advanced Japanese

Class theme/topics discussed:
Onomatopoeias and Slang

Goal of the class:
Learn casual vocabulary and phrases

How did you structure the class?

  • Warm-up: Greeting and announcements
    – Ghibli Movie Night on Sep. 26
  • Activity I: Match the onomatopoeias (= sound-based words)
    I ask students to make groups of two or three and give each group a table of onomatopoeias and picture cards. I ask them to place each picture on a corresponding onomatopoeia. When all groups are done, I tell them the correct answers and explain when to use the words.
    I introduce other common onomatopoeias and ask students if they know even more.
  • Activity II: Guess what these slang words mean
    I give a handout that lists slang words and ask students to choose the closest synonym from the options. Students work in pairs, and when they are done, I tell them the correct answers and explain when to use the words.
  • Activity III: Names
    As the newly-invented slang term “kira kira name” (millennium kids’ untraditional names) was mentioned in Activity II, I give a few examples of kira kira names (I first show students the Chinese characters and have them guess how to read them).
    Next, I ask students to make groups of three and talk about their name origins.

What technology, media or props did you use?

  • PowerPoint slides
  • Drawings from the internet
  • Picture cards
  • Web articles

What worked well in this class? What did not work?
Students talked a lot in Activity I. I thought the vocab was too easy for advanced students but they were not familiar with all of them, which led them to discuss with their group members.

How could this class be improved/ modified?
I think this class went well and the amount of content was good for a one-hour class.

Note:
I told students to avoid using slang words to professors and in writing; I made it clear that I talked about slang in this lesson because they might hear/see it sometimes in Japanese media but they are not supposed to use it in formal contexts.

Picture cards (Activity I):

Handout (Activity II):

Slides:

Sep.24_AdvJP_Slides

JP F19 ADV Business Situations

Language Resident Name: Miki Saigo

Day and Date: September 12, 2019

Language and Level: Advanced Japanese

Class theme/topics discussed:

  • Superstitions/customs in Japan
  • Business situations in Japan

Goal of the class:

  • Become familiar with Japanese superstitions and customs
  • Learn how you are supposed to speak and act in business situations
  • Learn how to present your ideas

How did you structure the class?

  • Warm-up: Greeting and small talks (How their days are going etc.)
  • Activity I: Superstitions in Japan
    Students make groups of two or three and I give each group a set of cards (See the attached file). Each card describes a famous superstition in Japan with a picture. Students have to guess if the superstitions on the cards are something they should or should not do in terms of good fortune/manner. After they separate the cards in do’s and don’ts, I give them the correct answers and explain.
  • Activity II: Business manners in Japan
    I talk how job hunting in Japan has many rules you have to follow. I give students this webpage I printed out, which is about the dress code in job interviews:
    https://job.rikunabi.com/contents/manners/1003/
    I mention a few important rules and ask how what they think about having these strict rules in job hunting and how it is different from their cultures.
  • Activity III: Invent a new product
    I mention a few products from this webpage which lists products invented by college students in Japan:
    https://matome.naver.jp/odai/2138608074292868501
    I ask them to work in a group of two or three and invent a new product. Before they begin, I present a product I came up with, as an example. I show them a drawing of the product and present a) its name, b) what it is like and what it can do, c) the target consumers, and d) its price. I ask them to try inventing something and give them a handout that helps list (a)-(d). After they collect their ideas and draw what their products look like, they present it to class.

What technology, media or props did you use?

  • PowerPoint
  • Pictures from the internet
  • Japanese webpages
  • Picture cards
  • Handout

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Students had very creative ideas at inventing new products. The task was more than just language practice but exciting for them.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

It would have been better if I gave students time to practice how to speak in job interviews; in Japanese, you are supposed to talk in honorifics in business situations, and I don’t think they get to practice speaking in honorifics in their usual conversation practices.

Picture cards (Activity I):

Slides:

Sep.12_AdvJP_Slides-Business

JP F19 INT Folk Tales & Superstitions

Language Resident Name: Miki Saigo

Day and Date: September 11, 2019

Language and Level: Intermediate Japanese

Class theme/topics discussed:

Folk tales and superstitions/customs in Japan

Goal of the class:

  • Become familiar with Japanese folk tales, superstitions and customs

How did you structure the class?

  • Warm-up: Greeting and announcements
    – Thomas Mann House Tour & Screening, Sep. 21st
    – Language Partners
    – Tell unregistered students to register
  • Activity I: Japanese folk tale ‘Urashima Taro’
    In this activity, I use a 3.5-minute YouTube video that narrates a Japanese folk tale called ‘Urashima Taro’ along with visual images:

Before we watch the video, I read the vocabulary list in Handout and explain what they are, using the drawings beside the list. Then, we watch the first three minutes of the video until I stop for comprehension check. I ask students to complete the Plot in Handout. After we summarize the story together, I ask what they think is going to happen next and what would they do if they were in the same situation.
Finally, we watch the rest of the video and discuss what the lesson of the story is.

  • Activity II: Superstitions in Japan
    Students make groups of three and I give each group a set of cards (See the attached file). Each card describes a famous superstition in Japan with a picture. Students have to guess if the superstitions on the cards are something they should or should not do in terms of good fortune/manner. After they separate the cards into do’s and don’ts, I give them the correct answers and explain.
    I also ask students if they have superstitions in their cultures.
  • Activity III: Cultural shocks
    I start with some examples of cultural shocks I have encountered since I arrived in the US (e.g. skateboard and scooters). Considering that not all students have traveled abroad a lot, I also add that different customs can be found in your neighbors, giving an example of my friend with weird habits. I ask students to discuss in groups and share some of the most interesting ones with the class.

What technology, media or props did you use?

  • PowerPoint
  • YouTube video
  • Handout
  • Picture cards

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

  • I told students to look up or ask me if they could not understand the words on the cards in Activity II: Superstitions, but in fact, they could figure out from the pictures. Having visual support worked well.
  • Students voluntarily mentioned many superstitions and cultural differences they know.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

  • I think this class went really well.

Picture cards:

Slides:

Sep.11_IntmJP_Slides

JP S19 ADV Japanese New Year Traditions

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: Tuesday, February 5th

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced Japanese 

Class theme/topics discussed: New Year Traditions 

Goal of the class: To be able to explain their new year traditions and to learn Japanese new year traditions to details. 

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (5 min): Warm-up

We talk about the game we’ll be having during the Open House next week and discuss what words are interesting sounds for Americans. We decide 5 words that visitors to our lounge has to guess what that it. 

Activity2 (10 min): New Year Tradition

I group students by cultures they’re familiar with. In the group, students talk about what they do as new year’s tradition in their culture. How do they celebrate? What do they eat? Where do they go? What do they see? Etc… After a several minutes, we share what they talked about with the whole class.

Activity3 (10 min): Japanese New Year Tradition

I tell students what we do in Japan, showing some pictures.

Activity4 (10 min): Osechi

I introduce Osechi, Japanese new year’s food, with a picture and ask students what they know about it.

Activity5 (15 min): Meaning of Each Dish in Osechi

We check each name of dishes. Then, students make pairs and guess what its meaning of each dish. Then, I’ll read out true meanings of each dish. Students guess what that is. 

Activity6 (5 min): Wrap-up

We have casual conversations about Osechi. What would you like to try eating? Cooking? Have you ever eaten Japanese Osechi? Is there anything similar to your culture? 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It worked well. I also learned many things about Japanese new year tradition of food. Time management was good today. 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

The topic with this plan could include more active speaking activities somehow. 

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

JP S19 ADV Working Environment in Japan

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: Thursday, May 2nd

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced Japanese 

Class theme/topics discussed: Working Environment in Japan

Goal of the class: To learn the current movement regarding working environment improvement in Japan and to be able to say opinions on it using appropriate words.

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (10 min): Warm-up

Students talk about their good or bad working experience. 

Activity2 (10 min): Vocabularies

Students make a pair and write at least 5 Japanese words that are used to talk about working or one’s company life. I also add some new vocabs that are useful to know.

Activity3 (10 min): Japan’s recent movement to improve working environment

I introduce a movement initiated by the government to improve the working environment in Japan. 

Activity4 (20 min): Discussion

We discuss why is a job so important? What do we work for? What makes the environment harder and harder in Japan? Old generation (workaholic) vs New generation, which do you agree with?

Activity5 (10 min): Wrap-up

I ask the whole class some wrap-up questions. 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It worked pretty well. There were many new words that students didn’t know, so I tried to check on them if they know the words and tried to make the class environment comfortable so they can always ask questions. It was interesting enough for them, hopefully. 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

This class could be more interesting and a peer-learning style with tasks in which students look for any problem the movement initiated by the government, think about them and present them to the class. 

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

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