Manten Resources

Supporting your Japanese language program

Differentiation

Mid-year goal check

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We are officially half-way through winter and half-way through the school year. Hopefully we can begin to find some fresh energy as we look towards the warmer days to come. This mid-point is a perfect time to pause and reflect on how your students are progressing. It is likely that some students are merging ahead in their learning of script whilst others may be lagging behind.

I was reminded the other day of how exciting learning to read for the first time can be. I had been showing a male primary student a few hiragana letters and then lined them up to spell basic words like sushi and sashimi. His amazement and excitement to realise that the letters spelt words that they knew was infectious. There is some concern that boys are often less motivated language learners than females, but deeper investigation reveals that this is often tied more to a lack of progress indicators than a lack of interest in the actual content.

Boys complain it is difficult to see the extent they have improved due to a lack of progress indicators (Pavy 2006). Without such indicators of achievement, their motivation wanes.
Pavy, S.(2006) Boys Learning Languages Babel, v41 n1 p4-11, 38

I have found that boys particularly enjoy kanji and find the visual meaning and the challenge appealing. I have watched students embrace their script studies via self-directed systems such as our Patch system. This system is available for hiragana, katakana, and two levels of kanji. It allows students to work ahead at their own pace and provides progress indicators as they pass each of the 15 levels. It can save teachers hours of preparation time and remove that nagging stress each day of needing to extend students on the spot who have finished the work faster than you expected. This systemic program of differentiation extends the students in a meaningful way.

As we approach the midpoint of the year, try to pause and reflect on one aspect of your students’ progress that you would like to improve upon in the coming months. Where possible, use a systematic approach that you can return to again and again.
If script is your goal, then you may be interested in our Patch system.
If improving student confidence in speaking is your focus, then you may like to try our Speaking stations game or develop your own. The speaking stations game aims to develop a growth mindset in your students and increase time on task in speaking skills.
Resources such as these are only $50. If the budget allows, it may be worth purchasing such an item rather than spending a few weeks making it yourself. Use the time instead to maintain your own well-being so that you can continue to inspire your students with your enthusiasm and energy.

All the best for the start of term 3!

The new differentiation

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Are you struggling with elective class enrolments? Feel like you are constantly fighting for support from the executive? Your problem may lie in differentiation – although not from the traditional perspective.

Differentiation is how we shape our teaching and learning activities to support the needs and interests of the students. Traditionally we focus on making materials accessible to students who are at different levels of understanding and ability at a given point in time. For example, the NSW syllabus groups content appropriate to mainstream, prior-learning and background student levels. In the Jblog textbook series, we differentiate questions at the green, blue and black level based on ski runs.

But what if we looked at differentiation from a different perspective?

I was recently inspired by Seth Godin’s book “This is Marketing.” In it, he writes:

It doesn’t make sense to make a key and then run around and looking for a lock to open. The only productive solution is to find a lock and then fashion a key. Its easier to make products and services for the customers you seek to serve than it is to find customers for your products and services. (pages 5-6)

How many of us are trying to sell a language program rather than creating a languages product that meets the needs of our key stakeholders? Do you even know what the needs and desires of your stakeholders are?

When I refer to stakeholders, I am considering the students, their parents, the school executive and the larger community. These stakeholder groups will influence to different degrees how relevant my languages product will be perceived. Some of you may argue that we shouldn’t have to do this, and that simply stating the many benefits of language learning should be enough. Seth Godin argues though, that “The status quo doesn’t shift because you’ re right. It shifts because the culture changes”. (page 122)

It is a mighty task to change the dominant culture of your stakeholders to align with a languages’ viewpoint. But it is less difficult to align your course with the dominant culture. How about differentiating your languages course to meet the needs and interests of those stakeholders? Can you differentiate to better reflect their values, rather than swim against the tide? One of our schools has a dominant culture that exults commerce and business. So we embraced that with a unit titled “The Intercultural marketing business case study”. Students learned about how marketing to a Japanese audience differs to an Australian audience. They learned how customer expectations of customer service are deeply embedded in the language and culture that we identify with. Those of you in NSW currently reprogramming for the new syllabus may like to embrace this shift in mindset as you develop new task-based programs.

We will be discussing this topic in more detail at our Noosa workshop July 13th. The extended workshop will give us time to look at examples of assessment tasks that align with different stakeholder values and dominant cultures. You can book online using Trybooking or email me at jblog1help@gmail.com to request an invoice for your school. We look forward to escaping the winter chill with you then.

Good luck with your programming!

SPEAKING STATIONS

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When programming for the new syllabus, I noticed that I needed to create more opportunities for the students to meet the outcome LJA4-1C, in particular the following content point: “engage in collaborative activities that involve planning and making arrangements for example participating in class activities using set phrases in Japanese” (ACLJAC002).

Although we played games in my classes, I wanted to embed more target language use into the games and the way the students played together.

The result is the Speaking Stations Pack. The first of these packs to be released is aimed at Stage 4 (year 7/8). This version develops a student’s skills in the language content covered in Jblog textbook 1.

How to play

Students in pairs or small groups have a map of Mt Fuji that has 15 speaking stations. Student A throws a dice and moves along the path the number of places on the dice. Student B uses the question card to ask Student A the matching question for that station eg 「何才ですか」. Student A refers to their stimulus card which provides information in Japanese to help them answer the question. If Student A answers correctly, they can stay on the station. If they answer incorrectly, they must go back to the start. Student B is responsible for telling Student A if they are correct or not. Student B has the answers written on the question card. Students take turns rolling the dice and answering the question.

This game can be differentiated in two ways.

Firstly, each game has a script version (hiragana and basic kanji) and a romaji version (with romaji above the Japanese script). Students or teachers can select which is more appropriate for individual students.

Secondly, students can use the same question card or different question cards. For example, student A could be using the Dialogue Review Profile A card and student B could be using the Dialogue Review Profile D card.

click on image to view enlarged version

What topics are covered?

This Year 7/8 version covers the following topics:

Game 1 – Aisatsu

This game revises common aisatsu and has questions in English such as You arrive home to your homestay apartment. Greet your host family. The student would be expected to say “ただいま”.

Game 2 – Dialogue Review CH1-5

This game revises common self-introduction content such as name, age, birthday, number of people in your family etc. Students must refer to the profile they receive of a Japanese person to answer each question. The profile is provided in Japanese in a table format. The students use the stimulus to create an appropriate full sentence to respond. There are 3 versions of game 2 that use different Japanese profiles.

Game 3 – School life

This game revises common school life content such as if they like or dislike a subject, what period or day of the week they study a subject, what their favourite subject is etc. Students must refer to the profile they receive of a Japanese person to answer each question. The profile is provided in Japanese in a table format. The students use the stimulus to create an appropriate full sentence to respond. There are 3 versions of game 3 that use different Japanese profiles.

Game 4 – Shopping at the Bunkasai

This game revises content related to shopping, prices and classroom objects. The setting is purchasing classroom objects from a stall at the bunkasai. Students will be required to use Japanese language to ask what an item is, how much it costs, to pass items and to say thank you etc. There are 3 versions of game 4 that use different stimulus information.

click on image to view enlarged version

Composing option

Teachers may also like to follow this speaking task with a composing option. There are blank tables provided, that students could use to create their own versions of the game by composing the profiles/stimulus cards and sample answer cards. This activity would address the composing outcome LJA4-4C, in particular the content point, “Compose informative and imaginative texts in spoken, written and multimodal forms for a variety of purposes and audiences, using stimulus materials and modelled language (ACLJAC007).”

How much does it cost? What do I receive in the pack?

The pack costs $50 and includes:

  • A Mt Fuji game sheet with 15 stations
  • Game 1 – Aisatsu
  • Game 2 – Dialogue Review with 3 different profile versions
  • Game 3 – School Life with 3 different profile versions
  • Game 4 – Shopping at the Bunkasai with 3 different stimulus cards
  • All games include a scripted version and a romaji version
  • Student game explanation with suggested language to use when playing the game such as はい、どうぞ。(When passing the dice to each other.);さいころはどこですか。Where is the dice?; わたしのばん It is my turn.
  • Scaffolds to support the composing option of the game
  • Teacher guide

 

Teachers will receive all these items as PDFS or word documents. It is recommended that you laminate the game sheet. Teachers will need to supply their own dice and markers for the game.

To order, email jblog1help@gmail.com

NEW SYLLABUS PROGRAMMING RESOURCE

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2019 is the implementation year for the new syllabus in NSW for years 7 & 9. If you are feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of reprogramming for the new syllabus, then you may be interested in this resource.

The teacher guide to programming for Year 9 includes:

·       8 Sample programs – PDF versions

·       8 Sample programs in word (to enable you to edit as suits you)

·       An outcome and content mapping grid

·       A teacher guideline

This resource maps all the content and activities available in the Jblog 2 textbook, workbook, amazing races and sound files. Even if you are not using Jblog as your main textbook, you may find the suggested learning tasks adaptable to your current program.  It provides programming details such as suggested discussion questions and differentiation strategies for the 3 student pathways of the new syllabus (regular entry, students with prior learning and/or experience and background students). It also includes our regular differentiated content at the green, blue and black levels.

There are a lot of options in these programs so we suggest you just cut and paste the learning sequences that best suit your teaching group.

This resource is $100 and you can order by emailing jblog1help@gmail.com.

We hope it can help reduce some of the stress that can arise in an implementation year.

Click on the images below to access an enlarged view.

 

Ideas for incorporating Sustainability in your program

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Sustainability is one of the key cross-curriculum priorities of the Australian Curriculum. The environment is an obvious context for this content. Some teachers may be concerned that this topic  is too challenging for their students but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some ideas modelling how to differentiate an environmental unit.

This task is based on the content in chapter 7 of Jblog textbook 3. This unit introduces students to key environmental issues in Japan such as cleaning up Mt Fuji, the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster and solar panel farm controversy. Students are then directed to consider their own impact on the environment. The following task from the student workbook could be used as the driving question for the unit.

Learning task : In pairs or small groups, choose an environmental issue in your community. What action could you take to help with this issue? Design promotional materials using Japanese (eg poster, flier, videoclip) to promote positive action for your cause.

Extension task: Research how other Japanese communities are grappling with your issue (or similar) in the Japanese context. (Students with prior learning and/or experience, background or who are working at a GT level should be encouraged to use realia in Japanese as part of this research.)

For students who are working at a lower level or who find composing in Japanese intimidating, using a Fake text app may make this more palatable. For example students could use the stimulus on page 86 of the textbook that advertises a river clean-up day. They could then write a series of text messages between two friends planning to attend the event.

 (Click on image to view as a larger image)

There are various applications out that can help you create fake text messages. I found this one was the easiest to use for me personally:  https://ifaketextmessage.com.

There are several more examples of how to create and use fake text messages in our March newsletter. If you missed it, please email me and I can send you through a back issue. You can sign up for our newsletter on the website homepage – just scroll to the bottom of the screen for the sign-up form.

Further reading:

You may also be interested in our post about the Australian Curriculum

How to have fun with questions

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If you are looking for a exciting way to have students practice making questions then look no further than “the question game”. It is free and fun but also ticks the boxes of differentiation and developing growth mindset and teamwork skills.

How to play

This is a great game to play when you have a practicum student or a Japanese assistant. You will need to know a little about the person to make the worksheet. The worksheet can be 3 by 3 squares or larger depending on how long you want the game to take. In each box, write in Japanese a word or phrase. The students will need to look at the words or statements on the sheet and think of a question or statement or action that will make you say that word or phrase. As such, pitch the stimulus phrases to their current ability level.

The idea is that the students are seated in groups at tables with a copy of the worksheet each, plus one team copy that they will use to get signed by the teachers.

When they have thought of a question they call, either you or the assistant over by name, using phrases such as “Campbell せんせい、きてください”. This is good for less confident speakers as they have to say it many times and get quite good at it.

When you come they will ask you the question but the fun part is their question may be grammatically correct but needs to be asked to the other teacher. Eg our assistant liked basketball so asking me 「好きなスポーツは何ですか。」 wouldn’t work. They love it when this happens and are frantic to ask the question again to the right person.

The more they have to think, the more fun they have. For eg I put in the example below the grade my son is in in primary school. They had to think about me and what they knew about my family to generate a good question. (Click on the image to see it in more detail)

The best stimulus phrase though is 「ありがとう」. This can lead to a wide range of responses from compliments about how much they love you to offering you a seat. One time when we played this, a particular group became stuck on this question. The quick thinking Japanese assistant, seeing their dilemma, dropped his pencil intentionally. The boys picked it up for him and said 「どうぞ」 eliciting the 「ありがとう」 they had been searching for.

Why this game works

I love this game because it naturally differentiates and enables all students to utilise higher order thinking skills regardless of their Japanese ability. Students develop teamwork skills as they work together to translate the stimulus word or phrase, consider options that may elicit the correct response considering their knowledge of the person and/or Japanese culture, and translate these questions into correct Japanese. It develops growth mindset skills as students ask the wrong questions and consider new possibilities. It acknowledges social constructivism theory as it encourages students of varying abilities to work together, learn from each other and consider other ways of arriving at an answer. It is also very flexible and the same question sheet could be used by various classes with only the questions changing.

How to mix it up

Idea 1 : You can make it specific to a grammatical structure you want to practice by including more specific phrases such as「はい、行ったことがあります。」when you want to practice questions like 「日本に行ったことがありますか。」. If you want to keep it more general, use instead a phrase like 「はい、あります。」as your stimulus. This could lead to other options such as 「自分の部屋にテレビがありますか」.

Idea 2 : You could test cultural knowledge using the target language via this game. For example your stimulus could be a date eg 「三月三日」which would elicit questions like 「ホワイトデーはいつですか」. Or it could be a specific cultural term eg 「ちゃんこなべ」which would elicit questions like「すもうさんは何を食べますか。」.

Further reading:

You may also be interested in our post on growth mindset at https://www.mantenresources.com.au/teachers/blog/growth-mindset-more-than-just-a-poster-on-the-wall/