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Advice for teachers -
Japanese Second Language

Teaching and learning activities

Unit 2

Unit 2 – Area of Study 1: Interpersonal communication

Theme: The Japanese-speaking communities
Topic: Living in a Japanese community/visiting Japan
Sub topic: Housing in Japan

Outcome 1

Respond in writing in Japanese to spoken, written or visual texts presented in Japanese.

Examples of learning activities

  • Listen to a conversation about daily life in Japan.
  • Role-play a conversation about the ways Australian and Japanese students help around the home.
  • Discuss your daily routine with that of a Japanese student.
  • Listen to someone describing their house in Japanese. Make a list of specific vocabulary.
  • View photos of Japanese houses and answer a series of questions on them in writing.
  • Read short passages about life in rural and urban areas in Japan and write a speech in Japanese comparing life in these areas with life in rural and urban Australia.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Read and listen to texts about homes in Japan and view a selection of pictures of them. Prepare a short film comparing some features of houses in Japan and Australia.
  • Write a journal entry about your experiences of living with a Japanese family for a week.
  • Research the Internet about modern and traditional life in Japan and create a photostory. Share this photostory with the class.
  • Write a cartoon or comic strip highlighting the daily activities of a Japanese person or family.
  • View pictures of different daily activities in Japan (e.g. taking a bath, eating) and describe these activities in Japanese, making comparisons with Australia.
Example icon for advice for teachers 

Detailed example

A short film comparing homes in Japan and Australia based on written, spoken and viewed texts.

  1. View and discuss a selection of pictures depicting aspects of the Japanese culture in homes in Japan (e.g. a kotatsu, a butsudan).
  2. Read and listen to texts about Japanese homes. Discuss the similarities and differences in the texts to homes in Australia.
  3. Complete comprehension exercises based on the texts.
  4. Write a short summary of the features of Japanese homes, incorporating appropriate descriptive and comparative language.
  5. Create a simple PowerPoint, incorporating relevant images of the features of Japanese homes.
  6. Make a short film narrating the images on the slides.

Unit 2 – Area of Study 2: Interpretative communication

Theme: The world around us
Topic: Communication and media
Sub topic: Communication and social media

Outcome 2

Analyse and use information from written, spoken or visual texts to produce an extended written response in Japanese.

Examples of learning activities

  • Listen to the ways students use social media to support their study of Japanese.
  • Interview Australian and Japanese students about the ways they use the Internet. Write a summary report in Japanese.
  • Survey your Japanese class and find out how long they use the Internet each day. Present your findings in a graph.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Drawing on the information gathered, hold a class debate on the topic, ‘Is the Internet good or bad?’
  • Read short summaries of how young people and adults communicate using social media.
  • Read blog posts about the way young people in Australia and Japan use their mobile phone as a communication device.
  • Write an essay on the pros and cons of the Internet and social media.
  • Create an advertisement in Japanese for a chosen product, considering your intended audience.
  • View a series of captioned illustrations that depict young people using social media and analyse them.
  • Write in Japanese a series of rules when using social media.
  • Write an Instagram post for a series of photographs.
  • View short advertisements in Japanese (posters or from YouTube) and analyse and discuss the language used.
Example icon for advice for teachers 

Detailed example

Drawing on the information gathered, hold a class debate on the topic, ‘Is the internet good or bad?’

  1. Research internet usage among people in Japan, drawing on a number of different texts.
  2. List vocabulary related to this topic from all material studied so far.
  3. Brainstorm useful expressions, grammar and vocabulary for debating the positive and negative aspects of the topic.
  4. Decide on which side of the debate you will take, affirmative or negative.
  5. Discuss how to appropriately rebut an idea in Japanese and brainstorm useful expressions, grammar and vocabulary.
  6. In small groups, write the script of the debate depending on the side taken.
  7. Perform the debate in front of the class.
  8. Give oral and written feedback to all the groups and to the teacher.

Unit 2 – Area of Study 3: Presentational communication

Theme: The Japanese-speaking communities
Topic: Living in a Japanese community/visiting Japan
Sub topic: Exploring Japan

Outcome 3

Explain information, ideas and concepts orally in Japanese to a specific audience about an aspect of culture within communities where Japanese is spoken.

Examples of learning activities

  • Listen to an announcement at a train station or airport in Japan and identify key information.
  • Listen to a description of a place in Japan.
  • Use the train maps of a city in Japan and guide someone around to different places.
  • Role-play a conversation at a restaurant or a shop in Japan.
  • Role-play a conversation with a friend persuading them to visit a place in Japan with you.
  • Read a letter from a friend in Japan who introduces their city to you.
  • Write a review of a restaurant in Japan.
  • Research the Internet to find information about a place of cultural significance in Japan. Present this information in a digital presentation and share this with the class.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Create a detailed itinerary for a tour to Japan (e.g. places to see, where you will stay, how you will get around).
  • Research the biography of a famous architect in Japan (e.g. Kenzo Tange). Describe in Japanese one of the building this person has designed.
  • View different brochures about  places of interest in Japan. Write a journal entry about visiting one of these places.
  • Research a town or city and write a time-line of its development.
  • View short YouTube clips about places of interest in Japan. Write a summary of what you view in Japanese. How do these places compare to Australia?
Example icon for advice for teachers 

Detailed example

Create a detailed itinerary for a tour to Japan.

  1. Watch YouTube clips about several places of cultural significance in Japan.
  2. Read articles and/or listen to descriptions about different cities in Japan and tourist attractions in these cities.
  3. Create a vocabulary list from the articles read.
  4. Revise vocabulary for time words, for example, months and dates.
  5. Decide on a plan for the tour, where you will start the tour and end the tour.
  6. Decide on places to include in your itinerary and find appropriate images to include in your itinerary.
  7. Draft your itinerary providing details about the cities you will visit and what you will do there.