tedg6134 Japanese language maintenance
course notes prepared by
William Armour Asian Studies Unit Faculty of Commerce and Economics
University of New South Wales
Welcome to Japanese language maintenance studies !
This is an important part of your training as a Japanese language teacher, and a unique opportunity for you to build on your present Japanese language proficiency.
Goals of the course
This is a 36 hour course divided into 18 two hour sessions as follows:
Session 1 : Week 1 ~ Week 14 Session 2 : Week 1 ~ Week 4
The language maintenance sessions will be on Thursdays from 12pm until 2pm and will consist of the following activities:
a) Self-directed learning tasks using the resources in the Language Resource Centre (Q1023 & Q1024), the Self-Access Centre (MB102), the Japan Foundation (North Sydney) and the Japanese community of Sydney.
b) Face-to-face sessions including participation in JAPN4000 seminars, and sessions with your mentor.
The objective of a learning contract is to focus a learner regarding what is going to be learned, how the learning is going to proceed and how achievement will be evaluated. By following the guidelines (next page and in class), you will be able to prepare a learning contract to discuss with your mentor.
Theoretically, it is possible that you do not attend Language Maintenance class for a couple of weeks because you are conducting interviews with native speakers, you are at the Japan Foundation watching a video or collecting print resources etc. This is fine. It is expected, however, you come to class whenever you wish to inform the mentor about how you are progressing. Reporting back is considered an important part of the course.
Print resources
4 models for reading newspapers, magazines and other text-types
4 selected text-types from a variety of sources
4 Japanese language newspapers and magazines
Video resources
4 recordings of Japanese TV programs
4 Japanese language movies
Audio Resources
4 Japanese language text and tape sets
4 Japanese language songs
Computer-based resources
4 Japanese word-processing software installed on Macintosh computers in the Language Resource Centre
Other resources
Language maintenance journal
You are required to keep a journal containing the following:
In your file you could consider the following points:
EITHER
"Snippets" : an idea from Ruth Wajnryb BABEL Vol.24 No.2 Oct. 1989.
Collect 10 "snippets" of natural Japanese. These are to be recorded onto tape and then recorded in writing with close attention to a faithful rendering of what was actually said. Exchanges should be about 6~10 lines (utterances) long. You are to provide information about contextual features - such as the participants, the setting, the purpose of the communication - and paralinguistic features like intonation that are pertinent to the exchange.
OR
This exercise introduces you to the notion that language is culturally determined and situationally defined.
You are going to deliberately break conventions and create an incident of your own choosing - e.g. being excessively friendly with a complete stranger; being overly explicit with a close friend; being too personal with an acquaintance; using the wrong intonation; raising a topic which is inappropriate to a relationship...
You are to
The mentor is there to help you out with specific problems you may be having planning your learning contract and/or putting it into operation. The mentor is the person who you can ask for assistance in finding out some resource, help with some points of language and the like.
The mentor is not a "teacher" in the traditional sense of "teller", you decide what you want to learn and how you go about that learning is directed by you. The mentor may be consulted when there are challenges which face you learning.
Self-assessment
The course is assessed by you in discussion with the mentor. At the beginning of the course, you use the separate self-assessment document which your mentor will give you. By doing this exercise, you will have some idea of what your present level of proficiency is in Japanese, then you design a learning contract which will aid developing further proficiency.
Peer-assessment
Your peers are also there to help you with learning. They can give you insights into their learning strategies, ideas etc. which you may have never thought about. Share with them and reap the fruits of success !
TEDG 6128 Japanese Method
Course Notes and Workbook
Prepared by
William Armour Asian Studies Unit Faculty of Commerce and Economics
University of New South Wales
Workbook Notes questions for Thinking about doing [Reference: Peter Kline The Everyday Genius 1988]
WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO ? This question helps you DEFINE the task at hand
WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WILL TAKE TO ACCOMPLISH THE TASK ?
LOOK at the task and DEFINE it realistically in order to see what's needed to accomplish it.
WHAT RESOURCES DO YOU HAVE AVAILABLE TO GET THE TASK DONE ?
FINDING OUT & USING the wealth of TOOLS and PEOPLE etc. available to help you complete a task.
WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE TASK YOU HAVE SET FOR YOURSELF, WHAT WILL YOU BE MOST PLEASED ABOUT ?
Consider the REWARDS of the activity it will be easier to determine how much energy you want to invest
Ask: What pleases you most about having ..... ?
WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT THE WAY YOU ARE DOING THIS NOW ?
REMIND yourself of how well you are really doing at something REAL ISE the implied approval and support
IF YOU COULD ADD ONE THING TO WHAT YOU ARE NOW DOING IN ORDER TO MAKE EVERYTHING HAPPEN BETTER, WHAT WOULD IT BE ?
LOOK at what's missing; EVALUATE your effort as GOOD and then CONSIDER how to make it better
As part Of the Japanese Method course, you are encouraged to keep a TEACHING & LEARNING JOURNAL.
The Teaching and Learning Journal is where you write out your dreams, frustrations, hopes, desires, hates, ideas, problems and their solutions concerning teaching and learning the Japanese language.
The Teaching and Learning Journal can be structured in any way you feel happy with. The Journal can be completely confidential (i.e. for your eyes only) or if you wish, you could make it public, that is, share it with the tutor and your other classmates. Two important philosophies of the Japanese Method course are:
and
collaboration as a context for joining teacher learning with learning about teaching
learning about teaching from talking (or writing) about teaching
You are urged to read the paper "A unique glimpse" written by Jane Zemiro, Lecturer in Teacher Education, University of Sydney, concerning journals written by her Dip. Ed. students. Note how these students used their journals as a learning- about-teaching strategy.
- Project 1 questions to be considered
In the first project several questions are posed for you to consider and then answer. The questions are written in Japanese, however, the answers, if appropriate, maybe written in English .or Japanese (depending on your level of proficiency). The questions are designed to get you to start thinking about the hows of Japanese language teaching.
Please choose 5 questions to answer.
Date due: Thursday 23rd March, 1995.
- Project 2
SLA Research and YOU: becoming a professional reader
There is a perceived gap between what SLA researchers say about how a L2 is acquired and what LOTE teachers say how it could be taught. In this project, you are to read a number of articles of your choice concerning Japanese language L2 acquisition. You are to write your own comments regarding what you have read and then some suggestions concerning how the research data could be used in the classroom.
Date due: Thursday 6th April, 1995.
- Project 3
Resources Development
Resources and how to make them is the very lifeblood of teaching. In this project, you are to make resources which you think will be useful in your classrooms. For each resource, you will also produce a 'what to do with it' sheet.
Date due: Thursday 1 st June, 1995.
- Project 4
HSC: focus on options
There are three options which are offered for examination in the HSC: Literature, Tourism and Film. In this project, you are to devise lesson preparations for the three options.
Date due: Thursday 5th October, 1995.
- Project 5
Text Reviews
There are many Japanese language textbooks on the market. You are to choose at least 5 different texts and will produce a text review (what's good/bad) about each textbook. You may have to review texts (student and teacher) and audio/video tapes or computer software.
Date due: Thursday 26th October, 1995.
Backhouse, A.E. The Japanese Language: an Introduction Oxford University Press, 1993.
Maynard, S.K. An Introduction 10 Japanese Grammar and Communicative Strategies The Japan Times, 1990.
Neustupny, J. V. Communicating with the Japanese The Japan Times, 1987.
Suzuki, T. Words in Context A Japanese Perspective on Language and Culture Kodansha International, 1984.