Materials links:
日本語一 Personal Data Survey Homework
日本語一 Vocabulary List of Hobbies and Interests
日本語一 Peer Interview
日本語一 自己紹介
Japanese One Self Introduction
日本語二 私達のクラス "Class Book" Assignment
私達のクラスの作文 Our Class Essay
日本語三と四 私の人生のプロジェクト My Life Project
My Life Project Sample Paragraphs
Japanese Class Student Survey
Japanese Course Evaluation: Reflections and Opinions
Communicative language teaching requires a sense of community - an environment of trust and mutual confidence wherein learners may interact without fear or threat of failure. Good teachers have long recognized the value of group cohesiveness and responsibility. Communicative language teaching depends on these traits. Without community there can be no communication. (Savignon, S. 1997, Communicative Competence: Theory and Classroom Competence. McGraw-Hill)
Learning a language is very different from other subjects because you are putting people in a very vulnerable situation, you are asking them to reveal themselves in a way which is very threatening because when they don't know the language very well and they don't have the means to express themselves, they are unsure of what kind of impression they are giving and they feel threatened. They feel they're making a fool of themselves and they probably are... they feel people might laugh at them... The classroom atmosphere must be an atmosphere of acceptance and mutual respect where students know how to appreciate other students, teachers appreciate students, and students appreciate the teacher. When you've got that kind of relaxed atmosphere, then students can try to reveal themselves through another language in a genuine kind of way. (Wilga Rivers in Dvorak, 1995 Voices from the Field: Experiences and Beliefs of Our Constituents National Textbook Company)
"Their (students) second language classroom should provide a safe place in which to experiment with linguistic and cultural challenges." (Standards for Language Learning, 1996, p.35)
Whether consciously guided or left to chance the character of a language learning community begins moment one, of day one, of class. Learner affect and attitude have been shown to be significant factors in language acquisition. This fact coupled with the nature of contemporary language pedagogy, which requires active engagement in activities high in emotional risk, present a challenge to us as teachers. It is our responsibility to nurture supportive human relations in the classroom. If we hope to develop a class climate conducive to effective language learning and cross-cultural exploration, we need to plan activities that recognize both individuality and interdependence. Introducing activities that allow students to get to know each other as individuals while stressing the responsibility of their interdependence as a learning community builds a foundation for a positive class-climate. Each language learning community is comprised of teacher(s), students, and present or projected members of the target language culture(s). This community is inherently diverse. Students who learn to trust, work with, and learn from one another develop skills that transfer well to future language and cross-cultural learning contexts. It is for this reason that I dedicate time in the beginning of the year to allow students the opportunity to be known, get to know their classmates (and teacher), recognize the value of cooperative effort, collaboratively set ground rules for interaction, and explore the construct of culture and related issues of diversity. It has been my experience that language-learning time "lost" to these early community-building activities is recovered by a more receptive language-learning environment.
The materials that follow are samples of "getting to know you" activities for each of three levels of language instruction. They were designed for first, second, and a combined third and fourth year high-school classroom. The level of language proficiency requisite for the first year activity necessitates its introduction later in the course. In the beginning course I use English-based activities the first week to build community, share effective language learning strategies, explore core elements of the language and culture of Japan, and develop skills in resolving cross-cultural differences. I have identified a terrific simulation game that immerses students in a context involving cultural difference and linguistic limitation and challenges them to overcome these challenges as a group. It is called Barnga and is published by Intercultural Press of Maine. (207) 846-5168. It can be used to increase students' awareness of and sensitivity to linguistic and cultural diversity as it applies to both the classroom and the target culture of Japan.
In addition to the "getting to know you" materials that follow I have included copies of a beginning-of-the-year student survey and end-of-the-year course evaluation form. These surveys serve multiple purposes. First, they send a message to students that we value their role in the learning experience. Second, we receive valuable feedback on our instruction while encouraging students to reflect on their learning experience. Third, we gain information about our students that allows us to personalize class activities to match their needs and interests while capitalizing on their special talents. Perhaps most importantly, we learn why our students are studying Japanese and how we can nurture their emerging interest in Japan. Experience has proven that students appreciate this opportunity to voice their opinions and do conscientiously share their thoughts.
I hope you find value in the materials. Share your reaction or additional ideas with us at The Quarterly.
Kanji and vocabulary use are very specific to each individual educational context. Instructor discretion mediates who learns what, when, how, and why. Find what works for you and best serves your students.
Make time at the beginning of each activity for group comprehension checks to make sure students understand what they need to do and whether they have the information they need to do it as directed. Don't just ask, " Does everyone understand what to do?" but rather, have someone restate the assignment. Also, have students look at the information they need to gather and ask, before the activity begins, for any vocabulary they need to complete the task in Japanese. Elicit student responses to the questions when possible.
Dictionary use may be necessary for open-ended and highly personalized communicative activities. I allow students to use new words but expect that they limit them to those they can retain knowledge of and introduce to others.
Assessment is more challenging with project-oriented activities than with standardized tests. I assign value to the process as well as the product with such activities. 25% of my students final grade for the semester is effort based which helps keep them on-task. Regardless of how you choose to assess an activity it is important to clearly communicate performance expectations up front.
As teachers we are members of our classroom-based language learning community. If we expect our students to share elements of who they are, we too need to be willing to open our lives to our students. There is, of course, a professional distance that is advised but students enjoy getting to know you as a person. They are more apt to reach out to us when they need to if they know we are receptive as people, not just as their language teacher.
It is important to consider issues of privacy and personal safety when asking students to reveal elements of their personal lives. Never require students to share a phone number, address, or sensitive information about their family. They can modify data/assignments to match their personal comfort level.
Vocabulary List Handout - The hobbies on this list are those self-identified by a specific group of students on their class surveys.
Peer Interview and Self-Introduction Activity - The model paragraph can be modified to reflect your specific geographic location and school. My students use Japanese names in class as is reflected in this sample. Assignment timeline will also require adaptation.
Class Book Assignment - Time needs to be taken to demonstrate and check comprehension of the assignment's description/directions and topics for inclusion in their essay. Attempts should be made to reveal meaning of the items through example rather than via translation when possible. Some kanji are introduced for the purpose of recognition not production. Once all essays are collected, I combine them in a "book" (each students receives a copy) and generate one question per essay to test comprehension of target vocabulary or concepts.
Materials links:
日本語一 Personal Data Survey Homework
日本語一 Vocabulary List of Hobbies and Interests
日本語一 Peer Interview
日本語一 自己紹介
Japanese One Self Introduction
日本語二 私達のクラス "Class Book" Assignment
私達のクラスの作文 Our Class Essay
日本語三と四 私の人生のプロジェクト My Life Project
My Life Project Sample Paragraphs
Japanese Class Student Survey
Japanese Course Evaluation: Reflections and Opinions