Japanese

Watch Our Sister School (Yamazaki Jr. High) Visit from Japan
山崎どうもありがとうございました

 

Students in the Japanese Magnet Program have five 90-minute classes of intensive Japanese language instruction per week. The emphasis is on proficiency and authentic language instruction to establish a functional spoken and written language base with an integrated knowledge of Japanese culture. Basic conversation, blended with appropriate grammar and cultural structures, allows students to utilize the language immediately.

 

Highlights of this program include a native Japanese assistant in each classroom who provides an authentic model of the language on a daily basis, the chance to work with students in our Japanese sister school, Yamazaki Jr. High School, located in Moka City, Japan, immersion strategies that permit optimal exposure to both the written and spoken language, the integrated use of technology to enhance student learning, optional summer study abroad opportunities. Students may earn up to three high school credits in Japanese.

Japanese Magnet 1 students will begin to establish listening, speaking, reading and writing skills by activities such as

 

  • learning common classroom expressions
  • introducing themsleves to others
  • talking about their families and pets
  • talking about their hobbies and sports and learning about the Japanese sport of Kendo
  • learning about the Chinese zodiac
  • talking about traditional Japanese holidays
  • creating traditional New Year’s cards
  • learning about Japanese foods and the cultural customs associated with them
  • familiarizing themselves with the geography of Japan
  • learning the basics of  Japanese calligraphy andorigami
  • using polite verb forms to talk about their activities and plans
  • learning to use connectors
  • learning the hiragana and katakana alphabets
  • beginning their study of kanji
  • learning about the Japanese educational system and how it compares to the system in theUS
  • beginning to use Japanese honorific language
  • writing letters to pen pals at our Japanese sister school

Japanese Magnet 2 students will build their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills by activities such as:

  • creating their own dream room
  • reading and writing haiku
  • performing and narrating a fashion show
  • reading a Japanese children’s story
  • studying traditional Japanese monsters and create their ownmonster.
  • practicing extending/accepting/declininginvitations, including all relevant logistical information
  • learning about traditionalJapanese homes
  • talking about schoolsubjects and compare Sudbrook with Japanese schools
  • learning about the weatherand Japanese seasonal activities
  • practicing shopping,dining out and using counters
  • learning to describe themselves and others physical and personality descriptions
  • learning about Tokyo
  • learning about the Japanese artist Hiroshige
  • askingfor/granting/denying permission
  • developing their understanding of Japanese New Year’s traditions
  • learning about 120 newkanji
  • developing and expandtheir repertoire of verb forms to build more complex sentences
  • increasing their understanding and usage of  honorificforms
  • continuing their correspondence with their Japanese pen pal

 

Japanese Magnet 3 students will expand theirlistening, speaking, reading and writing skills by activities such as:

  • learning a number of verb forms allowingthem to present, explain and defend opinions
  • expressing cause and effect in a variety of situations, and explaining why a given result would occur
  • talking about what they have never doneand their dreams of what they would like to do in the future
  • continuing  to learn kanji related to their units ofstudy, and how to independently identify stroke count and order of unfamiliar kanji
  • discussing environmental problems,compare possible solutions and options
  • writing and illustrating their own children’s story based on an environmental issue.
  • reading Japanese folk tales, both as a class and independently, and creating dramatic interpretations of the stories.
  • learning about Japanese school rules and explaining our school rules to students from our Japanese sister school
  • learning about being an exchange student in Japan, including what they need to know to stay with a host family
  • learning about Japanese religions howthey are a part of everyday life in Japan
  • studying the national sport of Sumo wrestling
  • learning about the city of Kyoto,including its history and famous places
  • giving and following directions when navigating around Kyoto
  • learning about Japanese variety shows,and creating their own
  • reading Japanese four-panel manga and analyzing how they use onomatopoeia
  • creating their own four-panel manga using common Japanese onomatopoeia.
  • learning to use common suru expressions, compound verbs and casual verb forms to expand their use of language register and nuance in Japanese
  • extending their understanding of Japanese New Year traditions
  • learning to talk about a variety of professions, including describing what people in those jobs do,  what career they would like to pursue and why
  • creating a resume and interviewing for a part-time job
  • making their own name stamps