Bits and Pieces is a book of classroom activities to be used as supplementary material in the teaching of beginner-level and intermediate Japanese. In particular, this book is aimed at teachers who are about to start or who have just started teaching Japanese. With young students, if classes are not interesting, they often learn very little, and if the class is downright boring, they simply stop paying attention. The challenge for teachers is to make the class have relevance to their students. All the ideas in this book are suggestions to help you, the teacher, meet this challenge.
This book can help you with your teaching no matter what the curriculum or the syllabus you are working with. Some of the activities in this book are five-minute warming-up activities to be used at the start of class to get your students going. Other activities described here will take up the whole lesson. In short, there is something here for everybody and for every situation. The point that should perhaps be stressed the most in this introduction is to use this book flexibly, tailoring the activities described here to suit the age and level of your students. Bits and Pieces is the fruit of many teachers' work and experience teaching Japanese over a period of many years. No doubt some of the activities will need to be adapted to fit the requirements and abilities of your classes and the restrictions on time and space you have to work in. Please adapt them however you see fit.
The philosophy that has guided us as we wrote Bits and Pieces is the task-based instruction and learner-centeredness in language learning advocated by scholars such as David Nunan (1988, 1989). It is our sincere hope that the teaching of Japanese is slowly working towards the adoption of a curriculum where the needs and wants of the students are given priority.
Yuriko Kite August 1997 [Here is an explanation of the headings that accompany each activity, which act as a guide to teachers using this book in class.]
Explanation of the Headings
Aims of the Activity: The purpose and goal of the activity is given based on the notion of learning strategies (Nunan 1989, Oxford 1990) or goals specific to Japanese expressions or grammar (e.g., practicing -te). Important Expressions: Words, expressions, and points of grammar to be studied in the course of the activity are specified here.
Level of Japanese: For the sake of convenience we have specified the students' level of Japanese. There are three levels--beginners, intermediate, and advanced--based on the number of hours of study completed. Do not be overly concerned about these levels, but choose activities that seem to you to best suit your students' needs. The levels below are given merely as a rough guide: * Beginners (0-180 hours of study) * Intermediate (180-270 hours of study) * Advanced (more than 270 hours of study)
Students' Age: Approximate age groups are given for convenience sake; they should not be considered restrictive. They are 6 to 8, 6 to 10, 6 to 13, 8 to 10, 8 to 13, 8 to 18, 11 to 13, 11 to 18, 14 to 18, and all ages.
Required Time: An estimate of the time it takes to complete the activity. What the Students Must Already Know: The bare minimum of background knowledge needed for the successful completion of the activity.
Materials to Prepare: The things you will need to prepare before carrying out the activity (excluding those things that are normally found in a classroom anyway). There are some items that will require virtually no time at all to get ready, and others that will have to be prepared well in advance. Procedure: The steps needed for the successful completion of the activity are given here. Advice for the Teacher: Hints and suggestions from experienced teachers in the field on how to make the activities go successfully and how to adapt them to suit your students' needs. Appendix: Almost all the material provided at the back of the book can be photocopied and used in class with no further preparation time necessary.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lively, relevant & helpful,
By Lori Yamaguchi (Tokyo) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Bits & Pieces: 51 Activities for Teaching Japanese K-12 (Kodansha's Children's Classics) (Paperback)
This compilation of games to use in teaching Japanese is so interesting, I have barely been able to read it since my friends (all Japanese) continue to want to go through it & use it with their kids & all. I'm ordering 2 more as it's such a hit. The fact that it has materials that are useful for all levels of learning adds greatly to its appeal & usefulness.
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