タグ: Japanese Teaching

Date: May 11th on Monday, 2020 from 9:50 to 11:20 (10:50 – 12:20 in JST)

Course: Japanese Listening 2

Used app: Streaming on DingTalk, Presentation by Powerpoint with 70 slides

Numbers of Students: 27

26 students stayed with me from the start to the end. One student was absent.

Students’ Responses:

– Attendance Check : 26 students typed his/her attendance by themselves on BBS.

– Quiz 1 : 25 students answered.The question was conversions from Masu-form to Te-form for four verbs. Some students tended to put the small “tsu” for 1-dan verbs, but it is not correct. Putting a small “tsu” happens on some types of 5-dan verbs, not 1-dan verbs.

– Quiz 2: 24 students answered.The question was  to choose the correct combination of four particles from the selections. Students typed wrong answer that came from over generalization of  “Wa-ga construction”. Many students are sticking to “Wa-ga construction” and make errors on particles by over-generalizing it. I stopped them and made them answer again.

– Quiz 2: 24 students answered. Question was about tense for past, present progressive, and non-past. All 23 were right. The purpose of this question is to make students understand the usage of “V-te iru” in the concept of tense-aspect.

– Quiz 3: 24 students answered. The question was to choose the right combination of a question and an answer. When a question was done with “Naze (why)”, the answer must have the ending “-karadesu.”. This seems like the relation between why and because. This quiz intended to make the students find the relation between “naze” and “karadesu”.

– Quiz at the End: 25 students typed their own sentences in the form of “V-te kudasai”.

Teaching:

1: Basics of Japanese grammar

– Verb predicate sentences end with “-masu”, which is different from the endings of Noun and Adjective predicate sentences.

– Do not over-generalize “Wa-ga construction” to verb predicate sentences especially for transitive verb sentences for action/movement. Use proper particle for a word’s function.

2: Review of grammar in the last class

– Introduction of Te-form, “V-te iru” for ongoing actions, and uses of particle “-de”.

3: Listening using textbook material

Homework Assignment:

– No homework was assigned.

Issues and Problems:

When the students were typing the wrong answer by over-generalizing “Wa-ga” construction, I stopped their inputting with shouting and made them input again. Since some students had not yet input, this forced redo could not be used for knowing the first reaction of a student. However, I expected that could be an effective action to make the students realize that they got an wrong answer.

Another issue was that  I was ill-prepared for the activities with textbook’s listening materials. Making the students listen to and simply showing the answer for it was not a good teaching style. I had been concentrating on making PPT slides that reflects my own ideas about damage by “Wa-da construction” or other issue. But I didn’t spend enough time to think how to use and teach the textbook materials effectively to the students.

Date: May 6th on Wednesday, 2020 from 8:00 to 9:30 (9:00 – 10:30 in JST)

Course: Japanese Listening 2

Used app: Streaming on DingTalk, Presentation by Powerpoint with 79 slides

Numbers of Students: 27

26 students stayed with me from the start to the end. One student was recorded shorter participation of 78 minutes, probably coming late because this student did not send attendance of “Shusseki”.

Students’ Responses:

– Attendance Check : All the 26 students typed his/her attendance by themselves on BBS.

– Quiz 1 : 25 students answered. This question was to choose the correct usages of particles. 12 students typed the wrong answer that came from over generalization of  “Wa-ga construction”. Damage caused by “Wa-ga construction” is still severe.

– Quiz 2: 23 students answered. Question was about tense for past, present progressive, and non-past. All 23 were right. The purpose of this question is to make students understand the usage of “V-te iru” in the concept of tense-aspect.

– Quiz 3: 25 students answered. The question was to understand the difference between uses of particles “-de” and “-ni”.

– Quiz at the End: 25 students typed their own sentences that includes a subject, “Now”, and “V-te iru”.

Teaching:

1: Re- submission of homework

– Someone edited the original document of the homework on BBS. Because the replaced file contains two errors in it, a students used that one would make at least four errors. Therefore, I postponed the deadline by Friday night.

2: The very basic of Japanese sentence.

– The end of the sentence is the most important part. It needs to be changed properly according to the tense if there is a word about time that works as an adverbial. It is quite often observed that even when a word like “yesterday” is being used, students’ sentence is left as present tense at the end of the sentence. The relation between time adverbials and the sentence endings was taught.

3: Differences between intransitive verb sentences and transitive verb sentences

– “-ga” is used in an intransitive verb sentence, but it is not always. It is not the function of “-ga”. The most important function of “-ga” is to be a marker of the subject.

4: “V-te iru”

– Four types were explained about “V-te iru”. Only the usage as present progressive was the target of the textbook for now.

5: Particle “-de”

– Five uses of the particle “-de” were introduced; the place of action, tool/way, transportation, language, and materials to make something.

6: Listening materials from the textbook

Homework Assignment:

– Those who used the replace document for homework on April 30 were recommended checking and submitting the homework again.

– The new homework was given. That was to understand how to make Te-form of verbs.

Issues and Problems:

There were a lot. Probably too much. I mean the volume of what to teach in 90 minutes class. Even the most excellent student would not be able to fully understand today’s class.

Date: April 29th on Wednesday, 2020 from 8:00 to 9:30 (9:00 – 10:30 in JST)

Course: Japanese Listening 2

Used app: Streaming on DingTalk, Presentation by Powerpoint with 69 slides

Numbers of Students: 27

26 students stayed with me from the start to the end. One student was recorded shorter participation of 71 minutes.

Students’ Responses:

– Attendance Check : All the 27 students typed his/her attendance by themselves on BBS

– Quiz 1 : 25 students answered. This question was to choose the correct usages of two particles; “-ni” for status/position after the change, and “-o” for a location you are departing from.

– Quiz 2: 24 students answered. Question was to choose the right combination about sentence endings for Noun-, Na-adjective, and I-adjective predicated sentences in past tense.

– Quiz 3: 24 students answered. The question was to distinguish an intransitive verb sentence and a transitive verb sentence.

– Quiz at the End: 25 students typed their own sentences in which an adjective conjugated to modify a verb as an adverbial. The verb must be an intransitive verb, not a transitive verb.

Teaching:

1: Review of a short test about particles

– many students have not got used to how to use “-ni”.

– There seemed to be a severe misunderstandings about “Wa-ga construction”. “Wa-ga construction” must be in the form of [The whole]wa [a part]ga [exists]. It never be [a part]wa [the whole]ga [exists].

2: Review on the last lesson

– How to make I- and Na- adjectives adverbials to modifies a verb.

– Difference between the intransitive verb for change “-naru” and the transitive verb “-suru”.

3: Listening activities using the textbook

Homework Assignment:

– On the following day on April 30, two homeworks were assigned to the students through the BBS on Dingtalk. (1) Test with 100 questions and (2) Listening and dictation.

Issues and Problems:

Some students showed that their understandings were still not good in the following points:

– couldn’t tell the difference between intransitive verbs and transitive verbs

– didn’t know that particle “-o” is usually used for transitive verb sentence

– didn’t know that an adjective must conjugate to be an adverbial

– couldn’t tell the difference between I-adjectives and Na-adjectives

– didn’t operate different conjugations for I-adjective and Na-adjective

These were exhibited when they made their own sentences at the end of the class.

Date: April 27th on Monday, 2020 from 9:50 to 11:20 (10:50 – 12:20 in JST)

Course: Japanese Listening 2

Used app: Streaming on DingTalk, Presentation by Powerpoint with 69 slides

Numbers of Students: 27

25 students stayed with me from the start to the end. Two students were recorded their shorter participation  with 87 and 84 minutes.

Students’ Responses:

– Attendance Check : All the 27 students typed his/her attendance by themselves on BBS

– Quiz 1 : 25 students answered. This question was to choose the correct endings for each noun, Na-adjective, I-adjective, and verb predicate sentences for present-assertive.

– Quiz 2: All the 27 answered. Question was about a negative sentence of I-adjective predicate with “tasty (Oishii)”. It was an easy question but an important one in order to avoid confusion with negative sentences of Na-adjective predicate.

– Quiz 3: 22 students answered. The question was to ask about conjugations of auxiliary verb “-youda” with pointing out a similarity with Na-adjectives. It is still too early for the first grade students to learn the auxiliary verbs. So my purpose was not there. I wanted the students to know that Da turns to be Na for modifying a noun, and Da turns to be Ni for modifying a verb.

– Quiz at the End: 24 students typed their own sentences in which an adjective conjugated to modify a verb as an adverbial.

Teaching:

1: Review of sentences of comparison

– “Noun1” is more “Adjective” than “Noun2”

– Question: Which of the “Noun1” and “Noun2” is more “Adjective”?

– Answer: Noun is more Adjective.

2: Introduction of Adjectives’ conjugations to modify a verb

– I- and Na- adjectives modifies a verb “-suru” that is a transitive verb like “do” in English.

Homework Assignment:

– No Homework.

Issues and Problems:

Two things happen simultaneously in the section 17 of the textbook. One is adjectives’ conjugations to modify a verb as an adverbial. The second thing is that an attention needs to be paid the difference between the intransitive verb “Naru” and the transitive verb “Suru”. It seems that some students couldn’t get these basic concepts of Japanese grammar.