Submitted by Noriko Fujiokaito

Objectives:

Content:
Students will...

• demonstrate understanding application processes and credit transfers of study abroad programs as well as international student life in Japan. 

Cultural:
Students will...

• learn how to socialize with Japanese students and understand the benefits of participating in extra-curricular activities on university campus in Japan.
• understand advantages of home stay for international students and housing conditions in large cities such as Tokyo.

Language: Content Obligatory
Students will...

• use conditional forms to describe information when students go to Japan to study using words/phrases/expressions such as ~ba~hodo, ~igai-no/~igai-ni, ~zu, Kanarazushimo~to iu wake-dewanai, N bakari, Narubeku, V (plain) beki.

Language: Content Compatible
Students will...

• use complex sentences (e.g., toki) with the conditional forms (e.g., ~ba, ~to, ~tara) to describe the situations where students are in Japan to study.

Learning Strategies / Social and Skills Development:
Students will...

• analyze the system of study abroad and an international  students' life in Japan to comprehend and summarize the reading passage.
• work collaboratively to complete expression exercises and summarize the reading passage.

Time Frame:

 

 

Two 50-minute class sessions and 1-2 hour homework assingments

Materials Needed:

Reading Material:

• Miura, A., & McGloin, N. H. (1994). Ryuugaku Johoo (p. 54) An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese.: Tokyo, Japan: The Japan Times.

Expression Exercises (Attachment 2)

Description of Assessment (Performance Project):

Introduction:

This lesson provides students with fundamental background information so that they can continue to deepen their understanding about study abroad programs and cross-cultural adjustment using other resources. In this lesson, therefore, after their minds are set by a brief discussion on study abroad and going to Japan, students build vocabulary, expressions, and grammar by understanding and getting familiar with the theme of a reading passage. Depending on the students’ abilities, skimming a reading passage could be included in Day 1 lesson or Day 2 lesson. Although research results do not show reading aloud helps develop reading comprehension, the teacher should have students read the reading passage aloud to make sure that they can read Kanji (Chinese characters). In order that they can negotiate language content tasks in the next lesson, students summarize the information using grammar, expressions, and vocabulary, which were explained by the teacher.

(Day 1)

Pre-task :

1. The teacher asks students what they can imagine if they hear "study abroad" or "trip to Japan" and draws a mind-map on the board.
2. Students briefly discuss if they want to study abroad and why they think so.

During-task:

1. To have students familiarize grammar and expressions used in the reading passage (Attachment 1), the instructor explains using the Expression Exercises handout (Attachment 2). After explanations, students work collaboratively to complete exercises and practice the answers orally afterwards.
2. Referring to the vocabulary list which consists of words related to an academic life in the textbook and reviewing the grammatical items and expressions which were covered during Task 1, students listen to instructor’s reading a passage (Attachment 1) and skim it.

(Day 2)

3. To make sure that they can read Kanji (Chinese characters), students read each paragraph together aloud. If

time permits, each student is called and read one sentence. After reading aloud, students understand each

paragraph with instructor’s sentence structure explanations which focus on conditional forms and build basic

ideas about systems of study abroad and international student life in Japan.

Post-task:

Based on the knowledge obtained through during-task activities, students collaboratively summarize the reading passage orally within groups using vocabulary with regard to college life, conditional forms, and expressions covered in the Expression Exercises handout (Attachment 2).

[Homework]

Students conduct their research to collect study abroad information by visiting websites and using books. Two websites are suggested (see References and Resources) and they will then search for additional sites on the topic.

Assessment:

1.                  The expression handout (Attachment 2) is collected and the exercise part is graded to see if the students understand the explanations of grammar and new expressions.

2.                  The oral summary is evaluated to see how much information on study abroad programs students obtained correctly.

References and Resources:

Textbook:

Miura, A., & McGloin, N. H. (1994).  Ryuugaku Johoo (p. 54) An Integrated Approach to Intermediate Japanese: Tokyo, Japan: The Japan Times.

Websites:

StudyAbroad.com Country Home Pages (English)

http://japan.studyabroad.com

Ryugakusei seikatsu-no-tame-no Rinkushu (Links for Foreign Students' Life) (Japanese) http://cfrp.shinshu-u.ac.jp/staff/bao/internat/Life.html

 

Attachments:

NOTE: some attachments are in PDF form (get Acrobat Reader)

1. Reading Material

2. Expression Exercises

Attachment 2: Expression Exercises

A Lesson from the CoBaLTT Project
/cobaltt
Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition
University of Minnesota