One day a Japanese teacher visited my office, I was then the Japanese language advisor for QLD. She approached me from behind, and introduced herself, “Osu! Aneki, genki? (Yo! Sis, how are you?)” I froze with my eyes wide open. Imagine; this is the first time I had met her.
I am sure you understand my shock. She spoke very good colloquial language, sounded fluent, was proud of her years of living in Japan, had a number of Japanese friends and had experience being an accomplished English teacher for high school students in Japan.
Yes, you guessed it. Language is like the clothes you wear; it has to be suitable for the occasion (context).
Many text books indicate grammar as rules that you memorize, not utilize for the purpose of meaningful communication.
Even some native speakers make grammatical mistakes, but they have no difficulty in expressing themselves because they know other ways to do so. They are familiar with their own language. Their mistakes do not twist meanings. On the other hand, second language learners have difficulty not only in using correct grammar to express themselves, but also being understood.
Isn’t this a good reason why we teach grammar to non-native speakers? But HOW?
Grammar appears in what you say, what you listen to, what you read and what you write in the context that you choose.
Tips for teaching Japanese grammar:
- Give fundamental knowledge e.g. different words order, use of particles
- (link to Tip 2: Conquer Grammar)
- Teach grammar in the context. Give confidence to make own sentences, use them as a starting point for grammar instruction.
- Use authentic materials such as stories, letters, essay, even comic books to discuss the use of grammatical concepts such as verbs (e.g. tense, te-form, and conjunction) and pronunciation (e.g. bridge, chopstick and edge are all “hashi”).
- Error correction is the time to give proper explanation. But do not over stress small mistakes if it does not interfere with communication and meaning. You do not want to be corrected every time you make a mistake.
- Use learned grammar in different contexts (quantity is the key) and add new ones, to build up language competency. ACTLAN curriculum is designed based on the importance of language quality, quantity and students’ engagement. ACTLAN Handbook has been designed to help teachers plan their lessons.
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Interested in coming to T T A Workshop ” Japanese Grammar: Communication, Context and Relevance “- this is Inter- Active Workshop.
Visit to www.tta.edu.au for detail infromation and registration.
