Hi everyone, 皆さん、こんにちは。

My Japanese lessons generally include practices to develop skills of speaking, reading, listening, writing, interacting and constructing/performing students’ own dialogues by pairs/groups or by oneself. The learning includes the language and cultural skills to be used in travelling or living/working in Japan and general understanding upon Japanese culture and mannerism. For speaking practice, I sometimes use pictures, information, ads (esp. from Sunday Telegraph’s Escape), concepts/ideas or topics from the brochures of Japanese newspapers, Nichigo Press and other Japanese monthly magazines.

For Hiragana teaching, I use flash cards of Hiragana words and the pictures that the words signify. A big set of flash cards, “Hiragana 48 Minutes” is always used during the course to help students make connections with each Hiragana letter and the pronunciation of the letter with an example of well used word in English which has the very similar pronunciation to the one used for Hiragana.

Magazines and fairy tale stories of children are also used for Hiragana reading, grammar (including differences of use of particles, -wa and -ga) and value/culture teaching. Most of the weekly homework given (exercise sheets) is for script learning and writing. They are with Japanese words, names or simple sentences plus pictures.

As for grammar learning, I often recommend “A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar” by S. Makino and M. Tsutsui, the Japan Times. Its series has ones of Intermediate Grammar and Advanced Grammar by the same authors and publisher. Excellent books.

My current class too, one of the students keenly bought the copy and last night the book was shown in class.

For traveler’s Japanese, I use a textbook in my class with its cd, “Talk Japanese: The ideal course for absolute beginners” by Y. Isono & L. Strugnell, BBC and/or “15 Minute Japanese: Learn in just 12 weeks”, by M. Maeda-Nye et al, DK. Those resources have travelling based vocab, phrases, short dialogues, (review exercises), survival skills, mannerism, value in Japanese society. Situations and function used in those have esp. self-introduction (including the introduction of one’s family), shopping, talking at restaurants, at railway stations, making bookings for hotels/ryokans, asking the way on a road, etc.

My current class is Beginners 1, having 7 students. They are all enthusiastic, knowledgeable and experienced with Japan and very interesting to teach. We are using the Training Material (from SLS) as the main textbook and I give many other materials for well-balanced teaching and training that include Hiragana teaching. We did singing Japanese song recently. Likely I’ll introduce Japanese “rajio-taiso” (famous radio exercise program of the NHK, which must have been going on for “well over” half a century and being practised with respect, in all their formal under-graduate school education system and even adults’ practice, including some major car manufactures’ corporate exercises, i.e. regular collective exercises for the health and effectiveness of their physical, mental and emotional capacity/health and efficiency and team’s spirit.

Regarding Japanese language learning based or cultural and society based news and information, the following can be given:

In my last month’s blog, I introduced a fascinating, comprehensive, pragmatic, brave and entertaining report at YouTube, called “10 Ways Japan is 10 years Ahead of the World”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzIBbF-8lAU (Dec. 2017), presented by: Drew Binsky.

I recently found other presenter’s few videos. I strongly recommend any travelers to watch those videos who will visit Japan. Those videos are excellent to experience (and learn) many exciting things in effective, efficient, positive, honest, creative, productive, smart and happier or desirable ways or outcome that will include such communications and relationships making with Japanese people.

The videos at YouTube are presented by Paolo (from Tokyo) who arrived in Japan from the US over 15 years ago, who did not know much about Japan in those days, struggled and eventually made such videos to help people who like to visit Japan and who are from overseas. The video also shows many different locations and beautifully made with some humors. Very through in presentation as general guidance, entertaining and the presenter’s continuous friendly and open-minded way in speaking is inspiring and encouraging too. He loves Tokyo and Shinjuku.

I assume especially the Japanese government and travel and hospitality industries would highly appreciate such intelligent, smart, well and extensively researched and pragmatic videos.

The titles of his such videos are:

1. “10 Must Know Japan Travel Tips No One Talks about … like Police”.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVFjA7Qy1as).

2. “10 Customers you must know before a trip to Japan” (among many things and places, he mentions “¥100 shop” and a shop, Donkihoote, too).

Toshiko Jackson (Japanese teacher), 5 Oct, 18