Confused??? I'll try and help

Dear Parents, if you are concerned about your child's progress in Japanese, I want to allay some of your concerns. If you are reading this, you have been probably been spending time with your child learning some Japanese. That's great. That's what this site is designed for.

May I tell you a few little facts about Japanese (particularly when your child is in Year 1)?
-In Year 1 , the children move to more structured, formal learning i.e.introduction of the Japanese alphabet (which has 46 characters). These children do not have any other exposure to the Japanese alphabet except in my classroom for 1/2 hour per week. If they are lucky, Mum or Dad knows a little Japanese and can help them.If we just stop to think about how our children learn our English alphabet, they have exposure to it all around in the environment in Australia. I am very happy if students understand a couple of the lines of the Japanese alphabet by the end of Year 1.

-This assessment is not the definitive assessment for the semester. It does not determine a student's marks overall. I use formal and anecdotal assessment throughout the semester and what your child may or may not produce at home is markedly different to what they produce in a scaffolded,language- rich classroom environment.
-I am not surprised when people tell me their child is struggling with the characters (particularly in Year 1). These characters are so different to anything that we have in our language. Also, we are moving from single word utterances to full sentences which is much more complex.
-Let me suggest the following for those of you who are quickly going grey or losing hair (I understand). Have a look at my video (below). It teaches the students the 'stories' that go with each Hiragana so that it makes it easier to learn. This is how we do it in class. So a child may look at the Hiragana and say 'antenna' (the story) instead of 'A' (the actual pronunciation). That's fine. That shows to me that they are progressing and learning.
-With speaking, the students may not be able to get their mouths around what they are saying sometimes but I also look for meaning, for comprehension of the task not just the spoken word.Go through with your child and discuss the meaning of the sentences. When you are dealing with them at home you have to remember that all of the speaking and Japanese is out of its usual context.
-Above all, these tests are designed to be challenging and to lift your children to higher levels in Japanese. They are not designed to be the be all and end all of assessment, they are just a piece in the overall pie of your child in Japanese in the Junior School.
Hope that helps a little. Don't forget...if your child is in the Early Years' Grades, they have oodles of time to consolidate and advance their language studies. Let's do this together :) Charles/ Mr Mackenzie-Smith :)