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YEAR 6 - EXTENSION SHEET FOR TRANSLATION- Have a go at translating- FIRST PERSON TO BRING CORRECT TRANSLATION TO ME WINS A PRIZE (JUNIOR SCHOOL STUDENTS ONLY!!!) 1.はじめまして 2.こんにち は 3.わたし は まき です。 4.なな さい です。 5.おおさか に すんで います。 6.すし が すき です。 7.さしみ すき じゃ ない です。 8.でんわ ばんごう は 3262 1334 です。 9.いぬ の なまえ は けんじ です。 10.ねこ の なまえ は spot です。 11.よろしく おねがいします。
Only five (5) entries allowed per school. Film your speech you did for assessment or make up a new one!!! Use a song or a script as inspiration. Make a cartoon or video. Best 5 ENTRIES GIVEN TO ME BY SEPTEMBER 1, 2010 WILL BE ENTERED. PRIZES TO BE WON!!! SEE SOME OF LAST YEAR'S WINNERS FOR INSPIRATION IN THE LINKS ON RIGHT-HAND SIDE UNDER 'VIDEO MATSURI (Festival). ASK ME FOR MORE DETAILS, Mr Mackenzie-Smith
2010 Japanese Video Festival Contest Create your own short film, animation, claymation or digital story using Japanese. Get your works in by 30th September, for your chance to win! http://video-matsuri.jpf-sydney.net/ ビデオまつり
Some parents say to me that their child is struggling with the script (particularly in Year1). Reading Hiragana is just like learning to read all over again in another language, it takes time and not everyone is going to pick it up straight away. Children are still learning their letters and sounds in English. Don't worry, this will not confuse them with their English reading!!! So many studies have shown that children are very adept at categorising and distinguishing between languages in their heads.In Prep and Year 1 we are merely exposing children to these letters.
WHAT DO I DO??? What I suggest to do is the following: I teach the students about Hiragana using the 'Hiragana in 48 Minutes'(Quackenbush, Curriculum Corporation) methodology. Students are taught that there is a picture and a story for each character e.g. the Hiragana 'U' ぅ(ooh) is an old lady who gets hit in the back from something falling from the sky and says ' Ooh'. Watch my video(on the Hiragana pages of this blog- right-hand side) to hear all of the stories and go through them with your child. Then there are step by step lessons on the Hiragana page for the reading and writing of the Hiragana. Watch the Hiragana Alphabet video as well and then follow the lessons through say, one video every week. They are very comprehensive videos.
The alphabet is based on the 5 vowel sounds of A I U E and O
A as in 'AH', I as in 'EE', U as in 'OOH', E as in 'EH' and O as in O for 'Orange' Each subsequent line of the alphabet loosely follow this rule. Fore example the nexy line is the 'K' line or 'Kagyo' in Japanese goes 'KA KI KU KE KO'
Confusing, hey? Imagine what it must be like for Year 1s...However, in Japan, children from about 3 years old start learning this script. Have a go yourself and work with your child when you can and maybe you too can learn to read and write a bit of Japanese, Mr Mackenzie-Smith :)
Assessing students takes time and is not done in one single assessment for one single mark. While it is true that student speeches and formal Hiragana (script) tests are significant, they are not the most accurate indication of a child's ability. I have found that in formal testing conditions children freeze or cannot produce language that they can ordinarily produce in more relaxed circumstances. I always refer to a brilliant writer named Stephen Krashen who coined the term 'affective filter'. He argued that we we are relaxed and free from extra-sensory stimuli that we produce better language and our brains don't become cloudy. As adults. we might be able to relate to that feeling when we become 'tongue-tied' when speaking in public or in tense situations. When I do administer formal testing ,especially speaking tests, they take time as they are individual or paired assessments.That is why I give a window of assessment time say, "between May 17-21" ,not just on a single day.I cannot feasibly test 30 children in a thirty minute session and so testing sessions are spread out. I always try to give students the same assessment questions and use the same criteria sheets for each student. The location of the test doesn't matter for the speaking assessment as long as it is relatively quiet and relaxed. So..if I test a student on the 17th in one classroom and another on the 18th in another classroom, the difference in conditions is negligible as long as I make sure that students are not impeded by interruptions or other students.I do, however, take into consideration the length of time that students have to prepare for tasks for example, a child who does his assessment on the 21st should be arguably more prepared for an assessment than a child who was first 'cab off the rank' on the 17th. This, however is only a small influence. I prefer to look at the preparation that a child has made, whether they have been conscientious in class and have above all, done the very best they possibly could have. Not everyone is going to get an 'A' and no child is perfectly fluent in Japanese (even the native speakers). Getting a 'C' in a subject that is in a second language is completely normal. There is alway room for improvement. I am still studying I have been doing this for longer than I care to mention. Please be assured that assessment is ongoing and a great deal of it is observational/ anecdotal in conjunction with more quantifiable assessment. At the day, I would love to see the love of language instilled in the students not the dread of impending assessment.