Ideas for teaching Japanese SPEAKING
Ideas for practicing Japanese speaking with your students in a fun way!
Create your own You Tube video
Get your students to create their own You Tube video! This is easy, fun, interactive way to teach speaking! Download Photo Story 3 (for free) and then follow the demonstration video below.
Demonstration video - How to use Photo Story 3. This video can be shown to students too.
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=l15o89FIN4I |
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Example final product - Students practice speaking when perfecting their voiceovers. http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=YMPZe8KiXjY
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In-class activities
Celebrity Heads
Select two or more Ss. Sit each Ss in a chair at the front of the room facing the class and with their backs to the board. Write a word or phrase on the board for each Ss. The aim is for the Ss at the front of the class to guess the word on the board before the other Ss at the front. Each Ss at the front of the class takes turns asking yes/no questions to the rest of the class. Eg. 「おおきいですか。」 The class may answer 「はい」or 「いいえ」 only. If the question is answered with a 「はい」 then the Ss may ask another question. Continue asking questions until one person guesses the word written on the board behind them.
Fruit Basket A Suzuki
Ss sit in a circle with one Ss in the middle. The Ss in the middle says a statement that reviews a target structure. Eg. 「バナナが好きです。」 Ss with the same opinion then they must stand and swap chairs. The last person standing becomes the new person in the middle. (To make this more challenging the Ss can’t take a seat that is next to them they must move at least two seats away.)
Pronunciation Baseball http://www.eslcafe.com/ideas/ Adapted from K Abell
Draw a baseball diamond on the board. Divide the class into two teams. Each team takes turns "at bat." One by one, show students a flashcard with a Japanese or English word on it. Ask the students to read the word or tell the teacher what the word is in Japanese. Whenever a student is "at bat", he or she cannot be helped by other students. If the student pronounces the word correctly, the team advances one base. (A total of four questions must be answered correctly before the team "scores" a home run). If the student is incorrect, the team gets one "out." Once the team has three outs, the other team will go up to bat. Play until you run out of words.
Running Translation
Pin up a list of English (or Japanese) vocabulary. Divide the class into pairs. One person is a scribe and the other is a runner. The runner must run to the vocab list and remember the first word then run back to their team. The runner tells the word to the scribe and then the scribe writes down the English word and then translates it inot Japanese (or vise versa). The runner then runs back to the vocab list and remembers the next word and so on. The pair that is finished first with all the translations correct wins! (To make sure students don't cheat play some loud Japanese music during this activity.)
Shopping L Brandis
Teacher has vocabulary flashcards. Ss ask the teacher which vocabulary they would like by using the phrase 「~ください」 Eg. 「ねこをください。」(ねこis the new vocabulary.) Tt gives the card to the Ss.「はいどうぞ」「ありがとう。」 Then the next Ss asks for a vocabulary item. Repeat until all the vocab cards are gone.
Taboo
Divide the class into groups of four. Create cards with one word at the top and under it four related words. One pair of Ss have to elicit from their partner the word without using the related words. The other pair watches to make sure they don’t say the related words. One minute to do as many cards as possible – with points for each card completed.
Time bomb
You need a timer (such as an egg timer or a fake bomb from a toy shop) for this game. Set the timer, ask a question and then throw it to a Ss. S/he must answer and then throw the timer to another Ss, who in turn answers and then throws it to another Ss. The Ss holding the timer when it goes off loses a life. This can also be done with categories (e.g. food, animals, etc.).
Toss the Ball
Put Ss standing in a circle. First Ss says a word (related to the topic or unit being studied) then throws the ball to another Ss who has to come up with another word. Continue throwing the ball around the circle. Ss sit down if they don’t throw the ball nicely to another Ss, if they can’t say a word, or repeat a word that was already said. Slight changes: last letter of the word is first letter of next word. Eg. Animals: Word - sentence – word. (To make it more challenging or fun give a time limit (eg 10 seconds) to answer and throw the ball.)
Triple Say L Brandis
Tt shows a flashcard with an item on it and then the Tt says the English word three times. All the Ss must say the Japanese equivalent before the teacher says the word for the third time. If the students beat the Tt then they get a point. If the Tt beats the Ss then he/she receives a point. (Ss should try to get more points than the Tt.)
Yelling Dictation
Divide the group into pairs. Take the students outside or somewhere where they can yell freely. Put the pairs into two lines far apart (one person from each pair in each line). Give one side something to read to their partner in the other line. The partner needs to write down what this person says. When finished the partners check if what was written is the same as what was read.
Useful websites
HSC (High school Certificate) speaking texts
http://hsc.csu.edu.au/japanese/ Various speaking sample questions on topics including: personal world, daily life, leisure, future plans, traveling in Japan, living in Japan, cultural life, the world of work, current issues, skills aimed at Year 12 HSC students. |
Japanese plays and skits |
Tongue Twisters |
Worksheets
Japanese tongue twisters
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60 speaking practise questions
Ss practise speaking by using these basic question prompts. Donated by K Todd.
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