Languages- Japanese

Communicating with the Specialist Team

We look forward to partnering with you in 2021, and welcome your input:

Sensei Masae Uekusa (Japanese) Masae.Uekusa@education.vic.gov.au 

Foundation:

In week 4, Foundation students started learning their new animal song ‘KOBUTANUKITSUNEKO’ (piglet, raccoon dog, fox, and cat). They did not only practise naming those animals, but also learnt the animal noises in Japanese (onomatopoeia) and made an origami usage (rabbit). After the fun singing, Foundation students celebrated their learning by recording their Japanese greeting. Well done!

Year 1/2:

During week 3 and 4, Year 1 and 2 students started learning 8 modes of transport with the gestures in Japanese. They also practised the new sentence: ‘I get (there – destination) by (transport)’ using fun actions. It is amazing how moving their body helped learn different sounds so quickly. Great job!

Year 3/4:

Year 3 and 4 students started Term 2 unit ‘Oishasan’ (At the doctor’s) during week 3 and 4. They first revised body parts in Japanese by dancing and singing along with the famous song ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ in Japanese. After that, they were ready to say ‘(body part) ga itai desu’ (…. Is painful) as a pretend patient. Great acting!

Year 5/6:

During week 3 and 4, Year 5 and 6 students revised the 3 key Hiragana rules; tenten, maru, and small ‘tsu’. To demonstrate their understanding, they completed the mini-test on those rules referring to the chart. The students love playing the fast-paced game Gimkit and they get quicker and quicker to read the Hiragana letters. Keep up the good work!

During week 2 to 4, we welcomed the student teacher Lelle-sensei (Ms. Lyndelle Chan) from Monash University. Our students were amazed by the fact that she speaks 9 languages and asked many questions about the benefits of multilingualism. Please have a look at the photos to see how Lelle-sensei helped the students’ ‘koinobori’(carp streamer) and inspired our students to keep learning languages.