The first week

What a great start to the new school year!

I hope your child is excited as I am about their Japanese class.

This week your child learned some of basic knowledge of Japan and Japanese language, like…

NAME:
The Japanese refer to their country as "Nippon" or "Nihon". These two names apparently have their origin in the words "place where the sun rises”. The ancient Chinese referred to Japan as a “place where the sun rises” because of its relative geographical location. Since Japan is east of China, the sun appeared to rise from the direction of Japan.

GEOGRAHY:
Japan is an island nation lying off the east coast of Asia. It has the general shape of a crescent and extends 3,000 km (1,860 miles) from tip to tip.

The country is made up of four main islands (Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Hokkaido) which together with more than 4,000 smaller islands are collectively referred to as the Japanese Archipelago. But the way, the Big Island of Hawaii is almost half size of Shikoku island of Japan.

Japan is 10% smaller in physical size than the state of California, yet it is home to almost four times as many people!

The capital of Japan, Tokyo, is one of the largest cities of the world with a population of 12.29-million.

Japan's highest mountain is Mt. Fuji.

Then, a question for you: Which is higher Mt. Fuji or Mauna Kea?

Answer is...Mauna Kea

How about...

Which is higher Mt. Fuji or Mauna Loa?

Answer is...Mauna Loa

Even though the Big Island of Hawaii is half size of Shikoku, we have two mountains higher than Mt. Fuji. We should be proud of this, I guess...

The NATIONAL FLAG:
The national flag of Japan is called “Hinomaru” or “Nisshoki”, which means "the flag of the rising sun". The sun is represented by a red circle at the center. The flag match the name of the country (meaning place from where the sun rises).







JAPANESE LANGUGAGE:
Below are listed a few of the characteristic features of modern Japanese language:

KANJI, HIRAGANA, KATAKANA:
Until Japan came in contact with China, it had no writing system of its own. Japanese was a spoken language only. The Japanese adopted the Chinese writing system to express their spoken language in writing. The Chinese form of writing is called kanji, which literally means “Chinese characters.” Kanji is now one of three systems in the Japanese use to write their language. Hiragana and katakana are the tow other systems. There are phonetic systems, whereas kanji is a system based on meaning rather than sound.

Modern day Japanese sentences are composed of a combination of kanji, hiragana and katakana. Words which have strong semantic value, that is, nouns, verbs, adjectives and some adverbs, are written in kanji. Conjugated portions of verbs, adjectives or nouns (tenses, negations, etc.), particles, interjections, and most adverbs and other parts of sentences which do not convey the major message in the sentence are written in hiragana. Katakana is now used mainly to write words of foreign origin (non-Japanese), or names of foreigners. It is also sometimes used as device to call attention to certain words (i.e., in advertising, announcements, etc). It is also sometimes used to write onomatopoetic expressions.

THE BASIC JAPANESE WORD ORDER:
The word order in Japanese is subject, object, verb order. The Japanese word order in a sentence is subject first, object second, and verb last. Particles follow nouns. Correct particle usage is important in order to convey accurate information. Negations occur at the end of sentences. When forming a question, the word order of the sentence is not changed as it is in English. Rather, the question marker is simply attached at the end of the sentence.

JAPANESE WRITING FORMAT:
Japanese was originally written vertically on a page staring from right to left. Many Japanese books are still printed in this way. Therefore, the front cover of a Japanese book opens from the opposite side of a Western book. Recently, Japanese is written horizontally as is English and sometimes books written his way open the same Western books.

SELF-INRODCUTION
In addition, your child learned how to introduce him or herself. Ask your child to introduce him or herself in Japanese. S/he should be able to introduce him or herself with proper bows!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Welcome to Japanese class

Dear Parents:

I welcome your child to Japanese class! I’m excited about the opportunity to get to know your child, as well as you, and I’m looking forward to a happy and productive school year.

A key element in the foreign language classroom is keeping the students motivated. I think it’s really hard to teach a foreign language by sitting at my desk during the whole class period. I never sit while I teach. My moving around in the class keeps the students more on their toes and gives a certain dynamic to the class.

Although I’m not there to entertain the students but to teach them Japanese, I think teaching can be done in an entertaining way. Motivation being one of the most important factors linked to success in foreign language teaching, students need to be interested in the Japanese language and culture. If they are motivated and interested, not only will they do well in class, but they can also benefit from the Japanese learning experience even beyond the classroom environment.

My ultimate goal is that some of the students will become interested in Japan, appreciate some of its culture, and, perhaps, serve as a personal “bridge between East and West” in the future.

Course Object:
This course is intended for students who want to learn modern Japanese language. It is designed to give a foundation in Japanese sufficient to handle everyday, practical conversions.

The Japanese that will be introduced in this course is up-to-date and standard; it is the language used by educated people and acceptable to Japanese everywhere regardless of age, gender or occupation.

After studying this course thoroughly and carefully, students should have a solid knowledge of basic grammar, to read and write all of the Japanese syllables, hiragana and katakana, recognize some kanji, and develop conversational skills in listening, comprehension, and speaking.

By completing this course with the minimum of grade of C, and receiving a recommendation from me, a student will receive 1 high school credit and can proceed to the next level in the 9th grade.

Since each language reflects certain values, beliefs, and behavior of its culture, students in this course also will learn Japanese culture.

Homework Policy:
It is my job to define and clearly communicate what is expected. However, the students need to ask clarifying questions at school take home the appropriate materials, complete the work, and turn it in on time. It will be checked and recorded.

Homework not turned in at the beginning of class will be considered late. Homework assignments turned in 1 day late will receive half credit and 2 days late will receive no credit. All work will be completed with black or blue ink pen (unless told otherwise by me).

If there is a concern about the quality and/or quantity of homework, please contact me immediately.

Food Allergy:
In addition to our core curriculum, the students are given the opportunity to cook and/ or taste some of Japanese food at the class. If your child has any food item(s) allergic to him/her, please let me know.

Contact:
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me by e-mail. I believe that communicating by e-mail works well for you and me. I can be reached at thiruma@hpa.edu. I also welcome appointments to meet in person.

ARIGATOO GOZAIMASU ("Thank you" in Japanese) for visiting "our" Web site. Yes! This site is not only for me. This is for your child, you and me. Web site. Please feel free to leave any comment.