Preliminary report on the Kanji and Katakana (K2) gym: out-of-class character/vocabulary learning activities for Japanese language learners

Abstract

This paper reports on the informal, out-of-class activities of the K2 (Kanji and Katakana) gym that was conducted twice (once each in 2009 and 2010) over a five-week period in the Department of International Studies, Macquarie University. The primary objectives of this project were (1) to provide Japanese language learners at different levels of proficiency with opportunities to practise character and vocabulary learning skills and (2) to explore the efficiency of informal study on the learning of Kanji/Katakana and vocabulary in Japanese. A total of 17 and 9 students participated in the K2 gym in 2009 and 2010, respectively. In the gym, the participants practised Kanji/Katakana using worksheets, repetition sheets and sample sentence/translation sheets under the supervision of native Japanese-speaking postgraduate students. At the end of the fifth week, both participants and postgraduate student assistants provided feedback on the K2 gym activities. The feedback was predominantly positive. The project was significant not only for the Japanese language students who received individual feedback from native speakers in a non-threatening learning environment but also for the postgraduate assistants who gained experience supervising the gym in their interaction with the participants and made some very practical suggestions. Possibilities for future activities are provided.

Keywords:

• Japanese
• Kanji
• Katakana
• vocabulary
• out-of-class activities

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Macquarie University Faculty of Arts Research-Teaching Nexus Grant in 2009 and the Department of International Studies Teaching and Learning Index Grant in 2010. I thank all the gym participants (JPN/JPS students) and staff (TRAN students) who gave up their time (Friday afternoons, in particular) in good spirits to be a part of this project. I also thank Kayo Nakazawa and Tina Kong of the Department of International Studies and Deborah Miyashia and Alice Wu of the Department of Linguistics for their administrative assistance.

Notes

1. As of 2010, undergraduate unit codes have changed to JPS.

2. At Macquarie University where the study was conducted, 100-level corresponds to ‘Introductory’, 200-level to ‘Intermediate’ and 300-level to ‘Advanced’, respectively.

3. The Japanese Language Proficiency Test (http://www.jpf.org.au/03_language/jlpt/index.html) is held worldwide every year to evaluate and certify the proficiency in Japanese of non-native speakers. The test has been held annually since 1984. As of 2010, an additional level was introduced, resulting in five levels of proficiency.