Teaching Chikara Reading
CHIKARA
for Reading was developed by the JFLLC in 2007/08 as a part of the CHIKARA
GCSE Japanese Resources. It is a series of resources for reading about
life and culture in Japan.
CHIKARA for Reading aims to help students:
- practice reading at the level of structures in GCSE Japanese
- practice GCSE grammatical structures
- learn basic facts about life and culture in Japan
Although CHIKARA for Reading was originally designed for GCSE Japanese,
there are quite a few structures which cover both GCSE and GCE (AS)
Japanese. In addition, in the main texts we have used kanji for GCE with
kana readings as well as kanji for GCSE without kana readings. Therefore,
CHIKARA for Reading is a useful resource for teachers of GCE (AS) Japanese
too.
CHIKARA covers topics which are equivalent to the topics required
for GCSE Japanese as in the table below. See List
of GCSE Japanese Structures by JFLLC for a description of the levels. (Note: A = most
basic, B = basic, C = slightly more difficult)
CHIKARA Topic |
Equivalent GCSE Topic |
Purposes of Resources |
Structure Level |
| Myself, Family and Home life |
House, Home and Daily Life |
-To learn Japanese grammatical structures
-To practice how to communicate in Japanese in given situations
|
A-B Level Some C Level |
| School Life and Routines |
Education, Training and Employment |
| Town and Social Life |
Social Activities, Fitness and Health |
Life & Culture in Japan
|
Media, entertainment and youth culture
|
-To learn Japanese grammatical structures
-To Practice Reading
-To learn basic facts about life and culture in Japan
|
A-C Level |
|
In the United Kingdom and Abroad
|
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CHIKARA for Reading Syllabus
The syllabus contains the following information: subtopics, titles of
the main texts, structures and their levels, keywords, cultural aspects
of the main texts, teachers‘ information for extended activities,
and pictures and references used for the main texts.
The syllabus
is a reference for teachers.
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Subtopics and Resource Download
Under the topic ‘Life and Culture in Japan’, there are subtopics
as in the table below. You can download the teaching materials of
each subtopic here.
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Contents and Usage
| Contents |
Example of Usage |
| Before reading |
| - |
Some questions related to the subtopic |
|
| - |
Use to talk about what students know about the subtopic before reading |
|
| Keyword |
| - |
Keywords in the main text (in hiragana and kanji) |
| - |
Kanji is shown for every word |
| - |
Definitions are left blank |
|
| - |
Use to guess the content of the main text. |
| - |
Fill in the blanks with the word meanings before reading |
|
| Structure |
| - |
Important structures in the main text |
|
| - |
Use to check the structures to practice |
|
|
|
| Main Text |
| - |
Topic: Life and culture in Japan |
| - |
Kanji: GCSE without kana readings, GCE with kana readings |
| - |
Kanji used for only part of a word is avoided as much as possible. |
| - |
Structure: A, B and C levels (in JFLLC categories) |
|
| - |
Use to read under teacher’s instruction in class |
| - |
Could be read in small groups if many short paragraphs in the main text |
|
| Comprehension of the main text |
| - |
True/False questions and questions for comprehension. |
| - |
Only GCSE kanji is used (without kana readings). |
|
| - |
Use to check students’ understanding of the main text in class under teacher’s instruction |
| - |
True/False questions are for checking overall comprehension, followed by questions to check detailed comprehension. |
|
|
|
| Kanji and Vocabulary |
| - |
Questions about GCSE kanji (reading, writing & meaning) and vocabulary. |
|
| - |
Use in, before or after class |
| - |
Use as a review before GCSE exam. |
|
|
|
| Structure |
| - |
Exercises of structures mainly from C level, which are covered in GCE (AS) as well. |
| - |
Most sentences in questions are related to the subtopic. |
| - |
Only GCSE kanji is used (without kana reading). |
|
| - |
Use in class, under teacher’s instruction |
|
|
|
| Extended Task |
| - |
Ideas and information for activities to teach more about the subtopic |
|
| - |
Use as a teacher’s reference to plan activities or tasks to deepen students’ learning about life and culture in Japan (Not available for J7) |
|
| Answer |
| - |
Answers for all exercises; comprehension of the main text, kanji and vocabulary and structure |
|
| - |
Distribute to students to self-check their answers, particularly of homework |
|
| Sound |
| - |
Sound files of the main texts |
|
| - |
Use for listening practice |
| - |
Use to check the reading of kanji without kana reading (GCSE kanji) |
| - |
Use to improve reading speed of slow readers |
|
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References: The Japan Foundation’s Resources for Japanese Language
Teaching
We used the resources presented by the Japan Foundation below to develop
CHIKARA for Reading.
- Minna no Kyōzai
- Nihongo
Kyōiku Tsūshin
- Kyōkasho o Tsukurō (Grammar Notes, Activity Book 1/2), available
from Minna no Kyōzai
- Photo Panel Collection, available from Minna no Kyōzai
- Erin ga Chōsen! Nihongo Dekimasu
In addition to the resources above, Yomukoto o Oshieru (Teaching Japanese
Booklet Series 7 by the Japan Foundation) will be useful for teachers to
learn about the theory and practice of teaching students to read Japanese.
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Free to use for teachers!
CHIKARA for Reading, like the other CHIKARA resources, is free to download
from the JFLLC’s website. Why not check your lesson plan or school
curriculum and see if you can try CHIKARA for Reading? We hope your students
will enjoy learning about Japan through the Japanese language.
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Japanese Language Navigation
Homestay
Celebrations
Kimono
Haiku
Robot
Tokyo
Earthquake
The Japan Foundation, London