NSJLE 2016 Proceedings: Visible and Valuable

Japanese Media Studies: A Year 10 CLIL Program
Kelly Harrison
San Sisto College, Brisbane Catholic Education (Qld)

Introduction
The purpose of the presentation on which this paper is based was to educate other teachers
about the practicalities of implementing a CLIL program and to highlight the ways that CLIL
may enhance Japanese teaching and learning across a variety of school contexts. My intention
was for teachers who attended my presentation to leave the room with the confidence toattempt even just one CLIL lesson and to then build an online network of teachers interestedin teaching Japanese CLIL programs. ‘The price of admission’ to the online community wasto commit to planning for and teaching at least one CLIL lesson and then sharing experienceswith the group online. My presentation focussed on my experiences in implementing a Year
10 Japanese Media Studies CLIL program at my school, San Sisto College.

Background
San Sisto College is a Catholic girls school in Brisbane, with approximately 700 students. Theschool offers both Japanese and Italian. Students are required to undertake two years ofcompulsory Languages study in Year 7 and 8, in their chosen language. The Japanese
department runs a three-week Japanese Immersion tour every two years and there is an Italy
Trip every three years. At the time of my presentation, Languages was experiencing a growth
period at the college and my introduction of a CLIL program capitalised on this growth.
The Year 10 Japanese Media Studies course (run for the first time in 2016) was the product ofapproximately two years of research into and experimentation with CLIL. Conditions overall
were favourable for the introduction of a new course. I was blessed to work with aLanguages-focussed Principal for the years leading up to this. Logistically, conditions werealso favourable. For the first time during my tenure at the college we had two Year 10Japanese classes for 2016. This allowed for students to opt in to the CLIL program and forthere to still be a ‘standard’ Year 10 Japanese course running on the same timetable line.
Much of the literature I encountered and staff I met with from other schools indicated that anopt-in program was the preferable approach.
I introduced a CLIL program at San Sisto after approximately three years of action research
into ways of improving students’ speaking confidence and proficiency, having noticed
students’ reluctance to verbally express themselves in the target language. I was fortunate
enough to visit a number of schools with bilingual programs in Queensland and Victoria, andthis inspired me to develop and implement a program suitable for my school’s context.
I believe one sentiment that is common to all Japanese teachers is that we want more people
to be able to speak Japanese. The hard truth, though, is that once Japanese becomes anelective, attrition rates are high (De Kretser & Spence-Brown, 2008). Another common
sentiment amongst Japanese teachers is that we want our students to be able to use thelanguage with confidence. But in my experience (both as a student of high school Japanese inthe early 2000s and in my discussions with students), many learners feel as though they

NSJLE 2016 Proceedings: Visible and Valuable
cannot interact in a meaningful way in the language, even after many years of study. I choseto implement a CLIL program to turn these things around at my school.

Program
Before launching a full-year program, I read widely on the topic of CLIL. Some of theresources that were most useful for me are included at the end of this paper.
I experimented with different CLIL delivery methods over an 18-month period, using a‘sampler approach’ where I ran a variety of isolated lessons and mini units based on a rangeof topics. My focus throughout each session was on ensuring I used no English and gathering
feedback from the students in terms of their levels of success and enjoyment. I made thedecision to use no English because I needed to set the bar high for both myself and thestudents. If I commenced with the mindset that some English was permissible, then I wasconcerned I could become complacent as a non-native speaker and gradually use more andmore English, and therefore not maintain the integrity of a bilingual program. Of course, there
were some occasions where I did use English, but I made a concerted effort through very
thorough lesson planning to ensure this was kept to an absolute minimum.
Some lessons / units I created included:• Art and craft lessons (Valentine’s Day, Hanami)• Year 8 Japanese History Unit – 3-week trial with one class• After-school CLIL program – optional program with native-speaker guest teachers
covering cultural topics such as pottery making, Japanese hairpiece making andJapanese cooking• Festival lessons such as Tanabata.
My main learning out of each of these experiences was that if you raise the bar in terms of useof target language in the classroom, the students will rise and meet you there. The sense ofaccomplishment students reported at being able to successfully participate in Japanese-only
lessons encouraged me to continue with the program and, ultimately, write a year-long course.
As stated earlier, the course was a Year 10 opt-in Media Studies program. I wrote the programin line with the ACARA Achievement Standards for Year 10 Japanese and Year 10 Media
Arts and met both Achievement Standards within the normal allocated timeslot for Japanese.
Having outcomes that are genuinely commensurate with the level of learning expected ofstudents under the wider curriculum is important for CLIL; developing newunderstandings and skills in the content is no less important than in the language itself (Coyle,Hood, & Marsh, 2010). Further, this was possible because CLIL is such an efficient methodof teaching – students are learning language that is immediately relevant to the content beingtaught, as they need it. The chances students have to use language they have just learnt, in ameaningful context related to the content just learnt, contribute to a higher level of language
retention.
The teacher and students were expected to speak as much Japanese as possible; after a few
weeks of allowing the girls to speak to me in English, I eventually enforced a rule where I
would ‘ignore them’ until they attempted to formulate their question or statement in Japanese.
The girls saw the funny side, and enjoyed the challenge. From my perspective, it was
important to place the focus on attempting to articulate in the target language, rather thanNSJLE 2016 Proceedings: Visible and Valuableaccuracy. This process led to higher confidence amongst the students, evidenced by theirincreased willingness to communicate with me and each other in Japanese as the year
progressed.
Below is a summary of the topics and assessment covered over the year:
Term Topic

Assessment

Language Focus

1Japanese
Cooking
Shows

Plan, script, film and edit a segment for aJapanese cooking show
Standard Listening Exam (based on ObentoSupreme)

Stating location of objects,
expressing time, linking
adjectives using て form,
negative adjectives

2AnimeDirector’s commentary of a Studio Ghibliて form verbs, seasons,scene to be recorded as a special feature on a weather
DVD (this was conducted as a conversation
with the teacher)Standard Writing Exam (based on Obento
Supreme)

3/4

Advertising Create a Japanese-style advertising campaign Plain form, giving reasons
as a group and write an accompanying(から), stating opinions
exegesis individually(と思う)Standard Speaking Exam (based on ObentoSupreme)Standard Grammar Exam (based on Obento
SupremeBenefits and pitfalls
Benefits
CLIL has had a significant impact on the teaching and learning of Japanese at San Sisto.
Firstly, I, as the teacher, experienced a large spike in motivation. Learning more about CLIL
through practice and seeing the students succeed was professionally very invigorating.
Becoming a CLIL teacher encouraged me to use much more of the target language in all of
my Japanese classes, as I witnessed in each CLIL lesson how much more quickly students
were acquiring language. When students are exposed to the language in a meaningful context
and are required to use it immediately, they seem to develop their language skills at a muchquicker rate. Attention during class time was always incredibly focussed, as the students’brains worked hard to keep up with the linguistic and conceptual challenges of JapaneseMedia Studies. The atmosphere in the class was one of togetherness, accomplishment and joy.
There were many laughs as the students (and the teacher) did their best to communicate.
Retention rates into Year 11 for 2017 were the highest I had yet seen at San Sisto. Sixteen of
the 20 CLIL students continued into Senior. They have so far managed the demands of Year
11 more easily than students in previous years; some have even approached me to gently
request that I speak more Japanese in class.

NSJLE 2016 Proceedings: Visible and Valuable
Below are some comments from the students, reported in Term 4 of 2016. I was very movedby the impact this class had on a number of the students. These comments were obtained
anonymously through Survey Monkey.
What skills did you acquire?
‘Confidence in my speaking - When you use nothing but Japanese for a subject for a wholeyear, you get used to using it. It challenged me to think about how I can use what I know to
get my point across, and this has no doubt improved my abilities to have conversations inJapanese.’‘Analysis. The exegesis we did helps with English classes as well because we have to do
the same thing with analysing documentaries and texts, so having more practice in bothsubjects and languages is beneficial.’
What have you learnt about yourself? Have you changed or grown?
‘By taking this course, my friendships with other students have strengthened and becauseof this I have become a better person.’‘I have attained better problem-solving skills and learnt that there is more than one or twoways to tackle problems. I have learnt to just dive straight into problems.’‘Honestly, I really feel I have grown as a person. I can connect with people over my love ofJapanese and it has helped me form new friendships. My love and appreciation for theJapanese culture has also grown if that’s even possible.’
It was heartening to read that students not only felt the course helped them improve theirJapanese but that they saw applications outside the Japanese classroom for the skills theywere acquiring. The levels of enjoyment they expressed highlighted to me the satisfaction andhappiness students can experience in a supportive but academically rigorous environment.
Pitfalls
The main challenge I faced in developing and implementing this program was the timeconsuming nature of planning for CLIL lessons and creating resources. I found I was needing
to write highly detailed lesson plans for every lesson, to ensure that the language I wasexposing the girls to was appropriate to their stage of learning.
Undeniably, it was challenging at times to keep up the students’ confidence and motivation.
Some students found the added challenge of CLIL exactly right; others at times questioned
their abilities and their place in the class. It was rewarding, however, to offer these students
encouragement and see them ‘pick themselves up’ and continue to flourish in the Japaneseclassroom.
Conclusion
After my 2016 presentation in Melbourne, I created and continue to moderate a Facebook
page entitled ‘Japanese CLIL Network’. As of January 2018, there were 124 members.
Teachers regularly post their experiences, successes and questions relating to CLIL. It has
been heartening to realise that there are many Japanese teachers around Australia interested ingetting CLIL programs off the ground at their own schools, and this encourages me tocontinue my research and experiments into this teaching methodology.

NSJLE 2016 Proceedings: Visible and Valuable
References
De Kretser, A., & Spence-Brown, R. (2008). The Current State of Japanese Language
Education in Australian Schools. Melbourne: Education Services Australia Ltd.

Useful CLIL Resources
Online Articles:David Marsh – Using Languages to Learn and Learning to Use Languages
http://archive.ecml.at/mtp2/clilmatrix/pdf/1UK.pdf
This article by David Marsh is not just useful for teachers, but can be used to help explain
CLIL to parents too.
Case study in CLIL in Victorian schools – Russell Cross
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/lan
guages/CLILtrialresearchrpt.pdf
I read this several times as I began my CLIL journey. Very practical. Interviews with some of
the teachers involved in these programs feature on the Language Learning Space.
Language Learning Space – Professional Development Resource – CLIL
https://www.lls.edu.au/teacherspace/professionallearning/2186
Spend some time watching the videos – really useful.
Simone Smala – University of Queensland - Introducing Content and Language
Integrated Learning http://www.acsa.edu.au/pages/images/simone%20smala%20%20introducing%20content%20and%20language.pdf
Books:
CLIL – Content and Language Integrated Learning by Do Coyle, Phillip Good andDavid MarshI read this from cover to cover and am constantly going back to this resource. Couldn’t havedelivered my course without it.
CLIL Activities – A resource to subject and language teachers by Liz Dale and RosieTanner.
Very useful resource once you have a program / unit / lesson in mind and need help coming
up with activities.