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2013 J-LEAP REPORTJANUARY, 2014: BREEZE ISSUE #75
A FREE MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER FOR FRIENDS OF JAPAN & TEACHERS OF JAPANESE

2013 J-LEAP REPORTBY YUKO MIYATA
Aina Haina Elementary School
Honolulu, HI
Aloha everyone,
My name is Yuko Miyata and I’m currently working as aJapanese Assistant Teacher at Aina Haina Elementary
School on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Aina Haina is a
residential area located on the east side of Waikiki andDiamond Head, and is much quieter compared to busy Waikiki. There is also a very nice beach that Isometimes visit after school to relax and enjoy the beautiful ocean view.
One of the things that first impressed me when I moved here was how closely Japanese and Hawaiian
cultures are connected. For example, words like “BENTO”, “MUSUBI”, “UDON”, ”FURIKAKE” , “RAMEN” or“MOCHI’ are seen everywhere in Hawaii and everyone knows what they are. But sometimes the foodculture here is twisted. For example, there are so many Japanese restaurants in Hawaii that serve
Japanese food, yet the dishes are not traditional. One example is that sometimes green onion is placedon the lid of OWAN (Japanese style soup bowl), but we actually never do that in Japan.
In terms of learning Japanese language and culture, the mixture of Hawaiian and Japanese can be useful
because there is so much familiarity; it is more ingrained in daily life here compared to other parts of thecountry. On the other hand, students can take this for granted as well because Japanese culture is allaround them and they may not try very hard to experience it. So, the combination of the two cultures canbe both a positive and negative influence in teaching the Japanese language.
Aina Haina Elementary School has about 600 students from kindergarten to 5th grade. Every student
takes Japanese classes once a week, ranging from a 30 minute class for younger students to a 45 minuteclass for older students. We also have an after school program for students who want to learn more.
Students in kindergarten to 3rd grade learn how to say numbers and colors, describe the weather, andsimple expressions. Also, Japanese games such as SUGOROKU, DARUMA OTOSHI, GOMOKUNARABE,OTEDAMA and more are taught. This way, students learn about the culture and the language at the same
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time while having fun. It’s as if they are learning effortlessly.

Students in the upper grades learn more about the differences between Japanese and Hawaiian culture,such as Japanese etiquette and holiday customs. For the end of the year, older students wrote Nengajoousing Hiragana or Kanji. We had a Nengajoo contest as well and the winners will be chosen after the newyear and prizes will be awarded. This allows the students to learn more about Japanese people andeventually find their own interests in Japan.
I’m learning many things from my lead teacher, but perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned from heris how important it is to maintain the students’ attention by providing engaging and active lessons. In myopinion, this is true not only for the lower grades, but also for older students and adults as well. So wesing songs and play games a lot, which they really like and provides them a way to learn new vocabulary
easily.
My role as an assistant teacher in the classes is to help students who are not following or understanding
the instructions given by the lead teacher. I also work with small groups of students who need extra
practice with pronunciation, or memorization of new words. Next semester, I’m very much looking forward
to co-teaching an after school class for kindergarteners. I hope I can use the skills and techniques I’mlearning from my lead teacher there. My biggest goal is to help the students have fun while they learn,
and in this way develop their interests in Japanese language and culture.

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Breeze #75

Japanese Langauge Education Update 2Teacher Training Program: Emily Orillon

2013 J-LEAP Report: Atsuya Yoshida2013 J-LEAP Report: Yuko Miyata

2013 JET-MIP Essay: Alex Leal

2013 JET-MIP Essay: Aaron Ramirez

2013 JET-MIP Essay: Libby Ro2013 JET-MIP Essay: Viola Mocz

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