Amy Ohta, Assistant Professor of Japanese at the University of Washington, presented a session on speaking tasks. Pat Rounds, Research Associate in Linguistics at the University of Oregon, led a session on the develop-ment of listening tasks. By presenting authentic language in context, we can develop both linguistic and cultural competence in our students. Tasks are particularly effective for this purpose because they create opportunities for students to interact using their Japanese. They provide a meaningful goal of interaction and lead to a sense of accomplishment in students when they are successful.
Most textbooks contain lots of drills and exercises, but only a few include tasks.
Our work over the summer, therefore, should complement existing materials nicely. Four working groups consisting of Workshop participants are now producing these tasks and activities. Interested teachers are free to use these materials starting in September. If you would like copies of these materials and advice on how to use them, please contact Carl Falsgraf at 346 5715. For example, just reading the phrase, in a vocabulary list will require a student to rely on an English translation.