I experimented by designing word-usage exercises in order to teach appropriate word-usage to a lower-intermediate level class. At instruction, I gave out exercise questions on how to use particles and the expression, "kinisuru(to mind)," in short sentences as an attempt to improve the class's differentiation between synonymous expressions and comprehension toward the word forms. The students' sentences written before the instruction showed confusion with synonymous expressions as well as misuses of particles. After instruction, while errors decreased overall, some mistakes in the use of the particles I had gone through remained, defining the difficulty of instruction and its necessary improvements.