Developing a Technical Japanese Class for Elementary Japanese Language Learners

Abstract

This paper reports on a technical Japanese class designed for students in a preparatory education program for undergraduate course. To accommodate the diverse specializations of learners, topics from Japanese secondary school textbooks were selected to provide a shared foundational framework. Activities were designed to leverage learners' prior knowledge, while integrated listening and reading exercises aimed to enhance vocabulary acquisition from both textual and auditory information. Through these activities, learners were observed inferring the meanings of unfamiliar Japanese words based on their corresponding English vocabulary. Additionally, students began self-assigning roles, a development regarded as effective preparation for participating in discussions in specialized undergraduate courses.