American Association of Teachers of Japanese

National Standards for Japanese
Language Learning: Connections

Connect with Other Disciplines and Acquire Information

New perspectives and approaches make it possible to incorporate other subject matters into Japanese. There are many benefits in connecting Japanese language instruction with other disciplines. In light of age appropriateness and linguistic levels, teachers may need to use some English materials as information sources and/or carefully coordinate lessons with teachers in other subject areas.

Standard 3.1
Students reinforce and further their knowledge of other disciplines through the Japanese language.

Sample Progress Indicator, Grade 4
--Students demonstrate in Japanese an understanding of basic concepts learned in other subject areas, including weather, math facts, measurements, animals, insects, plants, or geographical concepts.

Sample Progress Indicators, Grade 8
--Students talk about topics from school subjects in Japanese including geographic features, historical facts, mathematical problems, or scientific information.
--Students comprehend short video materials in Japanese on topics being studied in other classes (health, environment, war and peace).
--Students present oral or simple written reports in Japanese on topics being studied in other classes (nutrition, communities, transportation).

Sample Progress Indicators, Grade 12
--Students carry out simple discussions in Japanese on topics from other school subjects, including political and historical events and facts, worldwide health issues, or environmental concerns.
--Students acquire information from selected sources written in Japanese about a topic being studied in other school subjects (climate change, government structure, public health).
--Students combine information from other school subjects with information available in Japanese in order to complete activities in the Japanese language classroom (designing an ideal community, developing advice for healthy living).
--Students exchange information, orally and/or in writing, regarding topics that are being studied in other school subjects (world history, biology, music appreciation, art history.

Sample Progress Indicators, Grade 16
--Students discuss topics in Japanese from other courses, including concepts and issues in the humanities, sciences, or technology (impact of technological advances, environmental issues, comparative literature).
--Students acquire information from a variety of sources written in Japanese about a topic (treatment of the elderly, varieties of theatrical performance, political philosophy) being studied in other school subjects.
--Students exchange, support, and discuss their opinions and individual perspectives in a formal setting on a variety of topics (how society should treat the disabled or mentally ill, equal rights for women, child rearing, evaluation of aesthetic criteria) that are being studied in other courses.

Standard 3.2
Students acquire information and recognize the distinctive viewpoints that are only available through Japanese language and culture.

Sample Progress Indicator, Grade 4
--Students read, watch, listen to, and ask and answer questions about age- and developmentally appropriate short stories, poems, songs, and/or school-content materials (community maps, words to songs written in kana, cartoons).

Sample Progress Indicator, Grade 8
--Students read, listen to, watch, and talk about age-appropriate materials intended for native speakers of Japanese, and recognize distinctive viewpoints and practices (Japanese sense of seasons, way of counting change, "aizuchi").

Sample Progress Indicator, Grade 12
--Students use selected sources, both teacher-adapted and those intended for same-age speakers of Japanese, to prepare reports on topics of personal interest, or those with they have limited previous experience.

Sample Progress Indicator, Grade 16
--Students use a variety of sources to prepare reports on topics of personal interest, or those with which they have limited previous experience, and compare these to information obtained on the same topics written in English.