Addressing the National Standards in an Internet-Based Newspaper Project

Miyuki Fukai
Hideki Hamada

Indiana University, Bloomington

I. The National Standards and The Internet

Standards for Japanese Language Learning (1999)

• Content standards
• 5 goal areas: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, & Communities

The Internet

• Source of authentic materials (e.g., Nihongoweb, Yahoo! Japan)
• Communication tool (e.g., email, chat)
• Place of publication (e.g., Web sites)

--> Can the National Standards be addressed by using the Internet?

II. An Attempt: Online Newspaper Project

Phase 1: Getting familiar with newspaper articles Phase 2: Writing newspaper articles about own school, town, and/or state Phase 3: Publishing articles online & presenting articles as TV news program

III. Study

Study Site

• Advanced-level Japanese course at a large state university in the midwestern U.S.
• 10 students (2 Korean-natives; 1 half-Japanese; 1 Russian; 6 Americans)
• Meets 3 times a week (the project on Fridays)

Data Collection (* indicates data discussed in this presentation)

• Pre- and post-project questionnaire
• Assignments (summary; summary + opinions)*
• Email messages*
• Observations of in-class discussion*
• Interviews with students
• Interviews with 6 focused students*
• Interviews with the instructor

Data Analysis

• Rubrics based on the National Standards
• Rubrics for performance assessment (speaking, writing, and email messages)
• Content analysis of interviews

IV. Results

1.2: Demonstrate understanding of principal elements of the article.
1.3: Summarize the article.

1.2: Demonstrate understanding of principal elements of the article.
1.3.1: Summarize the article.
1.3.2: Express opinions or individual perspectives.
1.3.3: Analyze, discuss, or support their opinions or individual perspectives.
2.1.2: Use appropriate style.
3.1.1: Discuss topics being studied in other disciplines.
3.1.2: Discuss and support opinions or individual perspectives on topics in other disciplines.
4.2.2: Analyze or discuss the relationship between Japanese culture and their own.
5.1: Use resources to prepare summaries and opinions.

1.1.1: Discuss events and issues that are written in newspaper articles.
1.1.2: Share understanding of and reactions to the articles.
1.1.3: Exchange, support, or discuss opinions and individual perspectives.
2.1.2: Use appropriate style.
2.1.3: Use appropriate expressions.
2.2: Identify, discuss or analyze products.
3.1.1: Discuss topics being studied in other disciplines.
3.1.2: Discuss and support opinions or individual perspectives on topics in other disciplines.
4.1: Compare differences in nuance between Japanese and English.
5.1: Communicate with native speakers of Japanese.

1.1.1: Discuss events and issues that are written in the newspaper article.
1.1.2: Share their understanding of and personal reactions to the article.
1.1.3: Exchange, support, and discuss opinions and individual perspectives on the article.
1.2: Demonstrate an understanding of the principal elements of the article.
1.3.1: Present a summary of the article of their choice to others.
1.3.2: Present a summary of group discussion to others.
1.3.3: Present pen pal's opinions to others.
2.1.1: Analyze and discuss perspectives reflected in the article.
2.1.2: Use appropriate verbal and non-verbal behavior.
2.2.1: Identify products.
2.2.2: Discuss and analyze products.
3.1.1: Discuss topics being studied in other disciplines.
3.1.2: Discuss and support opinions or individual perspectives on topics in other disciplines.
4.1: Compare the difference in nuance between Japanese and other languages.
4.2.1: Compare perspectives of Japanese culture reflected in the article to their own.
4.2.2: Analyze and discuss the relationship between Japanese culture and their own.

Summary of Interviews with 6 Focused Students

Positive

Can focus more on meaning by Reading Tutor instead of looking up unknown words with a dictionary

Helps with comprehension; the summary HW forces me to pay more attention to the content

Gives different perspectives than those of the U.S.

Helps understand a society and culture and how they view what's happening in their society

Gives more topics to discuss with Japanese people; not just learn how to use grammar

Introduces me to future way of learning

Can be more independent

Exposure to more current topics

Motivates to read more

Next best thing to going to Japan; closest thing to going to Japan without actually going there

Negative

May not retain kanji longer than using a dictionary

E-mail doesn't help speaking because it's writing

Doesn't help learn Japanese culture because we're writing about our school, town, or state

Listening to non-native speakers doesn't help with speaking

V. Conclusions

Possibility of the Internet-based newspaper project

A variety of tasks that have different strengths make the project beneficial in terms of the Japanese Standards

Future plan: Writing articles

Publishing them online
Presenting them in class