The elements of Japan, including history, geography, economics, civics, and cultural studies, are in this collection of original lesson plans. The lessons are meant to provide original content about Japan to augment and supplement an existing unit of study and evoke a spirit of inquiry and introspection. The 24 lessons are as follows: (1)…

Describes a lesson for junior high social studies which uses a comparison of research findings to teach students about international political socialization. Students answer questionnaires about their own attitudes and knowledge of international political socialization and then compare and contrast their responses to responses of American,…

Designed to help secondary students recognize that a country's music both reflects and reinforces cultural values, this unit involves students in comparing the music of the United States, China, and Japan. The unit could be used as part of an Asian history or Western history course. The approximate time required for the unit is 12 class periods.…

This project introduces a syllabus for studying comparative politics among Canada, Pakistan, and Japan. Students learn that comparative politics provides an understanding of how different political systems operate and the importance of culture in understanding politics. Three functions are addressed in the course: system functions, process…

Focusing on the human element through a cross-cultural comparison of U.S. and Japanese modes of production, this resource guide features an assessment of the major factors that affect productivity performance. Each section contains a goal statement and an overview outline of the featured topics. The text includes primary sources, such as documents…

The study describes ten discussion activities designed to improve the communicative abilities of Japanese learners of English based on cultural instruction goals. The activities target intermediate and advanced students, but teachers can modify the lessons for false beginners. All exercises stress speaking and listening. They focus on topics…

Using selected passages from Japanese and U.S. social studies textbooks, this booklet presents contrasting views and interpretations of historical events or circumstances. The textbooks, review, and supplementary materials collected or developed in conjunction with the Japan/U.S. Textbook Study Project provides much of the basic material for the…

Provided are some perspectives, ideas, and resources for teaching about Japan and the Japanese. A major objective is to provide an opportunity for K-12 students to study a culture that can be both compared and contrasted to their own. Following an introduction, which provides a rationale for teaching about Japan, there are three major parts.…

Two key parallels exist between reading and writing, each with profound implications for the teaching of these skills, and which can be adapted for the situation in Japanese high schools, where reading and writing classes are separate. First, on a theoretical level, writing and reading are cognitively similar in that they are both active and…

This article discusses second language vocabulary learning strategies and includes an analysis and classification of possible strategies and the report of a study conducted among second language learners in Japan. Research on vocabulary learning strategies is synthesized into two lists of strategies: 14 methods for initial learning of a new word's…

A teaching unit on the Japanese automobile worker was developed from a compilation of on-site interviews with Japanese company managers and production line employees, and official publications of the Japanese car industry. The unit is designed to present a balanced picture of Japan's economic success and labor relations and to develop global…

A handbook for teachers, administrators, and bilingual education specialists who deal with limited-English-proficient, Japanese-speaking students is designed to assist this language minority to get the best educational opportunities. Chapters discuss the background of Japanese-speaking people in California, historical and sociocultural factors…

Ten speaking and listening activities designed to improve the intercultural communication skills of intermediate and advanced learners of English are presented. The activities are based on seven goals of cultural instruction: (1) sense of culturally controlled behavior; (2) interaction of language and social variables such as gender, age, and…

Papers on second language testing in Japan include: "Differences Between Norm-Referenced and Criterion-Referenced Tests" (James Dean Brown); "Criterion-Referenced Test Construction and Evaluation" (Dale T. Griffe); "Behavioral Learning Objectives as an Evaluation Tool" (Judith A. Johnson); "Developing Norm-…