森の池
２０1０年
Concordia Language Villages
Mori no Ike, Japanese Language Village
Credit Program JD34 & JD74
Gakusei Survival Guide
and Portfolio
名前：
組：
クラスの先生：
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
1
Table of Contents
Daily Schedule
3
Program Calendar
4
森の池へようこそ！(Welcome to Mori no Ike!)
6
Myths About Language Learning
6
Frequently Asked Questions
8
Tips for your Final Project Planning Sheet
14
Common Concerns Gakusei Have
19
Words of Wisdom from Former Gakusei
20
A Note on Dictionaries
21
Survival Japanese
21
Hiragana and Katakana Charts
27
Portfolio Table of Contents
28
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
2
森の池学生スケジュール
7:30-8:30
起床
（きしょう）
（JD３４）
Wake-up
9:15
ラジオ体操 （ラジオたいそう）
Morning exercises
9:30
朝ご飯 （あさごはん）
Breakfast
10:15
塾
（じゅく）
Study time
11:00
クラス１
Credit class 1
12:00
クラス２
Credit class 2
1:00
歌時間（うたじかん）・メロドラマ Song time and Melodrama
1:30
昼ご飯 (ひるごはん)
Lunch
2:30
昼寝 (ひるね)
Rest time
3:15
家の掃除 (うちのそうじ)
Cabin cleaning
3:30
自由時間 (じゅうじかん)
Free time
4:45
クラブ活動 (クラブかつどう)
Club activity
5:45
クラス３
Credit class 3
6:45
晩ご飯 (ばんごはん)
Dinner
8:00
夜プロ (よるプロ)
Evening program
9:00
キャンプ・ファイヤ
Campfire
9:20
家に帰ります (うちにかえります)
Return to cabins
...その後
家団欒 (うちだんらん)
Cabin council
10:30
消灯
あと
（しょうとう）
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
3
Lights out
もりのいけ
がくせい
森の池
げつようび
学生カレンダー （JD34
か
月曜日
すい
火曜日
29 オリエンテーシ
6 月２8 日
森の池へようこ
そ！
ョン
もく
水 曜日
じゅぎょう
はじ
授 業 が始 ま
る!
30
きん
木 曜日
７月 1 日
2010**）
み
6 学生カフェ
ひ
7
8 学生の日！
にち
土曜日
日 曜日
がくせいかい
２
3 学生会
レストラン・ダン
ス・ナイ
ト
家ナイト！
5 せいせきを見る
ど
金 曜日
こくさい
9 国 際 の日
学生会
せいと
10 さよなら生徒
…
じゅぎょう
授 業 なし！
4
とくべつ
( 特 別 なスケジ
ュール)
しゅうまつ
11 学生 週 末 ！
（特別なスケジュー
ル)
家ナイト！
あたら
12 新 しい生徒が
く
13 せいせきを見る
学生カフェ
来る!
学生週末
14 Final Project
15
16
ていしゅつび
Proposal の 提
出 日
家ナイト！
17 学生会
レストラン・ダン
ス・ナイ
ト
18
じゅぎょう
授 業 なし！
（特別なスケジュー
ル）
学生カフェ
19 せいせきを見せ
る
20 学生カフェ
学生カフェ
21 ファイナルプロ
はっぴょうかい
ジェクト 発
表会
22 Portfolio の提出
日
23 せいせきを見せ
る
パネル・ディスカ
ッション
学生パーティー
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
4
そつぎょうしき
卒 業 式
学生会?
24
7 月 25 日
さよなら森の池
…
また会える日まで…
あ
タレント・ショー
ご い
語彙 (Vocabulary…definitions and readings are as used in this context; * are hard to translate)
授業 （じゅぎょう）
classes
始まる （はじまる） (something) start(s) 学生会
（がくせいかい） student council
特別 （とくべつ）
special
X なし
without X, no X* 成績
（せい
せき）
grades
見る （みる）
see, look at
日
（ひ）
day
生徒
（せいと）
2-week
villagers
週末 （しゅうまつ）
weekend
新しい （あたらしい） new
来る
（くる） come
(irregular verb)
提出日（ていしゅつび）
う)
week
発表会（はっぴょうかい）
（おわり）
会える （あえる）
due date
国際
（こくさい）
international
presentation event*
卒業式（そつぎょうしき）
週
graduation ceremony
（しゅ
終わり
the end, over
be able to meet (see)
**The calendar for JD74 (July 26-August 21) is virtually identical, but
International Day is Friday of Week 3, not Week 2.
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
5
森の池へようこそ！(Welcome to Mori no Ike!)
We are so glad you are coming! Whether are you are new to Mori no Ike, new to being a gakusei,
or a veteran villager*, everyone will face some challenges this summer, and we hope that this
“Survival Guide” can help you anticipate and navigate them.
(*Returning gakusei: Please make sure to look at the calendar, the grading rubrics, and the
sections on Gakusei Day and Gakusei-Kai, as some changes have been made for 2010 in response
to your feedback!)
To start off, here are some general tips from the sensei:
 Listen to the sensei and watch their gestures and body language. Most things are explained
clearly…if you are paying attention.
 Remember that Japanese and American cultures are different; look for evidence in the
customs and traditions we have at the village and the way native speakers and other staff
speak and act. Mori no Ike is not quite like living in Japan, but it’s not totally American either.
Be prepared to do things differently.




Some of the cultural practices Mori no Ike shares with Japan are below the surface, like mixing
students with diverse skills in one group, group activities being required for everyone, and the
way we all live together in close community. Don’t leave out the possibility that something
that rubs you the wrong way might be part of the cultural immersion experience.
It is normal to be confused, and even frustrated, when learning a new language or experiencing
another culture, so ask for help! Returning villagers and staff can be great resources.
Use your study time wisely; it is possible to get everything done and still have fun, but you
need to plan ahead. Doing one year’s worth of learning in four weeks will never be easy! If you
are having difficulty, talk to your class teacher, your cabin counselor, or Koyomi-sensei.
Remember to have fun! You are the person who decides how much you learn and how your
Mori no Ike experience will unfold.
Myths About Language Learning
The question of the best way to learn a language has been debated for centuries, and the
debate is far from over. However, a lot of “popular wisdom” about language learning has little or no basis
in research, and misinformation can be a lot more dangerous than lack of information! Learning a second
language is hard sometimes, no matter how you slice it. Our program is in line with many of the latest
findings about language learning, but here are a few things to keep in mind.
Myth #1: To learn a language, you need to completely separate it from your native
language and other languages you know.
There is not one reliable study proving this! Really! Now, you definitely need to be exposed
to the language you want to learn, and having lots of opportunities to practice using the
language typically helps, but there is nothing ‘toxic’ about mixing languages or having
some things explained to you in your native language (though that’s not our typical procedure).
We’re not trying to cut you off from English (that’s impossible); we’re trying to maximize your
opportunities to hear, understand, and use Japanese. Your part of the bargain is to
take those opportunities and use them!
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
6
Myth #2: Living in a place where the language you want to learn is spoken will cause
you to learn it more quickly and you’ll end up speaking like a native.
Once again, there are piles and piles of studies showing that this is not necessarily the case.
There are also plenty of real-life examples: think of people you know, or famous people, who
have moved to the US as teenagers or adults. Do they speak English the way native speakers do?
Some will, and some will have ways of speaking that sound nothing like natives’ (so where did
those come from?). Think also of some expatriates, who may live abroad for years without
learning the local language. (Study abroad students often learn the same amount of language as
their peers who take classes at home, not more, though they often progress in different areas.)
Also, just listening to the language, without being involved yourself, is not enough .
Language learning results vary for SO many reasons: age, motivation, environment, who
you talk to, how you approach language learning, your role in the community, how you feel
about the language, how people who speak that language feel about you, how you learn best,
which languages you speak already…. However, many experts feel that the most important
factor among all of these is motivation. It’s also one you have control over!
Myth #3a: You can’t learn a language properly without being taught ‘the rules’.
Myth #3b: Anyone can learn another language perfectly without being taught ‘the
rules’.
Neither are quite true, though it is typically harder for teenagers and adults to learn a language
without learning some rules, while younger kids typically do better without being taught rules.
At Mori no Ike, we try to mix the two. (In general, the only people who learn a language
“perfectly” without learning any rules are babies learning their first language. They don’t use
rules!)
Myth #4: It is best to learn from native speakers.
Native speakers and nonnative speakers each have their strengths, and learning exclusively
from one or the other will leave out some important insights on language and culture.
Native speakers know how to say “everything”, and they have really good knowledge of
what “sounds right”, but unless they have had special training, they typically have more
difficulty explaining how the language works. (Try this on yourself: why can we say “the Pacific
Ocean” and “the Great Salt Lake” but not “the Lake Michigan”? Why shouldn’t you [in most
cases] say “I have rices” when you can say “I have apples”?) Native speakers typically also have
cultural knowledge that nonnative speakers might not have, but this can vary a lot, and they
cannot be expected to be walking encyclopedias. (You may have grown up in the US, but you
certainly aren’t an expert on everything in American history and culture.)
Nonnative speakers vary more in their skills with the language, but they can often explain
‘the rules’ from a different perspective, because they usually had to learn them more
explicitly (e.g. in school). Most can remember what it was like to not understand Japanese,
and can share coping strategies and memory tricks. Like native speakers’, their cultural
knowledge will vary, but their outsider’s perspective is important for a well-rounded
understanding of Japan. American teachers may also have more familiarity with American
ways of teaching language and what kinds of expectations are typical in American schools. We
try to have a balance of both native and nonnative teachers, and believe our program would not
be as strong if we only had one or the other.
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
7
Myth #5: Immersion will teach you language subliminally, with less effort on your part
than a normal classroom.
No: you need to swim, not float, if you want to get somewhere. Input (hearing and
seeing language) is very important, but unless you are paying attention to that input, you
are unlikely to learn from it. Unless you notice things in the stream of words flying by and
wonder, (for example) ‘what was that です for?’, and then listen and look for it elsewhere, and
try using it yourself, you are unlikely to learn a lot of Japanese. We’re not a linguistic onsen! This
is hard work, but you can do it! Studies upon studies show that language learners’
attitudes trump just about everything: teachers, environment, amount of exposure,
age…so start swimming!
Frequently Asked Questions!
Q. What is the gakusei program at Mori no Ike?
A. Gakusei means “student”; the Mori no Ike credit program is a four-week immersion in Japanese
language and culture. Over the course of the four weeks, a gakusei (you) will complete at least 180
hours of language instruction and practice: the same number of hours you might spend in an average
year of high school Japanese, and will receive official high school credit that can be transferred to your
high school.
Q. A whole year? In four weeks?
A. Yes! Here is how that works (these numbers are from 2009):
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Meals
Class
Evening program/campfire
Club activities
Song time/melodrama
Study hall/Gakusei Café
Movies
Radio exercise
Orientation/placement
Other group activities
45.7 hours
50 hours
23.2 hours
17.5 hours
11.6 hours
21.5 hours
7.8 hours
6.5 hours (wow!)
6.8 hours
5.3 hours
=almost 200 hours!
As you can see, most of these hours are outside of “class time”. At Mori no Ike, you are learning
Japanese all the time. By engaging your mind and getting involved in what is going on around you,
you can learn more Japanese in one month than you ever thought possible.
Q. How do I get credit?
A. The short answer: pass this course.
We are accredited just like a school and you can use your
official CLV transcript (mailed at the end of the summer) to show schools and colleges what you have
accomplished. If you want your high school to include this credit on their transcript (and/or possibly
let you skip a level of Japanese), you must make arrangements with your school. Your family received
information about this before the session; ask Koyomi-sensei if you have more questions.
Q. Are there quizzes, tests, or exams at Mori no Ike?
A. NO! Your teacher might ask you to demonstrate something you have learned, but your grades are
primarily based on participation and effort. (Now, if you consistently and repeatedly get the
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
8
same thing wrong despite sensei helping you learn to do it correctly, or if you don’t try to use Japanese at
your level, or you don’t proofread your projects carefully, that could have an effect on your grades. Talk
to Koyomi-sensei if you have questions.)
Q. How hard is it to get an A?
A. Our system is designed to encourage you to challenge yourself.
requirements will not get you an A; impress
Just meeting basic
us!
Grades are determined based on rubrics.
We use rubrics to keep our standards even across the many different sensei who assign grades, to be as
objective as possible, and to give you specific information about how to improve. Every week, you will
meet with your teacher to talk about your grades and discuss where they came from. If you disagree with
a grade you receive, ask questions; however, it is your responsibility to know what is expected and
to ask for help when you need it.
Q. How does grading work?
A. Here is the breakdown:
Percentage/Letter Grade Conversion
A+ 97-100%
B+ 87-89%
C+ 77-79%
D+ 67-69%
A 93-96%
B 83-86%
C 73-76%
D 63-66%
A- 90-92%
B- 80-82%
C- 70-72%
D- 60-62%
F






59 or below
Components
Participation (40%)
o Class (graded weekly)
o Cabin (graded biweekly)
o Meals (only kazoku meals, graded biweekly)
o Week-Long Activities (Clubs, graded weekly)
o Whole-Village Activities (evening program, song time,
morning exercises, other meals, etc.; graded biweekly)
Journal and Other Items (graded biweekly)
Nihongo no Tatsujin (final grade assigned at end of program;
see rubric for details)
Gakusei Day (graded at mid-term)
Final Project (graded at end)
Portfolio (graded at end)
20 %
5%
5%
5%
5%
15%
5%
15%
20%
5%
Special note: Rubric scores are NOT the same as percentages or letter grades! A “4” is a good
grade and is not the “80%, B-” it sounds like! The conversion is as follows:
“5” = 100%, A+ “4” = 90%, A- “3” = 80%, B- “2”= 75%, C
“1” = 59%, F
For fairness and simplicity, we do not give grades between these numbers (no half points).
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
9
Q. What are the rubrics?
A. Here are the ones for participation:
Class Participation (20% of final grade, graded weekly)
5: Excellent
4: Good
Participates actively
and constructively in
all activities,
demonstrates progress
in learning Japanese
Usually meets
participation
expectations,
demonstrates progress
in learning Japanese
3: Acceptable
Does not always
participate actively or
constructively, but
demonstrates some
progress
2: Struggling
1: Unacceptable
Sensei are always
having to encourage
gakusei to participate,
use Japanese, behave
appropriately;
progress is hard to see.
Gakusei refuses to use
Japanese, participate,
or behave
appropriately;
interferes with others’
learning, is
disrespectful
Club Activity Participation (5% of final grade, graded at end of each week-long club)
5: Excellent
Nearly always uses
Japanese (as much as
possible), always
cooperates and
participates in the
activity, helps others
4: Good
3: Acceptable
2: Struggling
1: Unacceptable
Usually uses Japanese
(tries hard), meets
expectations; usually
cooperates and
participates in the
activity
Sometimes uses
Japanese but we know
he/she could try
harder; does not
always participate
Sensei are always
having to encourage
gakusei to participate,
use Japanese, behave
appropriately
Refuses to speak
Japanese, participate,
or behave appropriately; interferes with
others’ learning, is
disrespectful
Cabin Life/Participation (5% of final grade, graded at middle and end of session)
5: Excellent
4: Good
3: Acceptable
Always shows respect
and tolerance for
others, participates in
cabin life,
demonstrates cultural
adaptation, and makes
an effort to use
Japanese
Usually shows respect
and tolerance for
others, participates in
cabin life,
demonstrates some
cultural adaptation,
and makes an effort to
use Japanese
Often shows respect
and tolerance for
others, participates in
cabin life,
demonstrates some
cultural adaptation,
and makes an effort to
use Japanese
2: Struggling
Sensei are always
having to encourage
gakusei to behave
appropriately,
participate in cabin
life, and use some
Japanese
1: Unacceptable
Gakusei refuses to
behave appropriately,
participate in cabin
life, or use Japanese;
negatively impacts
others’ cabin life
Whole-Village Activity Participation (5% of final grade, graded at middle and end of session) (including
radio exercise, song time, evening programs, non-family meals, International Day, and Gakusei Weekend)
5: Excellent
Very enthusiastic,
always cooperates,
shows respect for
others, actively
participates in all
activities
4: Good
Usually enthusiastic,
cooperative, and
shows respect for
others, actively
participates in all
activities
3: Acceptable
Sometimes does not
participate or
cooperate OR is
sometimes
disrespectful toward
others or the
community
2: Struggling
1: Unacceptable
Sensei are always
having to encourage
gakusei to participate,
use Japanese, behave
appropriately or
respectfully
Gakusei refuses to
speak Japanese,
participate, or behave
appropriately;
interferes with others’
learning, is
disrespectful
Meal participation (5% of final grade, graded at middle and end of session) (kazoku meal)
5: Excellent
Uses Japanese as much as
possible, very
enthusiastic, always
cooperates, volunteers to
help clean up afterward,
is attentive during
announcements and meal
presentations
4: Good
Tries hard to use
Japanese, meets
expectations; usually
helps with cleaning up
and remains attentive
during announcements
and meal presentations
3: Acceptable
2: Struggling
1: Unacceptable
Sometimes uses Japanese
but we know he/she
could try harder; does not
always participate, help,
or remain attentive
during announcements
and meal presentations
Sensei are always having
to encourage gakusei to
participate, use Japanese,
behave appropriately
(e.g. helping clean up or
remaining attentive
during announcements)
Gakusei refuses to speak
Japanese, participate, or
behave appropriately;
interferes with others’
learning, blatantly ignores
sensei requests
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
10
Q. Will I have homework every day?
A. Almost always. (Though we don’t call it “homework”.)
It could include (but is not limited to):

journal entries in English, keeping your teacher up to date and reflecting on your experience

writing practice (hiragana, katakana, or kanji, depending on your level)

journal entries in Japanese, to help you practice and review what you have learned in class,
and to give you a chance to express yourself in the language
 keeping your CLVisa and portfolio up to date (more on those later)
 working on projects (more about that later)
 preparing a presentation or mini-review for the next day’s class
You will want to work on these things during juku, the time of each day reserved for studying, when
sensei are available for questions. Most gakusei find that they also need to spend part of free time
or hirune (rest time) doing assignments. Gakusei Café, held about once a week, provides another
opportunity for working on things.
Rubric for Journal and Other Items (15% of final grade, graded at middle and end of session)
5: Excellent
Work reflects this
student’s best efforts
and demonstrates
evidence of learning
and reflection.
All required work is
turned in/completed.
4: Good
3: Acceptable
2: Struggling
Work reflects a strong
effort from this
student and demonstrates evidence of
learning and
reflection. Almost all
required work is
turned in/completed.
Work reflects some
effort from this
student; there is some
evidence of learning
and reflection.
More than half of
required work is
turned in/completed.
Work reflects very
little effort or evidence
of learning or
reflection; less than
half of required work is
turned in/completed.
1: Unacceptable
Student didn’t
complete any tasks.
Q. What is Gakusei Café?
A. Several times during the session, instead of attending yorupuro, gakusei will
have a longer study hall with snacks and non-caffeinated drinks. Credit teachers
and sometimes other sensei are available for help with projects and assignments.
A designated “quiet room” is usually available. Gakusei Café can be fun, but it is also
a privilege; maintaining an atmosphere conducive to getting work done (i.e. not
being too loud) and cleaning up after yourselves help ensure its survival.
Q. What is Nihongo no Tatsujin?
A. Nihongo no Tatsujin (Japanese Master) is an intense, challenging way for you to test your
communicative skills! Every morning, campers and sensei who choose to participate receive special
nafuda to wear. You may speak only Japanese from that moment until the nafuda are collected, 24
hours later. (If you have to see the nurse, you may speak English to her; you may also speak English
during uchidanran.) If you speak in English or another language, or do not speak at all, you must give the
nafuda to a sensei. If you still have it 24 hours later, you get a bead! All gakusei are expected to
complete the challenge at least twice; gakusei at higher levels must complete it four times. Another
option, EXTREME Nihongo no Tatsujin, lasts one week, and is very serious business. Some have
done even longer—will you set the next record?
*Note: Nihongo no Tatsujin is largely an honor system; please do not abuse it, as it hurts our
community and devalues the purpose of the activity.
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
11
Rubric—Nihongo no Tatsujin (5% of final grade; a progress grade is given after two weeks)
5: Excellent
Level 1 & 2
Successfully completed
two or more times.
Level 3 & 4
Successfully completed
four or more times.
4: Good
Level 1 & 2
Tried several times,
but only completed
once.
Level 3 & 4
Tried several times,
but completed three
times.
3: Acceptable
Level 1 & 2
Tried several times,
but could not
complete.
Level 3 & 4
Tried several times,
but completed twice.
Q. Who is the credit facilitator? What do they do?
A. The credit facilitator for this session is Koyomi-sensei.
2: Struggling
Level 1 & 2
Hardly tried and could
not complete.
1: Unacceptable
Level 1 & 2
Students did not try at
all.
Level 3 & 4
Tried several times,
but completed once
Level 3 & 4
Student never
completed, or did not
try.
She didn’t know any Japanese at all when
むかしむかし
she came to Mori no Ike as a gakusei herself ( 昔 々 , a long time ago), so she knows what it’s like to
be ‘submerged’ at first. Her job is to support YOU! and to help the credit teachers, as well as doing
lots of behind-the-scenes work like figuring out who goes in which level, mailing grades to your families,
calculating EXACTLY where those 180 hours came from, organizing Gakusei Cafés, reading everyone’s
plans for their final projects, etc. (She also has to call your family if you are getting a C+ or below.) It’s a
lot of work, but she loves it, and thinks Mori no Ike gakusei are pretty awesome. If you have questions
or concerns about the credit program, or Mori no Ike, or something else, you can always ask her (or any
other sensei, of course). She will visit your class from time to time, and she will always be available
ぎんこう
during Gakusei Café and the later part of free time (ask for her at the 銀 行 ).
Q. What is this Gakusei Day* all about?
A. It is your chance to run Mori no Ike for a day, taking sensei’s places
leading activities. (Of course, the sensei will still be there, making sure things run
smoothly.) Each class will choose jobs and activities to lead that fit their
interests and their level of Japanese. Our curriculum is designed to prepare
you to use Japanese at Mori no Ike and in real life, and this is your chance to
put those skills to use. Many gakusei want to (and do!) become sensei in the
future; this is also a chance for you to try it out. You will spend Week 1 and part
of Week 2 observing and reflecting, and during Class 3 each day, you will prepare
to lead your chosen activity or activities. Your class might choose to lead any of
the following, or something else:
 Rajio taisou (morning exercises)
 Meal presentations and/or announcements
 Cultural activities, club activities, free time activities, or kotoba classes
 Uta no jikan (song time) or campfire singing
 Yorupuro (evening program)
 Working in the omise or the ginkou
 Table conversations during meals
Your teacher and Koyomi-sensei must approve your choices, which must be appropriately challenging for
your level. Each person’s Gakusei Day grade is determined separately. Your grade will be based on
your Japanese use and communication skills, your professionalism as a sensei, and your preparation.
(*Returning gakusei: Gakusei Day is replacing previous years’ mid-term projects. )
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
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Gakusei Day Rubric (15% of final grade, divided evenly among the following three categories)
Communication Skills and
Language Use:
Quality and
Quantity
Professionalism and Task
Performance
Preparation,
Group Work,
and Creativity
5: Excellent
Japanese used is
situationally
appropriate, at
level,
comprehensible
to staff and
villagers, and
abundant.
Gakusei uses
gestures, tone,
emphasis, etc. to
clarify ideas.
English is only
used when sensei
would do so.
Activities led
(tasks) are wellmanaged and
match or exceed
sensei-led
activities in
quality; gakusei’s
behavior and
attitude meet
expectations for
sensei. Gakusei
responds skillfully
to challenges as
they arise.
4: Good
Japanese used
was situationally
appropriate and
at gakusei’s level,
but was difficult
for villagers to
understand, OR
more language
should have been
used.
3: Acceptable
Japanese use was
not at gakusei’s
level,
OR was difficult to
understand
(sensei could still
decipher), OR
minimal Japanese
was used, OR
Japanese use
showed a
significant lack of
preparation.
2: Struggling
Japanese use is
minimal for
gakusei’s level, OR
even sensei have
great difficulty
understanding,
AND Japanese use
shows a
significant lack of
preparation.
1: Unacceptable
Gakusei used little
or no Japanese,
often used English
inappropriately,
AND/OR any
Japanese used
was incomprehensible, even to
staff.
Activities led
(tasks) are wellmanaged and
match sensei-led
activities in
quality; gakusei’s
behavior and
attitude meet
basic expectations
for sensei.
Gakusei responds
appropriately to
challenges as they
arise.
Gakusei manages
to complete their
task, though
performance
and/or
professionalism
do not quite meet
expectations.
Gakusei may need
sensei assistance
to manage
challenges.
Gakusei requires
extensive sensei
assistance to
complete their
task, or cannot
complete it at all;
behavior is grossly
unprofessional.
Gakusei’s
response to
challenges is
extremely
inappropriate.
Gakusei has
obviously
considered all
aspects of task/
activity design and
performance, and
makes the fullest
possible use of
class time to
prepare. Task
performance is
appropriately
creative and
impressive.
Gakusei has
planned
adequately for all
aspects of their
task, has used
preparation time
appropriately, and
their performance
is appropriately
original and
creative.
Gakusei has
planned for their
task, but the plans
seem lacking, OR
they did not make
responsible use of
all preparation
time.
Performance may
lack some
originality.
Gakusei has great
difficulty
completing their
task; performance
and
professionalism
do not meet
expectations.
Sensei are
compelled to
assist gakusei in
completing the
task. Fails to
respond to
challenges.
Gakusei’s task
planning is visibly
inadequate;
preparation time
was not used
responsibly;
(where applicable)
performance
seems like a copy
of another
performance.
Q. What is the final project?
A. The final project is a community-oriented project that you must complete by
Wednesday night of Week 4, when we have a final project happyoukai (presentation
night). You can do the project on your own, or in a group of up to 3 people from the
same class. You must complete the project planning sheet (see tips below) and have it
signed by your class teacher and Koyomi-sensei before starting to work on your project.
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
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Gakusei does not
seem to have
prepared at all;
has misused
preparation time;
has blatantly
copied a previous
performance (e.g.
meal
presentation,
evening program).
Q. What does “community-oriented” mean?
A. It means that your project involves the Mori no Ike community (villagers and/or staff) in some way.
This could include, but is not limited to:
 creating something useful or artistic for the village
 learning more about a person, place, object, activity, or tradition at Mori no Ike and
presenting that information to others
 doing a community service project of some kind (but it must involve using Japanese)
 expanding on something you did for Gakusei Day
 making suggestions, collecting data, or experimenting with ways to improve Mori no Ike
 teaching something to someone at Mori no Ike, or learning a skill from someone in the village,
using Japanese, and presenting what you learned. (This could potentially involve gakusei from two different
classes; one’s project would be teaching-oriented, and the other’s would be learning-oriented, and each would have their
own presentation or part of a combined presentation.)


designing (and marketing?) inventive devices or products for Mori no Ike
creating teaching materials or props to be used at camp
making a literary magazine, yearbook, or newspaper
creating an instructional manual or video to use at Mori no Ike
leading an activity (uta jikan, rajio taiso…) or planning and leading an evening program

making suggestions to improve the village



 anything your credit teacher and the credit facilitator approve!
In 2010, participating in official CLV research and using the data in a project you design yourself may
also be an option!
Q. What kind of resources can I use for my project?
A. You may use interviews with staff or villagers, books or library resources available on site, art
materials and realia (costumes, props, etc.) available on site, your imagination and creativity, and
other available materials that are not contraband (as approved on your project planning sheet). You
MAY NOT USE the Internet, computers, or anything that is contraband . (It might be possible
to videotape or record something as part of a project, but editing the recording is much too big a task for
the time you have!) The goal is for you to use your Japanese; we have found that technology
tends to become the main focus of attention and get in the way of this goal. “Unplug
yourself,” take advantage of being surrounded by “human resources”, and get to know others in the
village, while also improving your Japanese communication skills!
Tips for your Final Project Planning Sheet
 Consider writing in pencil: most proposals have to be revised before they are approved.
 Read the form very carefully!
Group Projects
 If you are working with a group (maximum 3 people, from the same class unless specially
approved), only one planning form is needed: we will make copies for each person’s portfolio.
 Group projects need to be bigger and more elaborate than individual projects, as more people
are working on them!
 Groups must demonstrate how each person’s contribution can be measured, and how you will
split responsibility evenly among group members.
 Each member of a group will receive separate grades, based on their own contributions to the
project. Everyone must participate in the oral presentation; look at the rubrics for details!
 Consider having one person be in charge of each task, even if you will all work together on them.
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
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
If you are working in a group whose members’ Japanese skills vary a lot, explain how the group
members with better Japanese will help the others without doing their work for them.
Other Tips
 99% of projects involving translation will NOT be accepted. Why? Translation is a separate skill,
first of all, and it is highly unlikely that any gakusei have had training in its ethics and methods.
Second, few nonnative speakers have the language skills necessary to translate into their second
language (even professional translators are discouraged from working in this direction), and
translation into English does not fit the goals of an immersion program.
 If you are proposing an activity for a group of villagers (club, kotoba, evening program, etc.), the
sensei in charge of that group or activity must also approve (have them read and sign your form).
It is YOUR responsibility to find a sensei who will let you teach their class, AFTER talking with
Koyomi-sensei and the club coordinator or two-week facilitator.
 If you are proposing something to take place during free time, explain how you will ensure you
have an audience/participants.
 Be VERY clear about how the project demonstrates what you have learned this summer.
 Consider alternatives to posterboards for presenting your project: large posterboards are
difficult to share and difficult to bring home.
 You must check the びじゅつしつ for art materials before requesting that we purchase others.
Our shopping options around Dent (and our budget) are VERY limited.
 If you need help getting materials (e.g. cooking ingredients, recording devices), it is YOUR
responsibility to ask the appropriate sensei for the materials, in Japanese, and to remind them.
 If you plan to use materials from the としょしつ (camp library) as resources, make sure the
ones you want are actually there. We don’t have books about everything!
Q. How is the final project graded?
A. As with Gakusei Day, each gakusei will receive an individual grade.
The criteria include language
use in the project, achieving the project goals you set on your planning sheet, use of time and
resources, and quality of the oral presentation.
Rubric-Final Project (20% of final grade, divided evenly among the following four categories)
1. Language
Learning and
Use
2. Project Goals
and Quality of
Work
3. Use of Resources, Time
Management
4. Oral
5: Excellent
Work reflects this
student's best
efforts to use
Japanese at their
level, demonstrating what they
have learned.
The project is wellpolished and
meets all the goals
this student
described on their
planning sheet.
Project is
completed on
time, and student
used available
resources
thoughtfully
and/or creatively.
4: Good
Work reflects a
strong effort from
this student to use
Japanese at their
level, demonstrating what they
have learned.
The project is
carefully done and
meets most of the
goals described on
the planning
sheet.
Project is completed on time, but
student could have
used time or
resources more
thoughtfully or
creatively.
3: Acceptable
Work reflects
some effort from
this student to use
Japanese, but does
not demonstrate
evidence of
learning.
The project may
need some
polishing, OR it
failed to meet
several of the set
goals.
The student
struggled with
time or resources,
and may not have
made use of
available help.
2: Struggling
Work reflects very
little effort to use
Japanese at the
student’s level or
to use what they
have learned.
The project may
have been
unfinished, or
resource use was
poor.
Project is extremely
unfinished.
Students did not
use time well or
seek help when
needed.
Excellent (see
Good (see
Acceptable (see
Struggling (see
Unacceptable (see
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
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The project is
sloppy or
incomplete, OR it
met very few of
the set goals.
1: Unacceptable
Student used no
language at their
level, or very little
Japanese at all, and
there is no
evidence of
language learning.
The project is
poorly crafted or
incomplete, and/or
fails to meet any of
the set goals.
Presentation
separate rubric)
separate rubric)
separate rubric)
separate rubric)
separate rubric)
Sub-Rubric—Oral Presentation (Multiple sensei, including your class teacher, will grade your presentation; their
scores for each of these five categories are averaged, then the all the categories are averaged and the result is
inserted in the rubric above—this is the one grade that might not be an integer.)
5: Excellent
4: Good
3: Acceptable
2: Struggling
1: Unacceptable
a) Preparedness
Student is
Student seems
Student is someStudent does not
Student did not
completely
pretty prepared
what prepared,
seem at all
present at all.
prepared and has but might have
but rehearsal or
prepared to
probably
needed more
planning was
present.
rehearsed.
practice or
clearly lacking.
planning.
b) Uses
Presentation is
Presentation is
Presentation is
Presentation uses Student used
Japanese
entirely in
entirely in
mostly in
some Japanese,
(almost) no
Japanese;
Japanese, though Japanese, and
but student does
Japanese at all in
student used as
student struggled student used some not use much
the presentation or
much Japanese
to use Japanese
Japanese in
Japanese to
when responding to
as possible during in response to
response to
respond to
questions.
question time.
questions.
questions.
questions.
c) Speaks clearly Speaks clearly
Speaks clearly
Speaks clearly and
Student can only
Very little can be
and distinctly the
and distinctly
distinctly about ¾
be understood
understood at all.
entire time.
most of the time. of the time.
about ½ the time.
d) Enthusiasm
Delivered very
Demonstrates
Shows some signs
Very little use of
No use of facial
(facial
enthusiastically,
enthusiasm, uses
of enthusiasm and
facial expressions expressions or body
expressions,
incorporating
some gestures,
attempts to hold
or body language. language. No signs
body language,
appropriate
and holds
listeners’
Did not show or
of enthusiasm.
tone)
gestures and
listeners’
attention.
inspire much
tone of voice.
attention.
interest in topic
Listeners are
being presented.
drawn in.
e) Content
Shows a full
Shows a good
Shows some
Shows a good
Does not seem to
understanding of
understanding of
understanding of
understanding of
understand the
the topic.
the topic.
the topic. Student
parts of the topic. topic very well.
Student can
Student can
can sometimes
Student struggles Student cannot
answer nearly all
answer most
answer questions
to answer
answer questions
questions about
questions about
about the project.
questions about
about the project.
the project.
the project.
the project.
Q. What is Gakusei Weekend?
A. Between the end of week 2 and the beginning of week 3, the seito will
go home, and for about two days, we will take a break from the regular
Mori no Ike routine. This typically involves eating different (nonJapanese) foods, watching movies, and taking a trip into town to do
laundry. The specifics change every year, depending on budget, logistics,
and what suggestions are brought to the Gakusei-Kai.
Q. What is the Gakusei-Kai? (some changes for 2010!)
A. They are a group of gakusei representatives from each cabin who
meet about once a week with Koyomi-sensei, the dean, and sometimes
other sensei to discuss Gakusei Weekend plans, program logistics, and ideas for improving the
program. Gakusei-Kai meetings are in English. Each cabin will discuss that week’s agenda in
uchidanran before the meeting. Input from Gakusei-Kai meetings is frequently used to make small
changes to the program during the session, and frequently inspires larger changes in following sessions
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
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(several of which can be seen in this survival guide!) However, we do have some ground rules, and not all
proposed changes are possible or feasible.
Q. What is the CLVisa and why does it matter?
A. The CLVisa is a small booklet you receive at the beginning of the session, which you need to write in
and include as part of your portfolio. It is an attempt to help language learners (like you)
demonstrate their proficiency by explaining what you can do in your second language(s), not just
what words or grammar structures you know. Describing one’s language skills in this way is very much
the new standard, as can be seen in the ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages)
Proficiency Guidelines, the ILR Language Proficiency Scale (used by the U.S. Department of State and
other government agencies), and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, as well
as the level descriptions for the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test). The CLVisa is also a way for us
to encourage you to reflect on what you are learning (culturally, linguistically, and personally) and to
help you visualize your own improvement. The Top Ten Tasks listed in the booklet form the basis of
our curriculum and provide some of the objectives for each level. Update your CLVisa as often as
you can, and use it to set goals for yourself.
Q. What is the portfolio all about?
A. Your portfolio is a showcase of (basically) everything you have made and accomplished during
your four weeks at Mori no Ike. Your school may expect to see it. Your portfolio includes writing,
assignments, and other documents, information about your mid-term and final projects (and the
projects themselves, when feasible), reflections on what you have learned outside of class, and any
other materials that showcase your new skills in Japanese. The colored pages at the back of this packet
are your table
of contents; add descriptions and explanations, samples of your work, your
CLVisa, and any products or media (your journal, artistic creations) you can include to supplement your
portfolio. You may organize these in any way that makes sense to you,
as long as all the required items are included. The descriptions in
the table of contents need to be in English, so that people you
share your portfolio with can understand it more easily.
Your portfolio is due on Thursday of Week 4!
Rubric-Portfolio (5% of final grade; required of all villagers)
5: Excellent
4: Good
Portfolio is
complete,
organized, and
turned in on time.
Portfolio is missing
a few items, or is
not well-organized,
but is turned in on
time.
3: Acceptable
Portfolio is missing
several items, or is
poorly organized,
but is turned in on
time.
2: Struggling
Portfolio is missing
more than half the
required items, or
is not at all
organized, and is
not turned in on
time.
1:Unacceptable
Portfolio is not
turned in at all.
Q. What are classes like?
A. Sensei have a lot of freedom to determine the content of their own classes, but Class 1 & 2 (in the
morning) will usually include some review, grammar explanations, and communicative activities
designed to get you to practice using your Japanese in a realistic situation. These activities could
even be mini-projects of some kind, like creating a performance or a piece of writing over several days,
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
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or even a simulation or role-play of a situation you might encounter at Mori no Ike or in Japan. We
usually hold classes outside (studies show that people concentrate better in a natural setting!), and
sensei are encouraged to use the different places and realia in the village to make learning more
realistic (like going to the store, or wearing traditional clothing). Some classes (especially higher-level
classes) have student-led activities, where gakusei take turns introducing new material to their peers.
Sensei are encouraged to use a variety of activities and styles to fit a variety of learning styles.
Traditional fill-in-the-blank worksheets and grammar drills are very rare, though! Class 3 is usually
reserved for project work time; during class 3, sensei work with students individually or in small
groups to help them with their final projects or their preparations for Gakusei Day.
Q. What are the levels? How does placement work?
A. Each level at Mori no Ike is focused on a particular performance goal; our levels are not
labeled “Japanese 1, Japanese 2…” because each school defines these very differently.
Your transcript will read “Beginning”, “Intermediate”, or “Advanced” as appropriate; if your
school requires it to say something specific (like “Japanese 3”), this should be marked on your CLV
Credit Questionnaire; talk to Koyomi-sensei if you have questions or concerns.
It is normal to stay in the same level for more than one summer, because language
proficiency does not grow in a linear way; it grows quickly at first, then levels off more and more. Think
about it mathematically: if you know 5 Japanese words and learn 10 more, your vocabulary has tripled,
but once you know 100 words, you need to learn 200 more to triple your vocabulary again, and that’s a
LOT harder.
Or think about it visually (though it’s another math problem,
if you’ve taken calculus ): Imagine this were a cone, and
you were filling it with water. Even though these lines are at
an equal distance up the side of the cone, you’d need to
put a lot more water in to get from the second to the
third line than you did to get from the bottom to the first line,
right? Language learning is much the same.
Our performance goals for each level, in order, are:
 Gakusei become able to use Japanese in their daily life at Mori no Ike (at a survival level).



They can form complete, though simple, sentences, and write hiragana and katakana.
Gakusei become able to use Japanese to talk more in depth about their experience at
Mori no Ike and should have sufficient communication skills to survive a simple trip to Japan.
They are beginning to be able to talk about abstract ideas and possibilities, and to form
sentences without sticking to a memorized pattern. They can write all the kana and some kanji.
Gakusei become able to use Japanese to lead others in an activity at Mori no Ike. They
can make complex sentences with multiple verbs or clauses. They may be beginning to learn
honorifics (keigo), mimetic (giongo/gitaigo), or casual and gender-specific language, and are
learning more kanji.
Gakusei can handle just about any Mori no Ike situation in Japanese , and are ready to
become sensei at Mori no Ike. They have some knowledge of keigo, giongo/gitaigo, casual
and gender-specific language, and complex verb constructions (conditionals, passive, describing
appearances, giving and receiving…) and are comfortable using kanji, though the number they
know can vary significantly. (This is far beyond many high schools’ Japanese 4!)
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
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Placement into levels begins with the credit questionnaire we receive from you in the mail
before you arrive; we sort out the complete beginners and get a basic idea of how much experience
everyone has. On Opening Day, you begin the self-placement process by doing some selfassessment and telling us about your learning goals for the summer. The next day, everyone
produces a writing sample and participates in a speaking exercise to help us measure your level in a
variety of different ways. (Complete beginners will start learning Japanese right away!) If you are really
worried about your mind going blank, you are welcome to bring something along that demonstrates your
Japanese skills, like an assignment you have done, something you have written in Japanese, or a textbook
you have used, but this is NOT typical or expected. Most students end up in the correct level from the
beginning, but it is possible to change during the first week, if necessary.
Q. Is there anything else I should know?
A. Participation is the key to success at Mori no Ike. The best way to learn a language is to try to use
what you know, make mistakes, and learn from them. You will be introduced to new language in
your classes, but it is extremely important to practice that language in the cabin, at meals, and with
others during your free time. You are expected to be a thoughtful and engaged member of the Mori
no Ike community and to treat other villagers and staff with respect and honesty. We do not expect
you to be friends with everyone, to enjoy every single activity, or to be unnaturally genki 24/7, but your
behavior should never harm another person, interfere with others’ learning, or be detrimental to the
Village community. Gakusei are also expected to set a positive example for two-week villagers,
especially younger villagers, and to be good representatives of Mori no Ike when leaving site for
International Day and credit weekend.
Common Concerns Gakusei Have
ありがとう to the JD34 and JP74 2009 gakusei, who provided many of these suggestions:
I don’t speak any Japanese at all—is this the right place for me?
 Every year, about 6-10 gakusei, and many more seito, are learning Japanese for the very
first time, and this is totally normal—we welcome ALL levels of Japanese. Sensei

are trained to work with everyone who comes to Mori no Ike, whether they speak Japanese
already or not; many sensei began learning Japanese at Mori no Ike themselves!
We know how to help you understand, but immersion isn’t a hot tub where you learn
language by osmosis; paying attention and trying to swim (even dog-paddle) is crucial to
making progress.

Nor are you in a restaurant, waiting to be served: you need to help yourself to the buffet!
We are all at different points in our Japanese learning.


If you feel like you are on the “high end” of your class, we have many options for gakusei to do
“advanced work” and special projects in and outside of class, but it is important to
communicate with sensei about your interests and goals.
The vast majority of gakusei fall in between “total beginner” and “advanced”, and
placement can be difficult because so many people fall in the middle. Help the sensei help you
get into the right class by reflecting carefully on what you already can do in Japanese and
what you want to be able to do; the CLVisa is helpful as a common standard for being specific
about your skills. It is possible to switch levels during the first week, if your class is not a good fit,
but talk to your sensei as early as possible.
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
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
Even gakusei whose level is “the same” will have different skills in different areas. Some
people who can say very little know lots of kanji, while others can understand almost everything
they hear but can’t respond easily, and everything in between. In a program of this size, with
gakusei from many different places and backgrounds, no class will be totally uniform in
level, but by knowing your skills, communicating with your teacher, and keeping an open mind,
everyone can be challenged by their class. Studies show that students working with
mixed-level peers actually learn more!

Japanese schools traditionally do not group students by ability (as American schools often
do—“honors”, “AP”); consider this a culturally authentic experience!
I am so stressed! How will I get it all done??

Many, many gakusei have come before you and survived! Part of the magic of our program

is doing and learning more than you thought was possible.
Our environment reduces the distractions you might have at home; also, being in nature has
been shown to help people focus.

Depending on individual circumstances, we can sometimes be flexible about assignment
expectations.
(Note: if you receive special academic accommodations at your school, such as extended
time on tests, please notify us in advance so we can try to make similar accommodations
where feasible.)
How can I cope with being homesick?
 Know that you are not alone; almost everyone gets homesick at some point, including


sensei. Talk to your cabinmates, classmates, and sensei, and you’ll find others in the same boat,
as well as suggestions and sympathy.
Identify something you enjoy about Mori no Ike and focus on that; take advantage of things
that are unique to Mori no Ike.
Get involved in something: gakusei can lead all kinds of activities and have a big impact on the
village community. Ask veteran gakusei or sensei for ideas.
I miss Mori no Ike so much when I go home—can we have a reentry program?
We haven’t come up with any viable ideas yet for how to do this, but if you have one, please
share it!
Words of Wisdom from Former Gakusei





(ありがとう to the JD34 and JP74 2009 gakusei)
Life at Mori no Ike should be fun!
The cure for homesickness is to throw yourself in.
Don’t pick too hard a project: remember that you only have 9 days at most to work on your final
project, (if you start during Gakusei Weekend, which most gakusei don’t) and 7 days to prepare
for Gakusei Day.
Start your final project as soon as possible.

Note: It is NOT necessary, or even common, to start before or during Gakusei
Weekend, but you are more than welcome to discuss your ideas with your teacher
and Koyomi-sensei in advance.
There is no room for procrastination.
© 2010 Concordia Language Villages
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




Don’t stress/freak out about your final project!
Use hirune and free time to work…

Note: Again, it is mathematically possible to get everything done during juku and
gakusei café alone, but most gakusei find they need more time. Having lots of
assignments is part of the cultural immersion… 
Use your study time!
Bring extra pens and paper.

Note: As stated on the CLV packing list, you also need to bring your own journal
notebook. This can be of any reasonable size and style, but needs to be something
that you can turn in to your sensei, i.e. one you can live without for several hours at a
time and that it is okay for them to read.
Try to learn hiragana before coming. (This is NOT a requirement.)
And a note on dictionaries:
Dictionaries are welcome at Mori no Ike. We have lots of them in the としょしつ, and they can be a
helpful tool, especially for less-common words, but we have found that villagers who look all their words
up rather than asking other gakusei or sensei often use the wrong words. This doesn’t usually mean
that your dictionary is wrong;


Some words have multiple senses (think of the English words “set” and “print”), and some
words are more precise (like “inscribe”), while other, more general words are more common (like
“draw”).
And there are many cases where concepts that have one simple word in English, like ‘try’, aren’t
a single word in Japanese. For example, one way to say ‘try’ is to put an appropriate form
of the verb みる after the て form of the verb expressing what you’re trying, but a typical
dictionary won’t explain that when you look up ‘try’; it’ll do its best to give you ONE word
こころ
and you’ll get 試 みる (that’s one verb), which is extremely uncommon.
 So PLEASE ask for help before turning to the dictionary! Sensei and your peers are all
walking dictionaries, and are much more likely to give you a word everyone can understand.
 If you are new to writing Japanese, be careful about copying kanji; what you copy may be
impossible for your teacher to read. One wrong or missing stroke can change the meaning
completely, like 休 (rest) and 体 (body).
 One of the hardest things for credit teachers (nonnative and native) to do is to figure out what
you could possibly have wanted to say when you copy out something like 変圧器を見ました。
へんあつき
( 変 圧 器 means “transformer(s)”, but in the electrical, power-plant sense. This person was
trying to explain what movie they went to see in Fargo.) Think when you copy from a
dictionary!!
Survival Japanese
(by popular demand of the 2009 gakusei)
One of the great things about Japanese is that you can say a lot with only one or two words. (One of
the maddening things about Japanese is that a very short sentence can often be interpreted several
different ways.) Even if it isn’t a full sentence, stick some of these words together and you’re quite
likely to be understood.
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A word about pronunciation: If you can speak Spanish, just pronounce the vowels like Spanish
(without accents) and you’ll be very close. If you can’t speak Spanish, you probably still know enough: the
vowels are ‘a’ and ‘o’ as in taco or guacamole, ‘i' as in burrito, ‘e’ as in queso or verde, and ‘u’ as in musica
or “ooh, this is easier than I’d thought!” The consonants are mostly like English, except for ‘r’ (close to
Spanish flap R, as in para—sort of between English L, R, and D, but close to L) and ‘f’, which is similar to
English H, except that the sound is coming from your lips instead of your throat, but your teeth are not
involved, as they are for English F. You’ll get it soon enough.
1. です (desu)
Desu is the copula, which means it basically means ‘is’. It’s its own part of speech in Japanese—not a
verb! (It actually inflects much like a Japanese noun, but you don’t have to worry about that yet.) Here,
it’s in nonpast form; past would be deshita. (No future tense in Japanese!) It doesn’t matter whether
you’re using desu for “I am” or “The weather is” or “These are,” it will not change sound or spelling.
Desu comes at the END of the sentence (or at the end of a string of words that would be a sentence on
their own).
Try it out: Gakusei desu = I’m a gakusei (credit villager). Hajimete desu = It’s my first time.
Sugoi desu = That’s great (or, I’m great, or you’re great, or it will be great…)
Watashi wa __ desu = I’m ___. (noun or adjective)
2. Meishi (nouns)
Lots of the first nouns you learn, like koppu, booru, and teeburu, will be loanwords from English (those
were cup, bowl, and table). Here are some other nouns you might want to know right away:
kyou  today
uchi
cabin
sooji
cleaning
toire restroom
kinou yesterday
ginkou
bank
daidokorokitchen
mizu water
ashita tomorrow
shokudoo dining hall
seito
2-week villager shukudaihomework
3. Question words (a sampling)
doko  where
dare who
nani
what
itsu when
ikura how much
doo(yatte)how
Try it out: Ginkou wa doko desu ka = Where’s the bank?
Nan-ji ni tabemasu ka= At what time are we going to eat?
YanYan wa ikura desu ka= How much does YanYan cost?
Aomori desu ka= Is this Aomori?
(How would you say “where’s the bathroom?”)
nan-ji what time
ka(question mark)
4. Keiyoushi (adjectives)
For now, put desu after an adjective to make a sentence. (Yup, a complete sentence with two words and
no verb!) Many of these do not have exact English equivalents, especially the last rows.
ii 
good
ippai
full
nemui sleepy
karai spicy
atarashii new
oishii
delicious
atsui
hot
sugoi great
(dai)sukilike (love)
genki ≈energetic, healthy zannen too bad  taihen≈very, awful, difficult
kantaneasy, simple yasashiikind (nice)/easy kirei
clean/pretty
shizukaquiet/calm
Try it out: Nihongo wa taihen desu (ne). = Japanese is intense/a struggle(, isn’t it).
Iie, tanoshii desu. Daisuki desu. = No, it’s fun. I love it!
Nattoo wa oishii desu ka. = Does natto taste good?
Ii gakusei wa itsumo shukudai o shimasu. = Good students always do their homework.
5. Doushi (verbs)
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Japanese verbs come in 3 types: type 1/-u/五段動詞, type 2/-ru/一段動詞, and type 3/irregular (different
teachers and textbooks use different names). But only TWO verbs (くる, to come, and する, to do) are
irregular! (If you’ve taken a European language, you should jump for joy.) Japanese verbs have a
“dictionary form,” which is how they are spelled when you look them up in the dictionary (!); it’s also the
plain nonpast form of the verb. These verbs here are pre-conjugated for you in nonpast polite (-masu)
form and polite command form (-te form: please __). Japanese verbs change for many things, including
past/nonpast, but they do NOT change for number or person: I am vs. you are vs. he is, in English, would
all be…desu in Japanese!
-masu: ikimasu  go
tabemasu eat
nemasusleep
mimasulook/watch
-te:
itte
tabete
nete
mite
-masu: kakimasu write
oyogimasuswim
shimasudo
kimasu come
-te:
kaite
oyoide
shite
kite
Try it out: Ika o tabete (kudasai). = (Please) eat [your] squid.
Maiasa jogingu o shimasu. = [I] ‘do’ jogging every morning.
Kore kara uchi ni itte, nemasu. = After this, [we’re] going back to the cabin and going to
sleep. (-Te form is also used to connect multiple verbs.)
(How would you say “look at the ninja”?)
6. Joshi (particles)
English doesn’t have particles (well, not in the sense that Japanese does), but particles are very important
in Japanese. They get attached to most words in a sentence (especially nouns) and label each word’s role
in the sentence, which allows you to mix the words around and still be grammatical, even though it may
sound funny (sort of like cases in Latin and German). The verb still goes last, though.
These explanations below are NOT the full story about ANY of the particles (that actually requires its
own dictionary, and even native speakers can get confused sometimes), but they will get you started.
を To add an object to a verb (the thing you’re acting upon), put ‘o’ between the object and the verb.
This is sometimes written as ‘wo’ in textbooks, and you have to type it that way, because it’s not お, but
the distinct sound has mostly disappeared.
Shukudai o shimasu. = I’m going to do my homework.
Pocky o tabemasu = I’m eating Pocky (or, I’m going to eat Pocky, or You eat Pocky…)
Sensei o mite kudasai = Please look at the sensei.
(Yes, を meant ‘at’ here; don’t try to assign an English preposition to each particle, because
they usually don’t work that way.)
に If you want the word ‘to’, use ni (usually). へ (pronounced ‘e’ not ‘he’ when it’s a particle—one of
the few tricky things about reading kana) also means ‘to’, but more like ‘toward’. Its meanings are more
limited than に’s; へ cannot be used for time, for example.
Uchi ni (e) ikimasu ka? = Are you going to the cabin?
Okaasan ni (e) tegami o kakimasu = I’m writing a letter to my mother.
Ni is also used for specifying a time: 2-ji ni = at 2:00 (and many more things).
で De can mean ‘at/in’, ‘by means of’, and several other things:
Yubi de tabenaide, hashi o tsukatte kudasai =Don’t eat with your fingers, use your chopsticks
please!
Mori no ike de parapara o naraimashita = I learned parapara at Mori no Ike.
4-shuukan de Nihongo ga takusan naraemasu = You can learn a lot of Japanese in 4 weeks.
は This looks like ha, and is typed ‘ha’, but as a particle, you pronounce it wa.
(Don’t panic—that’s one
of the only weird things you have to know about reading kana.) It marks the topic of a sentence, which is
different from the subject (this is where even native speakers have trouble explaining). Put it after the
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main thing you’re talking about, usually a noun near the beginning of the sentence, and you’ll be fine for
now.
Watashi wa rajio taisoo ga suki desu = I like rajio taiso.
(Yes, it’s ga, not o, because suki’s an adjective, not a verb!)
Kyou no tenki wa ame desu = Today’s weather is rain.
Misuterii sensei wa dare deshita ka = Who was the Mystery Sensei?
Typically, if you’re saying something negative (isn’t, doesn’t, etc.), use wa.
Saishokushugisha wa niku o tabemasen = Vegetarians don’t eat meat.
が This is wa’s buddy ga.
Ga marks subjects, not topics. For now, if you want to emphasize the word
you’re attaching it to, and it’s the subject of the sentence, use ga. With suki desu and with
wakarimasu/wakarimasen, you’ll usually use ga.
Koyomi-sensei ga Furansu ni sunda koto ga arimasu = Koyomi-sensei (not someone else) has
lived in France.
Akita ga ichiban kirei na uchi desu = Akita (not another uchi) is the cleanest uchi.
Fainaru purojekuto ga ichiban taihen desu = It’s the final project that’s the hardest/roughest.
How do I know whether I should use が or は? For now, just pick one.
It won’t make a big difference in the meaning.
の
No marks possession (my, your, our, __’s), and sometimes links multi-word nouns (like “computer
software”). It has other uses too, but this is the one you’re going to hear the most.
Mori no Ike no shokudoo = (the) Mori no Ike shokudoo (not Waldsee’s)
uchi no sooji = cabin cleaning (one noun)
Supeingo no kyanpu = Spanish camp (El Lago del Bosque)
Taroo no kaban = Taroo’s backpack
watashi no pootoforio = my portfolio
と/や To can mean ‘and’ between 2 nouns, but NOT between 2 sentences.
Okay: Supeingo to Nihongo ga hanasemasu = I can speak Spanish and Japanese.
Not okay: Keiko ga momo o tabemashita. to Soshite Jun ga banana o tabemashita = *Keiko ate a
peach and Jun ate a banana—use soshite when combining two sentences like this. You can’t
start a sentence with to, but you can with soshite.
To also tends to be exclusive, while ya is non-exclusive:
Chokoretto to banira ga suki desu = I like chocolate and vanilla (no other flavors).
Chokoretto ya banira ga suki desu = I like chocolate and vanilla (among other flavors).
7. Assorted Survival Phrases
ohayoo (gozaimasu)
good morning (formal)
X (o) kudasai
Please X (noun or verb;
'o' only with nouns)
konnichi wa
hello
X o totte kudasai
Please take/pass X
ossu!
hey! Yo! (trad. male)
wakarimasen
I don't understand
moshi moshi
konban wa
oyasumi(nasai)
jaa mata (=mata ne)
hello (on phone only)
good evening
good night
see you later (polite)
wakarimasu
wakarimashita
I understand
Understood! Check!
jaa ne
see you later (informal)
X wa nihongo de nan
desu ka?
How do you say X in
Japanese?
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sayonara
farewell (usually final)
hai/un
Yes/yeah
iie/uun
Uso! Hontou!
Hontou ni (?)
maji de (?)
No/(informal ‘no’)
No way! Yes really!
Really/truly (?)
For real (?)
sumimasen
gomen (nasai)
Zannen
osoku natte sumimasen
Excuse me/I'm sorry
Sorry (politer with –nasai)
(that's) too bad
Sorry I'm late
X tte/wa nan desu ka?
ganbatte!
chigaimasu
What’s X? What does X
mean?
Hang in there! Keep
trying! Do your best!
daijoubu (desu ka)?
(hai,) daijoubu
That’s incorrect
(literally, “different”)
Are you okay?
(yes,) I'm okay
(o)genki (desu ka)?
hai, genki (desu)
kibun ga warui desu
nemui desu
onaka ga suita
How are you?
I'm fine/well
I don’t feel well
I'm tired
I'm hungry
8. Numbers
Numbers are quite complicated in Japanese, but here’s a start:
For normal counting:
For counting stuff:
ichi 一
tsu つ
1
ni 二
2
hitotsu
san 三
3
futatsu
shi/yon 四
4
mittsu
go 五
5
yottsu
roku 六
6
itsutsu
shichi/nana 七
7
muttsu
hachi 八
8
nanatsu
kyuu/ku 九
9
yattsu
juu 十
10
kokonotsu
juu-ichi 十一
11
to
san-juu 三十
30
yon-juu nana 四十七
47
kyuu-juu kyuu 九十九
99
Suffixes (counters):
hyaku 百
en 円
100
ni-hyaku 二百
nin 人
200
san-byaku 三百
mai 枚
300
go-hyaku 五百
kai 回
500
roppyaku-san-juu-ichi
六百三十一
hon 本
631
happyaku 八百
ko 個
800
sen 千
1000
doru $
sanzen 三千
ji 時
3000
hassen 八千
fun/pun/bun 分
8000
ichi-man 一万
byoo 秒
10000
ni-man 二万
sai 歳／才
20000
do 度
9. Kanji
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general stuff
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
yen, ¥
people
sheets, flat stuff
# of times
long skinny things,
bottles
small chunky things
dollars
o’clock/hours
minutes
seconds
years old
degrees (ºF/ºC)
Kanji are “Chinese characters”, adapted for writing Japanese (and other languages) many centuries ago.
This process quickly necessitated adding kana to the writing system, as Chinese and Japanese have very
little in common as spoken languages (they’re not really any closer than Japanese and English). By the
time Japanese kids finish elementary school, they are expected to know over 1000 kanji. The “Joyo Kanji”
are a list of about 2000 kanji (recently lengthened!) that all literate Japanese people are expected to
know; official documents are supposed to provide pronunciation cues (furigana) for any kanji they use
beyond this list. However, most Japanese people know many more kanji than this.
Some kanji are more or less pictorial or symbolic, like 凹 (dent), 木 (tree), and 上／下 (up/down). Most
are “ideo-phonetic”, meaning that one part of the kanji references its meaning, while another gives a clue
to its pronunciation: for example, 反、版、and 板 (and many, many more) are all read ‘han’ or ‘ban’,
which is indicated by the 反 on the right side. The 木 in 板 is a clue that it has something to do with
wood: it means ‘board’. Similarly, 池、湖、汗、洗、and 汽 (and many, many more) all have something
to do with water (pond, lake, sweat, wash, and steam), as signified by the three marks on the left (“the
water radical”) but their pronunciations have nothing in common. Most kanji are made up of smaller
parts, called “radicals”, and Japanese dictionaries often sort kanji by radicals.
Most kanji have at least two possible pronunciations (readings): the on-yomi (borrowed from Chinese)
and the kun-yomi (from the native Japanese word represented by that kanji). Kanji often have more than
one of each of these, though (some even have 10 or more readings). Kanji compounds, which are usually
borrowed words from Chinese (close to 60% of all Japanese words are of Chinese origin), are usually read
with the on-yomi, though not always. Some compounds make a lot of sense, like 午前／午後 (noonbefore and noon-after, AM and PM); others require a little more creative thinking. When kanji are not in
compounds, additional kana (okurigana) are often needed after the kanji to represent the inflection (past,
negative, etc.); when you study kanji, make sure you learn the okurigana too.
Anything that can be written in kanji can also be written in kana (on the next page); materials for children
will use more and more kanji as they grow older. Furigana are hiragana (sometimes katakana) written
over kanji that are hard to read, or that are being read in an unusual way, and are very common in
materials for children and learners of Japanese. (Books for very young children will also have furigana on
katakana!)
Though using flashcards and writing kanji over and over are helpful for most people, reading and using
kanji in context and studying them in compound words is also important. Stroke order is critical, as it
helps keep the right shape, and more importantly, helps you avoid forgetting strokes. If you learn the
basic stroke order pattern and stick to it, you will be able to learn to write new kanji faster.
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Hiragana and Katakana Charts
All gakusei are expected to write in kana. Level 1 gakusei will learn them in class,
but past gakusei have recommended getting a head start before coming. Here are some
tips:
1. Using the traditional stroke order helps you avoid forgetting strokes, and this will be even more
important when you learn kanji, so it’s best to get into the habit as soon as possible.
2. This chart is read as a vertical Japanese text would be: from top right to bottom left. Japanese can also
be written horizontally, from top left to bottom right (the spaces between lines will make it clear).
These charts are courtesy of Wikipedia, modified under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 License.
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___________________________
のポートフォリオ
______________________________________
’s Portfolio
目次(Table of Contents)
Gakusei Day
Our class was in charge of_________________________________________________________
 My planning sheet is included. (REQUIRED)
 Materials included here:_______________________________________________________
Things I did: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Language I learned and skills I used:_________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Final Project
My project was _________________________________________________________________
 My planning sheet is included. (REQUIRED)
 Materials included here:_______________________________________________________
Things I did: ____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Language I learned and skills I used:_________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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Week-Long Activities (Clubs)
Week 1:
I participated in _____________________________ with _________________________-sensei.
Reflection--Skills and Language I Learned: ____________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Week 2:
I participated in _____________________________ with _________________________-sensei.
Reflection--Skills and Language I Learned: ____________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Week 3:
I participated in _____________________________ with _________________________-sensei.
Reflection--Skills and Language I Learned: ____________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Week 4:
I participated in _____________________________ with _________________________-sensei.
Reflection--Skills and Language I Learned: ____________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Japanese Master (Nihongo no Tatsujin)
I completed on (dates—ask your sensei): ____________________________________________
Challenges and Success Stories: ____________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Evening Programs
I liked… ________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
I learned about... ________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
My Cabin
I lived in ___________________ with _________________________________________-sensei.
Some memories and things I learned..._______________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Other Items
 My CLVisa is included/attached. (REQUIRED)
 My journal is included/attached. (REQUIRED)
 I have included other work and assignments (optional: what? __________________)
 I have included pictures/video/other media (optional: what? ___________________)
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