Japanese Language

Yujin Gakuen Elementary School
 

Yujin Gakuen was recently selected to participate in the Northwest Handheld Computer Project directed by Todd Hamilton of School District 4J. The school was provided 34 handheld computers and wireless keyboards. The use of handhelds to stimulate learning and encourage an higher level of participation by the students is increasing with the advent of these new technologies. Within the grant, however, the software that was dispersed to the project members was English based. Yujin Gakuen, as an immersion school, would like to see the use of handheld computers extended to meet the curriculum needs in all our classes - Japanese and English.

King Kanji is a software program which assists in Japanese language learning. It is a flexible learning tool, which allows customizable lessons, stroke order display and user interaction. The Japanese teachers will select the appropriate lessons for their grade levels. Students will draw the hiragana, katekana and kanji characters on the handheld computer and then check to see if they are correct  It will allow the students to see how the strokes are done to accurately form the character. Learning how to draw, both in design and stroke order, is as important as being able to recognize and pronounce the character. Traditional computers do not support this function, since drawing a character with a mouse is ineffective. Most handheld computers support some kind of drawing function for entering information. This combined with the correct software can enhance the learning process.

The handheld can be used as a self contained learning system that can provide learning anytime, anywhere. The handhelds are portable and will be used by all grade levels at Yujin Gakuen. With the addition of this Japanese software, the entire curriculum is addressed. The students are excited about the handhelds and this will help meet the goals of supporting long-term retention of characters and vocabulary in Japanese, encourage more active student learning, and address individual learning styles.
 

The stylus that is provided with the handheld computer is too small for our younger students. Our plan is to provide a larger, more kid-friendly stylus with matching funds from the Northwest Handheld Computer Grant.

Why is this project important?

Students at Yujin Gakuen not only have to meet the state benchmarks in their English classes, but must also pass benchmarks for the Japanese curriculum. King Kanji allows for the programming of the 100 kanji characters which the students must learn by the end of their fifth grade year. As mentioned earlier, learning to draw the characters correctly is as important as learning to pronounce the character. The handheld computer allows another media for the students to work on these skills in brief, more frequent practice. The digital environment is an appealing alternative.

There is a computer lab at Yujin Gakuen, however, the time for younger students to be in the lab is limited to once a week. This project will allow a portable hub of handhelds to be used in the Japanese classrooms. The handheld offers students more flexibility and a variety of formats for immediate and accurate feedback.

Who, and how many will be served?

King Kanji, according to its producer Gakusoft, is adaptable to all levels of learning experienced at Yujin Gakuen. It will be used by all the first through fifth graders. As we explore it more, we will evaluate its usage in the kindergarten program. Therefore, approximately 250 students will benefit from this project.

How will you evaluate the success of this project?

Immediate evaluation will be the feedback from the students. Do they think it has helped them? Did they enjoy having another media in which to learn? Did they like the program itself? A questionnaire at the end of the year will address these issues.

The second type of evaluation will be from the Japanese teachers' point of view. They have benchmark level tests which address the acquisition of design and drawing the characters as well as vocabulary. Comparisons will be made from the previous year tests and over a period of time. Also teacher observations will be considered.

Does this proposal build upon existing programs at yourschool?

This proposal definitely builds upon existing programs at Yujin Gakuen. We have the handheld computers because we are participating in the Northwest Handheld Computer Project. Each teacher must design and write a curriculum plan using the handheld. The use of the handheld computer in the Japanese classrooms is quite logical. The students do use the Japanese language kits on our traditional computers. However, after researching the issues, I discovered that the entire language kit requires too much memory for the handheld and would limit the English usage. Therefore, the solution of using a proven software program like King Kanji adds versatility to the handheld. As mentioned earlier, the Northwest Handheld Computer grant will match funding because they are eager to have us test  usage in the Japanese classroom.

How will the funds be spent?

20 licenses for King Kanji.

Matching funds from the Northwest Handheld Computer project will allow us to purchase the additional 14 King Kanji licenses and 30 kid-friendly stylii.