Curricular Outcome Analysis

皆さん、Welcome Back!

So, I didn't keep up with my studies as much as I wanted to--but I have a good excuse: teaching full-time summer classes and taking a grad class at the same time. But I digress. My apologies to those who have faithfully been following my work.

Two days ago, I cracked open my book and decided to review from Chapter 1. After studying the grammar section of my textbook, I decided to review the dialogues. Interestingly enough, I discovered that the outcomes for the chapter were hidden directly in the conversation. Some of these were covered in the grammar, but others may have been more subtle or simple to address. So, I would like to share the dialogue and the underlying outcomes that the teacher would hope the students learn.

Dialogue 1
メアリー：すみません。今何時ですか。
たけし：十二時半です。
メアリー：ありがとございます。
たけし：いいえ。

Dialogue 2
たけし：あの、留学生ですか。
メアリー：ええ、アリゾナ大学の学生です。
たけし：そうですか。せんこうはなんですか。
メアリー：日本語です。今二年生です。

You may note, that I have selected kanji whenever able. The book only uses hiragana for simplicity of pronunciation and to reinforce previously learned hiragana.

So now, let's deconstruct these dialogues and see what all we can learn.

Outcome #1 How to get attention
                    Notice that each dialogue begins with an attention-getting word
                    すみません is, of course, the polite way of getting attention. It is similar to "Excuse me". In the second dialogue, あの is used. This word is almost like a verbal pause, but it can be used to indicate you have something to say.

Outcome #2 Asking the time
                    This question is straightforward in any language, and it often lacks variation. The Japanese 今何時ですか  is "What time is it, now?" Technically we could remove the "now", 今, but otherwise you will pretty much always ask the same question.

Outcome #3 Telling time
                     Only one example is given in the dialogue, 十二時半です, meaning "It's 12:30". However, this hints at learning how in the chapter.

Outcome #4 Giving thanks
                     The polite form, ありがとございます, is used in this dialogue; it is important at this point to be polite.

Outcome #5 Replying to thanks
                     In response いいえ is used. It translates literally to "no", but it is used to say "no problem" or "it was nothing".
 
Outcome #6 N + copula sentence structure
                     Both dialogue show nouns followed by です which is the copula (like [be] in english).

Outcome #7 N + copula question structure
                    Here the questions  ですか, which are yes-no questions, always follow the structure of a noun with the copula (です) and the question marker か .

Outcome #8 yes/no
                    Both "yes", ええ , and "no" are used in these conversations. While "no" (いいえ) is used as a variant meaning, the teacher will still remind the students (if need be).

Outcome #9 possessives
                    One possessive is used (アリゾナ大学＊の＊学生です), and the grammar is taught in the unit.

Outcome #10 Questions end in periods
                      Careful noticing will reveal that questions always end in a period (。) rather than a question mark (?).

So, as you can see, these two short dialogues are embued with a number of goals that are set for the chapter. Of course, the chapter will expand upon it. However, "noticing" the grammar and structures can help improve the learning process.

You might want to examine your textbook dialogues. What new structures are used? These are the things your teacher will want you to learn.

じゃあ、また。