Japanese Life Communication Conversation Up and Down

Author: Zhu Chunyue
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1998-05-01
Features: This book is a sequel to Japanese Conversation, compiled by the Basic Japanese Teaching and Research Section of the Japanese Department at Beijing Foreign Studies University (formerly Beijing Foreign Studies College) and published by FLTRP in 1990, co-edited by Zhu Chunyue, Nakajima Kōtai, and others. This book was co-authored by Associate Professor Zhu Chunyue of the Japanese Department at Beijing Foreign Studies University and Professor Aihara Shigeru of Ochanomizu University in Japan. It is designed for undergraduate second-year or third-year students of foreign language majors who have completed Japanese Conversation. The book follows the functional communicative approach as its basic teaching philosophy. It includes 84 functional-notional items and over 1,800 expressions related to various communication methods, covering all affective functional-notional items from the 1991 edition of the Teaching Syllabus for the Basic Stage of Japanese Majors in Higher Education issued by the State Education Commission.
This book retains and further emphasizes the practical and colloquial features of Japanese Conversation. It pays full attention to colloquial simplifications that are often difficult to encounter in general textbooks, naturally and comprehensively reflecting phenomena such as inversions, omissions, contractions, and sound changes commonly found in everyday spoken Japanese. Unlike previous oral textbooks, this book distinguishes itself with its clear functional communicative characteristics. It does not simply introduce language materials through scenarios but instead focuses on the communicative functions of language, highlighting how different expressions are used based on the speaker's identity, status, seniority, gender, and other factors.
To fully and thoroughly reflect the characteristics of spoken Japanese, all the scenarios in this book are set in Japan. This allows learners not only to study the language but also to gain insights into various aspects of Japanese society. The content and teaching requirements for each lesson are as follows:
1. Dialogue Texts
Each lesson focuses on one or more functional-notional items, featuring eight small dialogues, each independent in content. The characters in the dialogues appear in various ages and roles, ranging from children to the elderly, from colleagues and superiors/subordinates to relatives, lovers, and strangers. Each character exhibits distinct linguistic features that align with their age, gender, and identity. The content and language of the dialogues are lively and engaging, with each dialogue serving as a script for a short play. This section requires fluency in memorization. Role-playing exercises can also be conducted in and outside the classroom using these scripts.
2. Vocabulary List
The total vocabulary in this book is approximately 3,000 words, with entries listed for medium to advanced difficulty. Definitions are generally limited to common meanings and those appearing in the current lesson. Numerical codes are used to indicate pitch accent types.
3. Phonetic and Grammatical Notes
Due to the highly colloquial nature of this book, the meaning of a sentence can change with different intonations. Therefore, intonation is also emphasized. To help learners master the living language, the book is accompanied by audio cassettes and includes explanations and notes on key phonetic and intonational features in the text annotations. Grammatical explanations focus on usage rather than providing translations. Readers are referred to the "Reference Translations of Texts" in the appendix.
4. Supplementary Examples
Expressions commonly used in daily life but not covered in the lesson are listed as supplementary examples for reference during exercises (e.g., creating dialogues).
5. Exercises
Exercises are divided into two main parts: language structure (including sentence patterns, vocabulary, etc.) and functional-notional items. The language structure section primarily includes fill-in-the-blanks (e.g., adverbs, set phrases), language application, and some substitution exercises. Additionally, there are exercises where learners fill in appropriate kana or kanji in blank spaces at intervals to complete sentences or passages, designed to practice language proficiency. When conducting substitution exercises, instructors should avoid mechanical practice of surface-level language forms and instead guide learners to focus on the communicative function of the language forms. The functional-notional item exercises mainly include fill-in-the-blanks (choosing appropriate expressions related to the lesson's functional-notional items) and rewriting exercises (changing the dialogue style by altering relationships or genders). Among these, the short play exercises most embody the functional communicative approach.
In short play exercises, the following are first specified: the exercise objective (e.g., surprise, dissatisfaction), the relationship between characters, the time and location of the dialogue, etc. Learners then role-play according to the given scenario. Before the exercise, the language or main expressions used are provided as a reference for learners to choose. After the instructor explains the exercise's objective, language, and scenario, learners follow the instructions on their role cards to act as characters. During the exercise, participants are required to only refer to their own role cards, ensuring their language use aligns with their character's identity and tone. The development of the plot should generally follow the specified roles. The transition between turns (i.e., the shift in the role of the speaker) follows the sequence: 1 – (1) – Circle 1 – 2 (2) – Circle 2 – 3.
A few minutes of practice can be conducted before the short play performance, and instructors should avoid interrupting during the performance. Issues can be addressed through post-exercise feedback. Short play exercises aim to develop communicative competence, training learners to adapt flexibly and use language effectively. Therefore, although sample short plays are provided in the appendix, learners are not required to match their language use exactly with the samples.
At the end of the book, reference translations of texts, answer keys for exercises, and a functional-notional item index are included for the reference of instructors and learners. Due to differences in Chinese and Japanese expression habits, some direct translations may not make sense in Chinese, so the reference translations primarily use free translation. Occasionally, individual sentences may differ slightly from the original text in expression. Exercise answers may also have multiple solutions, so the appendix is for reference only.
This book consists of 20 lessons. In terms of teaching, each lesson includes reading aloud, explanations, dialogue practice, memorization checks, and short play exercises. Generally, 6–8 hours are needed to complete one lesson. Calculated at 4 hours per week, the entire book (both volumes) can be used over 1–1.5 academic years.
This book is a sequel to Japanese Conversation, compiled by the Basic Japanese Teaching and Research Section of the Japanese Department at Beijing Foreign Studies University (formerly Beijing Foreign Studies College) and published by FLTRP in 1990, co-edited by Zhu Chunyue, Nakajima Kōtai, and others. It was co-authored by Associate Professor Zhu Chunyue of the Japanese Department at Beijing Foreign Studies University and Professor Aihara Shigeru of Ochanomizu University in Japan. It is designed for undergraduate second-year or third-year students of foreign language majors who have completed Japanese Conversation. Learners of Japanese with some proficiency in the language in society can also use this book to further improve their oral communicative skills or enhance their listening skills by using the accompanying audio recordings. The book follows the functional communicative approach as its basic teaching philosophy, including 84 functional-notional items and over 1,800 expressions related to various communication methods, covering all affective functional-notional items from the 1991 edition of the Teaching Syllabus for the Basic Stage of Japanese Majors in Higher Education issued by the State Education Commission.