Brief Outline:  Students use Japanese culture-based questions to stimulate conversation using different grammar points. This is not rehearsed or grammar specific, so students must think and culminate what they have learned and apply it to a conversational situation which they may come across in Japan.

Materials Needed:

Detailed Explanation:

1. Have the students do a warm-up free-conversation activity. For example, an activity that consists of students asking each other on-the-fly questions and answers.
2. Then, demonstrate with the JTE an example question/answer, like, “Do I have to take off my shoes in a restaurant?” Write some grammar points on the chalkboard so students can reference it when they answer questions – Because ~, I think ~, It is ~, etc.
3. Make every second row of students foreigners.
4. Explain this activity is a conversation task. Practice the vocabulary on the ‘Let’s Talk’ sheet attached below. This vocabulary will give the students the arsenal they need to answer the questions asked.
5. Go through a couple examples with the students. ‘Take off my shoes’ and ‘Kiyomizu Temple‘ are two of my favorite examples. Practicing these example questions/answers should help the students when the activity starts.
6. Give out the question cards to the foreigners.
7. When the foreigners have a question answered, they give the question card to the ‘Japanese’ person sitting next to them. The ‘foreigners’ (they were the Japanese people) stand up and move forward a place. Repeat, swapping roles of asking and answering questions, while also changing conversation partners.
8. Make sure the same row moves at all times, otherwise the students are not swapping partners or questions!
9. Encourage students to say more than, “No, you don’t.” One suggestion is to create a rule that the answer must be at least two sentences.

Variations and Options:

• I had my students fill out evaluation sheets on the activity. This might be a good way to see how the students perceive their conversation skills and the level of the activity, not to mention their ability to express themselves in English.

Tips or Cautions:

• Be aware that girls and boys do not want to talk to each other, so have some kind of system which ensures that they do talk to each other.

Attachments:

  Questions           Handout          Evaluation