Hokkaido – The Land and the People: Engaging Learners Cognitively

The Ainu are the indigenous people of Hokkaido in Japan, and this unit explores their relationship with the land. Our students were beginners, and we gradually introduced new language until they could read about where the Ainu lived and how they used natural resources. We took advantage of the pictorial elements of Japanese kanji characters to help students remember. We were able to fuse cultural exploration with language acquisition and this enhanced both engagement and retention.

Participants in this workshop will be able to view videos of our lessons filmed by LTV and will have full access to all the resources we created.