So, I have been tasked to design an immersion lesson for the kiddos in my school after their exams. Here are the details:

As you can infer, engaging and entertaining 100 kids for 60 minutes will turn out to be a recipe for disaster unless I put in the effort to plan for it. Luckily, Sensei is dedicated, if nothing else.

Since our kiddos learnt food-related vocabulary last term, I wanted to provide some continuity by exploring the world of Japanese cuisine. This will reinforce the words they have learnt (flavourful, aroma, scrumptious), while allowing me to introduce new ones (umami).

Realistically speaking, I should shun away from a lecture style because their spirits are high and minds are restless, so no one will listen intently to me anyway. Which is something I don’t mind because I can introduce some games I used to play with the Japanese students during my Japan Exchange Teaching stint. If nothing else, my lesson will be chock full of cultural exposure!

So first things first, I plan to teach these kiddos how to play scissors, paper, stone. The Japanese version is called Janken, and the chant goes like this: “Saisho wa guu” (最初はぐう), followed by “janken pon!”.

Don’t mistake Janken for a childish game. Japanese adults regularly use it to make decisions when they can’t reach a consensus. Anyway, it was one of the first things I learnt from my hosts during my homestay program when I arrived in Kumamoto City. So, I believe knowing how to Janken helps people break the ice with Japanese people.

Next, I will teach the kiddos 10 Japanese food names. The usual suspects, including sushi, onigiri, ramen, takoyaki, tempura, udon, karaage, sashimi, will be featured. I think some of these terms are already known to my students since Japanese food is ubiquitous in Singapore.

Application time! This was a game I used to get the kiddos in elementary schools to play often. I would put ten food flashcards on a long table and have two classes stand at one end each. Once I give the signal to start, a student from each class will race down the table, uttering these food names until he meets his opponent from the other class. Then, they will play Janken, after which the victor will advance and continue to utter the food names. The loser will have to go back to the back of the class’s line, with his ego bruised. The class with the most number of players who reach the other tens of the table after five minutes will be crowned the winner of this challenge.

I hope I have explained the game well enough. Otherwise, here’s a description of the Janken Race.

First game done and dusted. Moving on to the second game. After all that chaos and noise from the first game, I figure that I need to protect my ear drums, so I will choose a quieter and more relaxing game. To help reinforce the 10 food names, I will put ten word flashcards as well as ten picture flashcards face down on the table.

Well done, you! You already got the intent of my Memory Matching game. So, students will compete with their peers from another class to recall the positions and match one word flashcard with its corresponding image flashcard. This tests concentration and collaboration because the class needs to work together to avoid dropping the ball.

Second game done and dusted. It’s time to ra-ra the crowd and end the immersion lesson on a high note. I will teach the kiddos some tips about Japanese food etiquette, specifically how spouting your noodles loudly shows appreciation for the chef making the food.

I will then organise a slurping competition on the spot. Have kiddos nominate one sporting representative from their class and pass the representative a cup of instant noodles. Then, they will take turns to slurp the noodles loudly. The student who manages to inject truckloads of enthusiasm and gusto will win the game for his class. Cue thunderous applause. 👏

Last but not least, I will briefly introduce the onigiri culture in Japan since the 7 Eleven stores in my country also sell onigiri 🍙, a nod to this staple dish. I can’t jolly well provide all students with onigiri, so what I intend to do is to buy one packet of seaweed potato chips for every student. That should serve as a good substitute for the real thing!

Sensei’s excited to rock the lesson!