Japanese
Japanese is offered to all Prep to Year 6 students. The initial focus is on listening to the sounds and patterns of Japanese through language-rich activities such as rhymes, songs, action games and creative play. Repitition and recycling support students to recognise frequently used words, simple sentences and non-verbal communication strategies used in greetings and other social interactions. Students are introduced to the scripts (kanji characters and hiragana) using a play-based approach that includes chanting and mnemonics. Writing skills progress from labelling pictures, tracing and copying words to writing of words. The children also explore the similarities and differences between Japanese and their first language(s) and culture(s).
