Expressing Likes and Dislikes

Overview

This 50-minute lesson focuses on enabling Year 11 students studying Japanese to confidently express likes and dislikes using adjectives and sentence structures that combine positive and negative preferences, such as 父はあたまがいいですがどくしょが好きじゃないです. This is Lesson 9 of 16 in the unit Exploring My Japanese World.

The lesson aligns with the NSW Curriculum for Languages, specifically targeting language competence in expressing opinions, applying grammatical structures, and understanding cultural nuances in Japanese.

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Curriculum Links

NSW Curriculum:

• Stage 6 Japanese (Years 11-12) – Communicating and understanding Japanese language and culture at an intermediate level.
• Content Focus: Interaction, expression of personal preferences, using adjectives and sentence patterns to create nuanced sentences.
• Outcomes:
  • EN6-2A: Communicates information, ideas, and opinions in spoken, written, and digital texts for a variety of purposes.
  • EN6-3B: Demonstrates understanding of language structures and features and uses metalanguage appropriately.
  • EN6-4B: Shows understanding of cultural practices and products and their impact on identity and communication.

Reference is made to the NSW Syllabus Languages (Japanese) outcomes for Year 11 pertaining to expressing opinions, likes, dislikes, and justifications using complex sentence structures incorporating adjectives and conjunctions (noting Year 6 but Year 11 extends on this foundational knowledge).

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Use adjectives and sentence patterns to express likes and dislikes in Japanese.
2. Construct compound sentences incorporating conjunctions such as ですが (but) to compare positive and negative statements.
3. Understand and apply vocabulary related to personal attributes and interests.
4. Demonstrate an understanding of cultural nuances when expressing preferences in Japanese.

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Lesson Structure (50 minutes, 20 students)

1. Introduction and Context Setting (5 minutes)

• Activate prior knowledge: Recap simple sentences expressing likes and dislikes previously learned (e.g., ～が好きです, ～が好きじゃないです).
• Present today’s focus: Expressing more detailed opinions by combining adjectives and likes/dislikes, e.g., 父はあたまがいいですがどくしょが好きじゃないです.
• Display the example sentence on the board and briefly explain components.

Teacher Note: Engage students by asking them about their own likes/dislikes using simple Japanese phrases they know.

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2. Input: Grammar & Vocabulary Teaching (10 minutes)

• Introduce key adjectives for personality, preferences, and common interests (e.g., あたまがいい, おもしろい, すてき, etc.).
• Explain the conjunction ですが to connect contrasting information (positive + negative).
• Model sentence construction:
  • 父はあたまがいいです。どくしょが好きじゃないです。
  • Combine using ですが: 父はあたまがいいですが、どくしょが好きじゃないです。

Activity: Use a short matching exercise where students pair adjectives with likes/dislikes vocabulary.

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3. Guided Practice: Sentence Building (15 minutes)

• Provide sentence starters for students (both in romaji and kana/kanji as appropriate).
• Students work in pairs to create 3–4 sentences expressing likes and dislikes using adjectives and ですが. E.g.,
  • 彼はスポーツが上手ですが、音楽が好きじゃないです。
  • 私はテニスが好きですが、サッカーはあまり好きじゃないです。
• Circulate to support pronunciation, sentence structure, and kanji reading where applicable.

This collaborative practice also enhances speaking and listening skills.

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4. Independent Practice: Creative Writing Task (10 minutes)

• Each student writes a short paragraph (5-6 sentences) about someone they know (family, friend, famous person) describing personality and likes/dislikes using the new structures.
• Encourage inclusion of at least two compound sentences using ですが and adjectives.

Example prompt:
「私の友だちは。。。あたまがいいですが、サッカーが好きじゃないです。」

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5. Sharing and Feedback (7 minutes)

• Select several students to read their paragraphs aloud.
• Provide positive feedback focusing on grammar usage, sentence complexity, and pronunciation.
• Peer feedback: Encourage classmates to listen for how likes and dislikes are expressed clearly.

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6. Wrap-Up and Homework Assignment (3 minutes)

• Summarise the importance of combining adjectives with likes/dislikes to express nuanced opinions.
• Homework: Prepare 5 similar compound sentences describing yourself or others, using at least 3 different adjectives and ですが.

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Resources

• Whiteboard and markers or digital presentation slides
• Handout with key vocabulary and example sentences
• Sentence starters printed or digital
• Audio clips of native speakers saying example sentences (if available)

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Assessment

• Ongoing formative assessment during pair work and independent writing on sentence accuracy, use of vocabulary, and grammatical structures.
• Oral sharing to assess pronunciation and fluency in using compound sentences.
• Homework to be collected and reviewed for understanding and application of the target language structures.

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Differentiation

• Support: Provide vocabulary lists with furigana; model sentence structures clearly; use visuals to reinforce meaning.
• Extension: Challenge advanced learners to include additional conjunctions or more adjectives to add complexity.

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This lesson plan provides a balanced, interactive, and culturally relevant approach to mastering expressing likes and dislikes in Japanese for Year 11 NSW students, fully aligned to NSW Curriculum Languages standards and outcomes. It integrates comprehension, speaking, writing, and cultural understanding with clear, scaffolded activities well-paced for the 50-minute lesson.