Japanese

"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart." ‒Nelson Mandela

In Japanese we aim to equip our students with the means to excel in a global society where the understanding of another language and of another culture is of paramount importance.  We want our students to be able to form lasting relationships with those from other countries and to understand that international links are invaluable to us in business and in friendship.  In our lessons, we strive to challenge our students, to engage them in stimulating dialogues, to peak their interest and to help them become independent learners.  With our very successful and popular Japanese exchange and our strong links with Japan, we hope to help our students to become global citizens.

At KS3, students have 3 lessons per fortnight in year 7 and 4 lessons per fortnight in year 8. They cover the topics below.  All four key skills are practised; however, the focus is on written Japanese so that students are able to familiarise themselves with a new script. 

Outside the classroom

Hendon students studying GCSE Japanese are offered the chance to participate in our Japanese school exchange.  As part of this experience, our students spend nearly 2 weeks in Japan, visiting Tokyo and then spending time with Japanese host families in the city of Hamamatsu. They also attend our sister school, Konan High School.  

Useful links

Japanese Site on - FROG: Welcome

Hiragana practice - FROG: Hiragana

Katakana practice - FROG: Katakana

Online dictionary- http://jisho.org/

Japanese culture- http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/

Japan Foundations Resources- http://www.jpf.org.uk/language/teaching_resources.php 

Contact

Ian Sanz Hurst - Head of MFL Faculty - SanzHurstI@hendonschool.co.uk