Social issues in Japan 森 文枝 Japan Foundation, Sydney

Objectives of this session To deepen and update knowledge of popular Japanese trends and social issues. よんで、はなして、 brush up your Japanese!

What is the recent news from Japan? What’s popular in Japan now?

社会現象（しゃかいげんしょう ） Social phenomena 社会問題（しゃかいもんだい） Social issues/problems

草食系男子 ( そうしょくけいだんし ) 婚活（こんかつ ） 原発問題（げんぱつもんだ い） エネルギー問題（もんだい） 街コン ( まちこん）

草食系男子 京都新聞 2010 年 10 月 京都市主催の婚活パーティーに女性の応募殺到 「草食」男子の３倍超す 晩婚化や少子化を防ごうと京都市が “ 婚活パーティー ” を企画 、参加者を募集したところ、男性の応募が約３００人だった のに対し、女性からは３倍以上の千人近い応募が寄せられて いることが分かった。市の担当者は「恋愛に消極的な『草食 系男子』が増えたというが、これほど応募数に差が出るとは … 」と驚いている。」

We are going to read 4 articles. Each article talks about a different social issue in Japan. ?? ? ?

1.Separate into 4-5 groups. These are “home groups”. 2.Each home group receives copies of 4 different articles. Each member is assigned one article. 3.Next, “temporary groups” are formed by bringing together people who have been assigned the same article. Therefore there will be 4 temporary groups. 4.Read the article in temporary groups helping each other. 5.Return to your home groups and share the information from the articles they read. 6.Discuss and complete the task sheet in your home groups. Jigsaw reading

Please bring the following information back to your home group What social issue is the article about? What has caused the issue? What social situation lays behind the issue? What aspects did you find most interesting about the article?

★ Before you start reading, let’s check some key words which are commonly used in the articles!

Tasks In home groups, share and understand 4 social issues Japan has been facing in recent years. Discuss ideas for tackling these issues. Present ideas for solutions which could bring a brighter future to Japan!

イクメンプロジェクト Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

The Jigsaw Classroom - is a coperative learning technique with a three-decade track record of successfully reducing conflict and increasing positive educational outcomes. -was invented and first used in 1971 in Austin, Texas by Elliot Aronson, currently Professor Emeritus at the University of California, and his graduate students.

Occasionally, a dominant student will talk too much or try to control the group. How can we prevent that? Some students are poor readers or slow thinkers. How can we help them? Some students are so gifted that they get bored working with slower students. Is the jigsaw technique effective with them?

The problem of the Dominant Student “Many jigsaw teachers find it useful to appoint one of the students to be the discussion leader for each session, on a rotating basis.”

The Problem of the Slow Student Before presenting a report to their jigsaw group, students have a chance to discuss and modify it based on the suggestions of other members in a group consisting of other students who have prepared a report on the same topic.

The Problem of Bright Students Becoming Bored “Research suggests that there is less boredom in jigsaw classrooms than in traditional classrooms.” “If bright students are encouraged to develop the mind set of “teacher”, the learning experience can be transformed from a boring task into an exciting challenge.”