Teaching L2 Learners About Japan’s Disaster
April 4th, 2011 | Published in Education, Lesson Plan, Science
Here are two ways to teach learners about the crisis in Japan. One is teaching vocabulary in preparation for reading an article from the New York Times, and the other is practice in focused listening with a broadcast from National Public Radio. ESL Voices Activities for this article
A tsunami wave crashes over a street in Miyako City,-photo by Mainichi Shimbun
Excerpt by Martin Fackler, New York Times, March 11, 2011
Powerful Quake and Tsunami Devastate Northern Japan
“TOKYO — Rescuers struggled to reach survivors on Saturday morning as Japan reeled after an earthquake and a tsunami struck in deadly tandem. The 8.9-magnitude earthquake set off a devastating tsunami that sent walls of water washing over coastal cities in the north. Concerns mounted over possible radiation leaks from two nuclear plants near the earthquake zone… Thousands of homes were destroyed, many roads were impassable, trains and buses were not running, and power and cellphones remained down. On Saturday morning, the JR rail company said that there were three trains missing in parts of two northern prefectures… On Friday, at 2:46 p.m. Tokyo time, the quake struck. First came the roar and rumble of the temblor, shaking skyscrapers, toppling furniture and buckling highways. Then waves as high as 30 feet rushed onto shore, whisking away cars and carrying blazing buildings toward factories, fields and highways. By Saturday morning, Japan was filled with scenes of desperation, as stranded survivors called for help and rescuers searched for people buried in the rubble. Kazushige Itabashi, an official in Natori City, one of the areas hit hardest by the tsunami, said several districts in an area near Sendai’s airport were annihilated.”
ESL Voices Activities for this article.
Teaching L2 Learners About Japan’s Disaster
Activities: vocabulary and listening practice.
Language Skill(s) – reading, speaking, vocabulary, and listening.
Level: Lower-intermediate
Time: approximately 1 hour.
Materials: article excerpt, NPR segment, and dictionary.
Goals: Learners will be able to identify new vocabulary, improve their focused listening skills, and get a better understanding of the Japan’s tsunami crisis.
Procedure:
I. Pre-reading questions:
As a class, stimulate background knowledge by having learners answer the following questions.
1. What happened in Japan?
2. Ask learners to make a list of words they associate with the term: tsunami.
II. While Reading
A. Vocabulary: words in context
Place your students in groups, then have them read the excerpt and infer the meanings of the words in bold from the article.
- Rescuers struggled to reach survivors on Saturday morning as Japan reeled after an earthquake and a tsunami struck in deadly tandem.
- The 8.9-magnitude earthquake set off a devastatingtsunami…
- …a devastating tsunami that sent walls of water washing over coastal cities in the north.
- Concerns mounted over possible radiation leaks from two nuclear plants…
- Thousands of homes were destroyed, many roads were impassable…
- …the JR rail company said that there were three trains missing in parts of two northern prefectures…
- First came the roar and rumble of the temblor, shaking skyscrapers, toppling furniture and buckling highways.
- By Saturday morning, Japan was filled with scenes of desperation, as stranded survivors…
- …rescuers searched for people buried in the rubble.
- …several districts in an area near Sendai’s airport were annihilated.
III. Post Reading
A. Wh-Questions
1. Who or what is the article about?
2. Where did the event occur?
3. When did the event occur?
4. Why or how did the event occur?
IV. Listening: National Public Radio (NPR)
Tears Of Loss, Joy Are Common in Kamaishi Japan
After students have finished the reading, you might want to move on to focused listening practice. Have them listen to this NPR broadcast, then answer the questions. The questions are graduated from easy to advanced.
“The people in Northeastern Japan are still struggling to cope with the aftermath of the tsunami. The questions are based on a broadcast from NPR. Rob Gifford was in the coastal town of Kamaishi, and interviewed the hospital staff working at the Kamaishi Nozomi Hospital.”
Easy
- The host begins by saying there was one piece of good news. What was it?
- How long had they been trapped in the rubble?
- In which room of the house were they trapped?
Medium
- What are the Japanese military carrying out of the buildings?
- How long had the hospital at Kamaishi gone without electricity?
- When the tsunami struck the hospital, how high did the water reach?
- What will happen to the patients if the hospital doesn’t get supplies soon?
Advanced
- Why did Rob Gifford say, “Tears of joy and grief are the same color…”?
- Motomi compares the tsunami like a scene from which American movie?
- Did Motomi find her lost child?
- In which part of Japan is Kamaishi located?
Answers:
I. Pre-reading questions:
1. What happened in Japan?
2. Ask learners to make a list of words they associate with the term: tsunami.
II. While Reading
A. Vocabulary, Meanings From Context
- reeled verb. – walk as if unable to control one’s movements.
- tsunami noun.-a cataclysm resulting from a destructive sea wave caused by an earthquake or volcanic eruption.
- tandem adverb.- one behind the other.
- devastating: adjective.- cause [wreaking] or capable of wreaking complete destruction.
- coastal: adjective. -located on or near or bordering on a coast. (coast: the part of the land near the sea).
- radiation: noun. – energy that is radiated or transmitted in the form of rays or waves or particles; (e.g., exposure to radioactive chemicals or to nuclear explosions); low doses cause diarrhea and nausea and vomiting and sometimes loss of hair; greater exposure can cause sterility and cataracts and some forms of cancer and other diseases; severe exposure can cause death within hours.
- impassable: adjective. -incapable of being passed.
- prefecture [prefectures]: noun.-the district administered by a prefect (as in France or Japan or the Roman Empire).
- buckle [buckling]: verb.-fold or collapse; bend out of shape, as under pressure or from heat.
- stranded: adjective.-cut off or left behind.
- rubble: noun. -the remains of something that has been destroyed or broken up.
- annihilated: adjective.-destroyed completely.
III. Post Reading
A. Wh-Questions
Students’ choice.
IV. Listening: National Public Radio (NPR)
Tears Of Loss, Joy Are Common in Kamaishi Japan
After students have finished the reading, you might want to move on to focused listening practice. Have them listen to this NPR broadcast, then answer the questions. The questions are graduated from easy to advanced.
The people in Northeastern Japan are still struggling to cope with the aftermath of the tsunami. The questions are based on a broadcast from NPR. Rob Gifford was in the coastal town of Kamaishi, and interviewed the hospital staff working at the Kamaishi Nozomi Hospital.
Easy
1. The host begins by saying there was one piece of good news. What was it?
ans. An 80-year-old grandmother and her grandson were found alive.
2. How long had they been trapped in the rubble?
ans. more than a week.
3. In which room of the house were they trapped?
ans. the kitchen.
Medium
1. What are the Japanese military carrying out of the buildings?
ans. stretchers and body bags.
2. How long had the hospital at Kamaishi gone without electricity?
ans. seven days.
3. When the tsunami struck the hospital, how high did the water reach?
ans. to the first floor.
4. What will happen to the patients if the hospital doesn’t get supplies soon?
ans. they’ll become weaker, and eventually die.
Advanced
1. Why did Rob Gifford say, “Tears of joy and grief are the same color…”?
ans. People were crying because they either found or lost a loved one.
2. Motomi compares the tsunami like a scene from which American movie?
ans. Independence Day.
3. Did Motomi find her lost child?
ans. yes.
4. In which part of Japan is Kamaishi located?
ans. Northern Japan.
Additional Reading and activities:
NYT Learning Network: The Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan
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