The following chapter summarizes the challenges faced by Japanese language instructors who are struggling to find better methods for teaching the Japanese writing system. It examines the notion of pacing and ordering elements of the Japanese writing system in curricula, which is a fundamental issue facing all teachers, for which there is not a definitive answer. We end this chapter with advice for Japanese teachers based on the research presented in the first three parts of this book, with the aim of suggesting ways people can become better teachers of written Japanese.

Issues Surrounding the Order of Teaching Japanese Writing

The previous chapter summarized the challenges of learning the Japanese writing system for the second language learner. Teachers of Japanese play a vital role in supporting learners in their journey to read and write in their taught second language. As curriculum designers and classroom practitioners, teachers of Japanese must make a number of decisions that potentially affect the success of their learners.

First, teachers play a vital role in the selection of kanji for instruction, especially if they are given autonomy in curriculum design. Even if some of this decision-making is centralized in the case of a coordinated curriculum or use of a particular textbook, teachers still must make important decisions of how this is translated into a classroom context. For example, teachers often need to decide when to introduce the various elements of the writing system.

• • Some curricula introduce Japanese via romaji and then introduce hiragana at a later stage after basic spoken Japanese communication is learned; other teachers discourage the use of romaji from the outset of study.

• • Some teachers opt to teach kanji only after years of study; others introduce it immediately.

• • Some teachers use furigana over newly learned kanji; others see it as a crutch and opt to present kanji on their own in a ‘sink or swim’ learning context.

• • Some teachers introduce kanji that are stylistically simple first (e.g. few strokes); others introduce kanji that are semantically simple (e.g. the days of the week, colors or family members).