Japan

In the Town

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App 7 overview

In the Town

The Polyglots in the Town features places and activities commonly found in Australia. Children are encouraged to observe the environment and interact with it using familiar language from apps 1 to 6, and also new language introduced in this app. Japanese culture is represented in objects from earlier apps, and in new objects in this app's playspace and learning experiences.

Language learning features

  • Repetition: Japanese is repeated in meaningful contexts, providing many opportunities to hear the language.
  • Visual cues: visual cues and gestures are aligned with spoken language to reinforce and emphasise meaning. The app uses the interactive functionality of the tablet.
  • Production: children have opportunities to produce the language. The learning experiences encourage children to mimic and play with Japanese sounds, words and short phrases. 

Cultural references

Language learning experts emphasise the importance of linking language to culture. To inspire children’s curiosity about Japanese culture, the learning experiences feature cultural items and characters from Japan. Some of the cultural items can be found in other apps.

Unique learning experiences

Each preschool group and community is unique. Educators may find a variety of ways to apply the learning experiences in The Polyglots in the Town apps to a particular child, group of children, preschool or community.

Links to the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and Australian Curriculum

In the Admin area, children's educational outcomes are linked to the EYLF and to the Australian Curriculum: Languages content descriptions for schoolchildren in Foundation – Year 2 as well as to the language of each learning experience. Educators can use this data to support planning or can print the outcomes for children’s portfolios. 

Belonging

‘Children belong first to a family, a cultural group, a neighbourhood and a wider community.’ (EYLF)

All children have the right to belong. This is reflected in the cultures and relationships of the characters in The Polyglots in the Town. In this app, children are reunited with familiar characters and objects from the preceding apps. The characters are portrayed as belonging to a community, just as the children do.

Being

‘Childhood is a time to be, to seek and make meaning of the world.’ (EYLF)

The Polyglots in the Town provides play experiences that parallel children’s own experiences of urban environments, shopping and other experiences in this context.

Becoming

‘Children’s identities, knowledge, understandings, capacities, skills and relationships change during childhood.’ (EYLF)

These elements are enhanced through children’s exposure to Japanese language and culture.

Resources

Resources to extend ELLA into your playspaces

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Have a question or need some help?

Contact the ELLA helpdesk

[email protected] 1800 468 303 (9 am – 4 pm AEST, Mon–Fri)