Japanese Through Anime: Komi Can't Communicate - Season 1 (2 Weeks, Live Class)
Boost your learner's Japanese culture and Japanese language studies -- anime-style! Together we'll cover useful phrases, important culture points, and important aspects for translation through the hit anime show "Komi Can't Communicate."
Mr. Payne | ペイン先生 | 華流清先生
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:(376)
Star Educator
What's included
8 live meetings
7 hrs 20 mins in-class hoursAssessment
"Mastery Checks" and other in-class checks for comprehension (CFUs) will be regularly taken throughout lessons to gauge student's understanding and retention. There will also be a final "Super Mastery Check" portion in the final days that will go over all the previously taught grammar and concepts in a game show format. Finally, students will be invited to re-enact scenes together using scripts as a fun way of practicing what they have learned. The selection of the scene(s) will be voted on in prior days to Day 8.Class Experience
Komi Can't Communicate (or, in Japanese, 「古見さんは、コミュ症です」 ["Komi-san wa, Komyushō Desu"]) started out as a Japanese manga series by Tomohito Oda in 2016, made later into a live-action TV drama adaptation in 2021, and now an anime TV series adaptation by OLM, Inc. and streaming worldwide on Netflix. The story revolves around, Shouko Komi, and her unwelcome popularity at high school for being both beautiful and refined. The only one who is able to see through her facade is run-of-the-mill schoolboy Hitohito Tadano, who realizes early in the story that Komi in fact has a severe inability to communicate with others. After confronting Komi, Tadano decides to help her break through her anxiety and reach her private goal of acquiring 100 new friends. Note: While previous experience with basic Japanese phrases and Japanese reading/writing (hiragana, katakana, and kanji) are recommended, they are by no means a requirement to participating and enjoying this course as romaji transcriptions and only beginner through intermediate vocabulary and phrases will be explicitly covered in the Direct Instruction portions of classes. A strong or preliminary interest in Japan's actual culture and customs is also essential, as it is not a goal of this course to become more knowledgeable merely the anime cartoon itself as much as the culture and people from which it originated This 8-class live course revolves around the *first* run of 12 episodes comprising the first half of Season 1 of the show (sometimes simply referred to as Season 1). Here is a weekly breakdown of the episodes as we will cover them: Day 1: Getting Started 00 Introductions and Orientation Day 2: High School in Japan 01 "It's just, I wish I could speak." (JP: 「喋りたいんです。」) 02 "It's just a childhood friend. Plus more." (JP: 「幼馴染です。」) Day 3: Class Government and Physical Exams 03 "It's just stage fright. Plus more." (JP: 「あがり症です。」) 04 "It's just a physical. Plus more." (JP: 「身体検査です。」) Day 4: House Visits, Restaurants, and Jokes 05 "It's just my summer uniform. Plus more." (JP: 「夏服です。」) 06 "It's just a joke. Plus more." (JP: 「ギャグです。」) Day 5: Recreation and Obon 07 "It's just the pool. Plus more." (JP: 「プールです。」) 08 "It's just Obon. Plus more." (JP: 「お盆です。」) Day 6: Language Dialects and Sports Day 09 "It's just a country kid. Plus more." (JP: 「田舎の子です。」) 10 "It's just sports day. Plus more." (JP: 「体育祭です。」) Day 7: Culture Festivals and Karaoke 11 "It's just a performance for the culture festival. Plus more." (JP: 「文化祭の出し物です。」) 12 "It's just the culture festival. Plus more." (JP: 「文化祭です。」) Day 8: Anime Learner Scene Re-enactments & Wrap-Up During our time together we will discuss what happened in the story since the last meeting, highlight new phrases, introduce essential vocabulary and culture points, and create brief reports by each learner highlighting observations and independent research. The structure for each meeting will be as follows: + Do Now + Group Share Outs + Direct Instruction + Mastery Check + Next Steps + Further Q&A This course is an appropriate supplement to both IJC (Immersion Japanese Club) ongoing immersion courses and IJC Japanese Writing flex courses. However, it can also be taken independently as a primary means of introduction to and study of Japanese language and culture. Note: A minimum of four (4) students must be enrolled for this class to be held as scheduled. Students who wish to remain enrolled even in the case of there not being a sufficient number of enrollees will be transferred to the next available scheduled day and time of the same class. Still got questions? Feel free to contact me directly for more information!
Learning Goals
- To increase proficiency in basic phrases and important culture concepts
- To distinguish between fabrications originating in anime and real events or customs in Japan
- To further motivate those students to whom it pertains to take their language studies to the next level
Other Details
Parental Guidance
Komi Can't Communicate is rated TV-14 according to IMDB.com (or TV-PG on Netflix). I highly recommend looking through the Parental Guidance section on the IMDB website for details as offered by other viewers before enrolling: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14626352/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg
Supply List
Students will need to have access to the series by some platform to watch on their own time. Here is a list of other potential platforms for viewing that you can check for availability in your region: + Netflix (most recommended platform; see below) + CrunchyRoll + Funimation + Hulu + Amazon Prime While it is not necessary for students to have their own Netflix account, the subtitle extension tool that we will be using in class, Language Reactor, is limited in compatibility at this time to Netflix and YouTube. Students without a Netflix account (and therefore the inability to use this tool) will want to find other means to have access to both Japanese subtitles and audio for the series.
Language of Instruction
English
External Resources
In addition to the Outschool classroom, this class uses:
Sources
Before we get started, a couple of quick things to check off:
1) Double-check to be sure you have access to Komi Can't Communicate on whichever platform you intend to use (preferably Netflix given the technology we'll be using, i.e. the Language Reactor extension)
2) Make sure you have a special notebook (physical or online, either one) to bring with you to the class for the sole purpose of collecting words, phrases, and other notes
3) Come ready to share the following details about yourself with us:
+ What your past experience is with Japanese (e.g. studies, relations, etc.)
+ What you believe you will be able to contribute to the group in terms of skills and/or knowledge (regardless of whether or not you have any past experience with Japanese)
+ What your *specific* goals are for this course (i.e. what you hope to be able to do, or do better, by the end of our eight weeks together)
Joined February, 2019
4.9
376reviews
Star Educator
Teacher expertise and credentials
Colorado Teaching Certificate in Mathematics
Bachelor's Degree in Philosophy from Gustavus Adolphus College
I studied Japanese language, culture, history, and economics both at home (Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota) and a year abroad (Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan). I returned to Japan after graduating to live for another three years in Kagawa prefecture, Shikoku, where I worked in language instruction and Japanese-English translation. I attained certification in the 2nd highest level of the internationally recognized Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), and twice sat in for the 1st level.
My teaching experience in language instruction (where I also often implement the Natural Approach and TPR) continues to this day in private lessons for both children and adults in ESL, Japanese language learning, and JLPT test prep. For Japanese, this includes literacy in kanji and the language's other character sets, as well as comprehension and production in both informal and business-level conversation. It also means a top-down approach to deconstructing, studying for, and tackling the JLPT for those students looking to take their Japanese to the next level and even get this important certification that can land them a job abroad. (Feel free to contact me for more information about the JLPT and suggestions on whether or not it may be right for your learner's language goals.)
My favorite anime series to date include Neon Genesis Evangelion, Haibane Renmei, Serial Experiments Lain, Death Note, Chunibyo & Other Delusions, and last (but far from least) Your Lie in April.Reviews
Live Group Class
$24
weekly2x per week, 4 weeks
55 min
Completed by 10 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-18
4-8 learners per class
