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Study Guide

Field 100: Japanese
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

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Sample Directions for Multiple-Choice Questions

This section of the test consists of multiple-choice questions. Each multiple-choice question has four answer choices. Read each question and answer choice carefully and choose the ONE best answer. Try to answer all questions. In general, if you have some knowledge about a question, it is better to try to answer it. You will NOT be penalized for guessing.

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Subarea IV—CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING, COMPARISONS, AND CONNECTIONS

Objective 007
Understand the products and perspectives of Japanese-speaking cultures.

1. Which of the following features of public spaces in Japan best illustrates the cultural significance of ?

  1. torii
  2. kakejiku
  3. ema
  4. bonsai
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.

2. The 1899 book The Bushido: The Soul of Japan discusses contributions to Japanese cultural development primarily associated with which of the following groups?

  1. samurai warriors of the Sengoku period
  2. Buddhist priests
  3. chonin merchants of the Edo period
  4. Confucian philosophers
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.

3. Japan's traditional dependence on fish, seafood, and rice as major food sources developed primarily as a result of:

  1. isolationist policies that limited trade for centuries.
  2. the country's river system, natural vegetation, and soil characteristics.
  3. the country's location, topography, and climate.
  4. cultural and commercial exchanges with China.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Objective 008
Understand the practices (e.g., political and economic practices, practices of daily life and communication) and perspectives of Japanese-speaking cultures.

4. At the start of a meal in Japan, diners are often handed a small wet towel (o-shibori). Which of the following best describes the appropriate use of this towel?

  1. The towel is spread beside the diner's dish and used to blot the fingertips after eating finger foods.
  2. Diners open the towel and clean their personal space on the table before the meal is served.
  3. The towel is used to cleanse the hands of the diner sitting to the left of the person to whom it is handed.
  4. Diners wipe their hands before the meal and refold the towel to wipe their fingers during the meal.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.

5. Which of the following best describes a significant consequence of the isolationist policies and practices of the Tokugawa period (1603–1867) of Japanese history?

  1. a decline in the skills and output of Japanese artisans
  2. the development of a command economy controlled by the state
  3. an increase in the wealth and power of the samurai
  4. the development of a politically and culturally unified nation
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: D.

Subarea V—LANGUAGE ACQUISITION, INSTRUCTION, AND ASSESSMENT

Objective 009
Understand processes of language acquisition.

6. Which of the following best describes one reason why it takes longer for native speakers of English to acquire Japanese than to acquire a western European language such as Spanish or French?

  1. There are few cognate words between Japanese and English.
  2. Japanese has more vowel sounds than English.
  3. There are no borrowings from English in Japanese.
  4. Japanese has more verb tenses than English.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Objective 010
Understand principles and practices of instruction in the language classroom.

7. A middle school teacher of Japanese learns that four heritage speakers will be enrolled in her upcoming beginning-level Japanese class. In considering instructional approaches for this class, it is most important for the teacher to keep in mind that the heritage speakers:

  1. may be overqualified to be in a beginning-level class and will require supplemental activities from the first day.
  2. come from diverse cultural backgrounds and can have varying oral proficiency and literacy skills in Japanese.
  3. may be teacher's aides who can be called upon to model Japanese pronunciation and usage for non-heritage learners in the class.
  4. will make the best progress if they work by themselves in a small group rather than work with the class as a whole.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: B.
Objective 011
Understand the integration of standards into language curriculum and instruction.

8. When designing instruction that reflects the goals of the national K–12 Standards for Foreign Language Learning, it is most important for a Japanese teacher to keep in mind that:

  1. students' needs and interests should guide the choice of which standards should be emphasized in any given class.
  2. the interpretive mode of the communication standard should take precedence over the interpersonal and presentational modes.
  3. instruction of the culture, connections, comparisons, and communities standards should be embedded within the study of the language.
  4. students' mastery of each of the standards should be measured against the progress indicators given for their grade level.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.
Objective 012
Understand principles and practices of assessment in the language classroom.

9. A Japanese teacher asks students to assemble a portfolio of their homework, projects, assignments, journal entries, recorded media, and other work that they completed during a particular grading period. The teacher then schedules individual conferences with students to review and discuss their portfolios and to plan future focal points in their language learning. Which of the following best describes the primary benefit of this assessment approach?

  1. It furthers students' critical thinking and develops their autonomy as learners.
  2. It provides benchmarks for determining the teacher's goals and objectives.
  3. It gives the teacher appropriate feedback for her own professional growth.
  4. It yields objective, quantitative data for impartial student evaluation.
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: A.
Objective 013
Understand the role of a teacher as a professional.

10. A new Japanese teacher is looking for information about instructional strategies for teaching students with various special needs in the language classroom. The teacher will have a few gifted/talented students and a few students with language or learning disorders in the general classroom population. The teacher could best prepare for these students by consulting which of the following resources?

  1. professional journals about language teaching
  2. a teacher who is serving as a mentor at the school
  3. school specialists who work with students with special needs
  4. pedagogy texts from the school's teaching library
Enter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded
Correct Response: C.