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Yokoyama Direct Method (YDM)

Concept

  • YDM allows anybody to learn a foreign language anytime, anywhere. The method can be applied to any foreign language. It also contributes to the deepening of relationship between people from different countries.

Brief

  • YDM is a teaching method developed by professor Nobuko Yokoyama, based on her more than 10 years of language teaching practice and research. The method can be used to teach a foreign language using only that language (without student's native one; for example Japanese through Japanese).
  • YDM is designed to enable language learners to acquire conversational skills more effectively in a shorter period of time and to understand the other country's culture and customs.

Features

  • YDM can be applied not only to teaching Japanese, but to any other language, thanks to the textbooks and supplementary teaching materials following the method, and has been applied succesfully in teaching Japanese, English and Chinese so far.
  • Using YDM, anyone from around the age of 6 can learn a foreign language efficiently and effortlessly, regardless of gender or experience.
  • With YDM, even if there are multiple students with different first languages, if the target language is Japanese, it is possible to teach only in Japanese at the same time.

The Lessons

  • Lessons are centered on interactive grammatical practice of seeing, listening, and answering.
  • It is programmed so that basic sentence patterns and grammar can be learned systematically through natural conversation practice.
  • Each lesson is structured on the following steps: "Presentation", "Practice" and "Review", and it progresses through these steps, so instructors and students can be aware of the level of understanding and mastery at any time.

Textbooks

  • Illustrations are used to visually and clearly indicate the target sentence patterns and new vocabulary.
    The illustrations are present throughout the lesson in a pattern that is maintained the same throughout the entire textbook.
  • Culture and customs from the countries and regions of the target language are included in the conversations and situations of the characters in the textbook, thus contributiing to student's understanding of the respective culture.
  • Illustrations and new sentences are presented systematically throughout the text, in a way that makes positive, negative, new words, etc. easy to understand fast.

Course for instructors

  • Aspiring teachers who complete the YDM Japanese Teacher Training Course become to teach the basics of Japanese grammar.
  • The actual process is this: after completing the YDM Japanese Teacher Training Course and registering with the (NPO) YDM Association, and after submitting the given exercises and other assignments, the teacher will be registered with YDM Language International Inc. (YDM).


Features

YDM can be applied not only to Japanese but also to other language education with texts and supplementary teaching materials developed according to the theory, and has achieved results in English and Chinese so far.

With YDM , anyone can learn a foreign language efficiently and comfortably from the age of about 6 years old, regardless of gender or experience.

With YDM , even if there are multiple learners with different first languages, if the target language is Japanese, you can teach at the same time using only Japanese.

Lessons

The lessons focus on interactive sentence pattern practice, where you see, hear, and answer.

The basic sentence patterns and grammar are programmed so that you can systematically acquire them from natural conversation practice.

Each lesson follows the steps of "Introduction" ( Presentation ), "Fixation" ( Practice ), and "Review" ( Review ), so teachers and learners can accurately judge the level of understanding and mastery at any time.

Textbooks

Illustrations are drawn everywhere in the text to visually and clearly show the sentence pattern and vocabulary of the learning goal.

Cultures and customs are incorporated into the conversations and life descriptions of the characters in the text to promote a comprehensive understanding of the target language area.

Illustrations and sentences are systematically laid out through text so that positives, negatives, new words, etc. can be seen at a glance.


Time required for the Japanese teaching method training course

Aspiring Japanese language teachers whose first language is Japanese will be required to watch a video of the YDM Japanese Language Teacher Training Course.

Time taken for beginner level Japanese class

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YDM information document:

History and Achievements

Click here for the page with History and Achievements.