Kobanashi Online Workshop for Teachers

—How to Instruct Students in Kobanashi Performance—

日本語のご案内は下にございます

Yale University’s Japanese Language Program is pleased to welcome Professor Hatasa Kazumi (Purdue University) to present a workshop on instructing learners in oral performance activities using kobanashi.

The goal of this workshop is for participants to experience practicing, performing, and receiving feedback of their own kobanashi, and therefore discover elements in their performance that can be practically applied towards language instruction of their own students.  We especially welcome those who want to incorporate “kobanashi” into their class and/or curriculum.  This workshop will be conducted in Japanese.

What is kobanashi（小噺）?
Kobanashi is a Japanese traditional verbal art (short jokes) designed to warm up the audience ahead of rakugo performances.  Similar to rakugo, kobanashi crafts brief and amusing stories with punchlines, evoking the spirit of “dad jokes” through concise comedic anecdotes.
 

Aside from the above, we will also accept those who do not complete the requirements above and prefer to observe the workshop. Those who would like to just observe, please choose “I will participate without completing the requirements.”
 

Guest Speaker: Hatasa Kazumi. Graduated from Waseda University, Commercial Science Department. PhD received from Illinois University, in Educational Psychology in 1989. Beginning in 1983, worked in Japanese language education at Illinois University, Purdue University, Monash University, Middlebury University Japanese Language School, among others. From 2005 to 2018, served as headteacher at Middlebury University Japanese language school. Hatasa’s area of expertise is Japanese language education and utilizing technology in foreign language education. In 2020, received an award of official commendation from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Spent several years grappling with the implementation of Japanese classics and traditional arts, like Rakugo and Kobanashi in Japanese language education; made public and shared widely the resources and knowledge produced from those experiences.

Major Publications:
- Meshiagare (Kuroshio Publishing, 2021)
- Nakama 1, Nakama 2 (co-editor with Yukiko Hatasa & Seiichi Makino, Cengage Learning /2014/2018)
-  IT Literacy for Japanese Teachers (Kuroshio Publishing, 2002)
- The Second Language Learning Research and Language Education (co-editor with Yukiko Hatasa, Masakazu Kudara, & Takafumi Shimizu, Kuroshio Publishing, 2012)

Kobanashi Project for Japanese Language Learners: https://one-taste.org/kobanashi/

Using Traditional Arts as a Topic in Online Education Activities – Examples of Implementing Rakugo and Kamikiri: https://www.nkg.or.jp/musubu/contents/kaigai/20200801_2178704.html 
 

Message from the Guest Speaker: “This workshop aims to spark your interest in facilitating student performances of kobanashi, with the hope that more teachers will be inclined to incorporate kobanashi performance into their classes.   Even Japanese teachers unfamiliar with rakugo clubs or performance can effectively guide learners in kobanashi by emphasizing these 3 key points:  eye contact, voice volume, and pronunciation. By integrating elements like gesture, acting, and creativity, we can create captivating pieces that meet the expectations of both instructors and performers. We would like participants to perform kobanashi in this workshop, to actually experience a sense of improvement through instructor feedback, and to gain confidence as instructors. Finally, we hope that you will find general elements of Japanese language learning by performing kobanashi.

教師のための小噺オンラインワークショップ