復習１：生活を整えるUnit I Assessment: Getting Life in Order
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Combine vocabulary and grammar from Chapters 1 through 4 to describe your recent life, relationships, obligations, and plans in one connected account.
- Use recent-life and frequency expressions such as「ようになりました」,「ことが多い」, and「前より」together with obligation and permission patterns.
- Describe favors, invitations, and social exchanges using「あげる」「くれる」「もらう」in a context that also involves obligations and plans.
- Ask about and confirm another person's obligations, permissions, and plans in a short guided conversation.
- Read a longer mixed-script message that combines Unit I vocabulary, kanji, and grammar.
- Write a connected life-management text of at least eight sentences that draws on at least three of the four chapters in this unit.
- Complete an integrated listening, speaking, reading, and writing performance task that demonstrates cumulative Unit I control.
Communication Scenario
A month has passed since Yuki and Emma began exchanging messages. Yuki's program coordinator has asked each exchange student to send a short "life update" message summarizing how their daily life has changed, who has been helping them, what they still must take care of, and what their plans are for the coming weeks. Yuki decides to write this update to Emma first, as practice before sending a similar message to her coordinator, and Emma agrees to read it and ask follow-up questions.
- This chapter does not introduce new grammar or new kanji. Instead, it brings together the recent-life expressions from Chapter 2, the relationship and giving/receiving language from Chapter 3, and the obligation and permission language from Chapter 4 into a single connected task.
- By the end of the chapter, you will complete a Unit I performance task that includes a written life-update message, a spoken explanation of your own recent life and obligations, and a listening task based on someone else's life update.
Vocabulary Review
This chapter does not introduce new vocabulary. It reviews and combines vocabulary from Chapters 1 through 4 so that you can use it flexibly in one connected text.
Recent Life and Routines (Chapter 2)
| Japanese | Reading | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 習慣 | しゅうかん | habit |
| 予定 | よてい | plan; schedule |
| 責任 | せきにん | responsibility |
Relationships and Social Life (Chapter 3)
| Japanese | Reading | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 関係 | かんけい | relationship |
| 招待 | しょうたい | invitation |
| 連絡 | れんらく | contact; getting in touch |
| 友人 | ゆうじん | friend (slightly more formal than 友だち) |
Obligations and Needs (Chapter 4)
| Japanese | Reading | English meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 締め切り | しめきり | deadline |
| 規則 | きそく | rule; regulation |
| 必要 | ひつよう | necessary; necessity |
| 提出 | ていしゅつ | submission (of a form or document) |
This chapter's task is to combine Unit I vocabulary rather than expand it. If a word from Chapters 1 through 4 does not come to mind while working through this chapter, look it up in the relevant chapter's Core Vocabulary section before continuing.
Script and Kanji Review
This chapter assesses control of Unit I kanji, mixed-script messages, checklists, and reduced furigana. No new kanji are introduced.
At this checkpoint, Volume I kanji already marked consolidated, such as 元気, 生活, and 学校, continue to appear without furigana. Chapter 2's 予定, 責任, and 習慣, Chapter 3's 関係, 招待, 連絡, and 友人, and Chapter 4's 規則, 必要, 締め切り, and 提出 are still developing at this point in the volume and keep furigana in this chapter's texts and exercises. A later chapter's matrix will mark these kanji as consolidated and reduce their furigana.
れんしゅう — Practice: Choose four kanji from Chapters 1 through 4 that you find difficult to recall. Write each one three times, then use each one once in a sentence that also uses at least one grammar pattern from this unit.
Pronunciation Review
Longer connected texts make it easier to let mora timing slip, especially across sentence and clause boundaries. As you read the Model Dialogue and Reading Practice passage aloud, pay particular attention to:
- keeping long vowels in words such as きそく (rule) and ひつよう (necessary) full length, even when speaking at a natural pace;
- giving moraic ん its own full beat in words such as せきにん (responsibility) and かんけい (relationship), rather than rushing into the following syllable; and
- maintaining even phrase rhythm across clauses joined with て-form or ので, rather than speeding up toward the end of a long sentence.
Read one paragraph of the Model Dialogue aloud slowly, then again at a natural pace, checking your own timing against a recording if one is available.
Grammar and Sentence Patterns Review
This chapter authorizes assessed use of obligation, frequency, giving/receiving, sequencing, and reference tracking from Chapters 1 through 4. No new grammar paradigm is introduced.
1. Recent-life and frequency expressions (Chapter 2)
Purpose: to describe how routines and habits have changed recently.
- 最近、早く起きるようになりました。Recently, I've come to wake up early.
- 週末に掃除をすることが多いです。I often do cleaning on weekends.
- 前より日本語で話すことが増えました。I speak in Japanese more than before.
2. Giving and receiving (Chapter 3)
Purpose: to describe favors, gifts, and help exchanged between people, showing the direction of benefit.
- ホストマザーがゴミの出し方を教えてくれました。My host mother taught me how to take out the garbage. (benefit toward the speaker)
- 友人に日本語のノートを見せてもらいました。I had a friend show me their Japanese notes. (speaker receives)
- 友人にプレゼントをあげました。I gave a present to a friend. (speaker gives)
3. Obligation, lack of obligation, permission, and prohibition (Chapter 4)
Purpose: to describe what must, does not have to, may, and may not be done.
- 今週中に申込書を提出しなければなりません。I have to submit the application form by the end of this week.
- 今週は掃除をしなくてもいいです。I don't have to do the cleaning this week.
- サインが必要です。A signature is necessary.
Grammar Review Practice
- Write one sentence describing a recent change in your routine, using ようになりました or ことが多い.
- Write one sentence describing something someone did for you, or something you did for someone else, using あげる, くれる, or もらう.
- Write one sentence describing an obligation, using なければなりません.
- Write one sentence describing something you don't have to do, using なくてもいいです.
- Write one sentence describing a plan, using 予定です or つもりです.
Model Dialogue
Setting: Yuki sends Emma a longer life-update message, and Emma responds with follow-up questions before writing her own.
ないようりかい — Comprehension questions:
- How has Yuki's morning routine changed recently?
- Name two things Yuki's host mother does for her.
- What must Yuki do this week, and what does she not have to do?
- What are Yuki's plans for next week, and what does she plan to give her friend?
Guided Practice
タスク１ — Four sentences, four chapters. Write one sentence for each of the following: a recent change in your life (Ch. 2), a favor given or received (Ch. 3), an obligation or permission (Ch. 4), and a plan (Ch. 1 or Ch. 2 review). Then combine your four sentences into one short connected paragraph, adding connectors such as それから, でも, or ので.
タスク２ — Interview a partner. With a partner (or on your own, imagining a partner), ask and answer at least three questions from the Model Dialogue, substituting real information about your own recent life, relationships, obligations, and plans.
Listening Practice
Ask your instructor, a partner, or a text-to-speech tool to read the following passage aloud at a clear, moderate pace.
きくタスク — Another exchange student's life update
最近、日本語で話す機会が増えました。前より友人が多くなりました。先週、友人の誕生日にプレゼントをあげました。その友人は、お礼にお菓子をくれました。今週は宿題の締め切りがあるので、木曜日までに提出しなければなりません。週末は掃除をしなくてもいいので、友人と出かけるつもりです。
聞くタスク — Listening task: Note one recent change, one exchange with a friend, one obligation, and one plan mentioned in the passage. Compare your notes with a partner or check them against the passage.
This script uses plain style, appropriate for a private account similar to a diary entry rather than a message to someone the speaker does not know well.
Speaking Practice
コントロールされた練習 — Controlled practice: Quick answers
- 最近、何をするようになりましたか。
- 最近、だれかに何かをしてもらいましたか。
- 今週、何をしなければなりませんか。
コミュニケーションタスク — A one-minute life update
With a partner, take turns giving a one-minute spoken life update that includes a recent change, a relationship detail with giving or receiving language, an obligation or permission, and a plan.
ひとりでもできる練習 — Solo practice: Recorded life update
Record yourself giving the same one-minute life update on your own, in polite style, then listen back and check your use of recent-life, giving/receiving, and obligation patterns.
Reading Practice
Read the following message, then answer the questions below.
生活のアップデート — A life update message
エマへ
最近、生活が少し変わりました。前より早く寝るようになりました。ホストファミリーとの関係もとてもいいです。先週、ホストファーザーが駅まで連れて行ってくれました。今週は学校の規則で、金曜日までにレポートを提出しなければなりません。でも、アルバイトは今週しなくてもいいです。来週、友人と一緒に勉強する予定です。
ユキより
ないようりかい — Comprehension questions:
- What recent change does Yuki describe in her sleep routine?
- What did the host father do for Yuki last week?
- What must Yuki do by Friday, and what does she not have to do this week?
- What is Yuki's plan for next week?
Writing Workshop
In this workshop you will write your own connected life-update message, using the Building Block pattern from the Grammar Review section.
- Open your message with a greeting and a sentence about a recent change, using ようになりました or ことが多い.
- Add a relationship detail, describing something someone did for you or something you did for someone else, using あげる, くれる, or もらう.
- State one obligation and one thing you don't have to do, using なければなりません and なくてもいいです.
- Close with a plan, using 予定です or つもりです.
- Revise and check using the checklist below before finalizing your text.
チェックリスト — Editing checklist:
- My message includes a greeting and a recent-life statement.
- I used あげる, くれる, or もらう correctly to show the direction of benefit.
- I used なければなりません and なくてもいいです correctly.
- I closed with a clear plan using 予定です or つもりです.
- I used at least three different chapters' vocabulary or grammar from Unit I.
- I kept furigana on developing Unit I kanji and removed it from consolidated Volume I kanji.
- I kept one consistent register throughout my message.
- I ended each sentence with 。 and used consistent script and punctuation throughout.
Culture and Communication
Sending a periodic life update to a program coordinator, family member, or friend is a common practice for people living or studying away from home, and the structure Yuki uses here — recent changes, relationships, obligations, and plans — reflects a natural way of organizing that kind of message in many everyday and institutional contexts, not only in Japanese.
The specific chores, deadlines, and rules described across Chapters 1 through 4 reflect one plausible household and school context. Actual practices vary by family, school, workplace, and region, and confirming expectations directly with the people involved remains the most reliable approach, as noted in Chapter 4.
Yuki's message to Emma stays in one consistent register from beginning to end, even though it moves through several topics. When writing a longer connected text, choose one register for the whole piece rather than shifting between polite and plain style within the same message.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Error: *ホストマザーが朝ごはんをあげます。 (used to mean the host mother makes breakfast for the speaker).
Correction: ホストマザーが朝ごはんを作ってくれます。 — くれる is used when someone does something that benefits the speaker; あげる is used when the speaker or someone else benefits a third party.
Error: Cramming a recent-life expression, a giving/receiving verb, an obligation, and a plan into a single long sentence, producing an unnatural run-on.
Correction: Distribute these ideas across separate sentences, connected with それから, でも, or ので, as shown in the Model Dialogue and the Building Block example.
Error: Removing furigana from 関係, 規則, or 必要 because they feel familiar after several chapters.
Correction: These kanji remain in the developing stage at this point in the volume and keep furigana until a later chapter's matrix marks them as consolidated, as explained in the Script and Kanji Review section above.
Chapter Review
Section A — ごい (Vocabulary)
1. Give one vocabulary item each from Chapters 2, 3, and 4 and use each one in a sentence.
Section B — もじ (Script)
1. Write 習慣, 関係, 規則, and 必要 from memory, and explain which of them still need furigana at this point in the volume.
Section C — ぶんぽう (Grammar)
1. Write one sentence using ようになりました or ことが多い correctly.
2. Write one sentence using あげる, くれる, or もらう correctly.
3. Write one sentence using なければなりません correctly.
4. Write one sentence using なくてもいいです correctly.
5. Write one sentence using 予定です or つもりです correctly.
Section D — どっかいりかい (Reading comprehension)
1. Look again at Yuki's life-update message in the Reading Practice section. Write two sentences summarizing it in your own words.
Section E — かくこと (Writing)
1. Complete your own life-update message, following the Writing Workshop steps.
Section F — はなすこと (Speaking)
1. With a partner or instructor, give your one-minute life update and answer at least one follow-up question.
Unit I Performance Task
ユニット１パフォーマンスタスク
生活を整える — An integrated life-management portfolio
This performance task draws together the systems developed across Chapters 1 through 4. Complete all four components below.
- Written life-update message: Write a connected message of at least eight sentences describing a recent change in your life, a relationship or exchange involving giving or receiving, at least one obligation and one thing you do not have to do, and a plan, using vocabulary and grammar from at least three of the four unit chapters.
- Spoken life update: Present a one-minute spoken version of your life update to a partner, instructor, or recording, in polite style.
- Listening check: Listen to another person's life update (a partner's, an instructor's, or a recorded passage) and correctly identify their recent change, relationship detail, obligation, and plan.
- Follow-up exchange: After sharing your update, ask and answer at least two follow-up questions with a partner or instructor about the details in each other's updates.
Assessment focus: accurate combined use of Chapter 2 recent-life expressions, Chapter 3 giving/receiving language, and Chapter 4 obligation and permission language; correct furigana on developing Unit I kanji; consistent register across the whole text; and comprehensible pronunciation with attention to mora timing, long vowels, and moraic ん across a longer connected passage.
Answer Key
Grammar Review Practice
1. Model: 最近、早く起きるようになりました。 2. Model: 友人が日本語のノートを見せてくれました。 3. Model: 今週中にレポートを提出しなければなりません。 4. Model: 今週は掃除をしなくてもいいです。 5. Model: 来週、友人と勉強する予定です。
Model Dialogue — Comprehension
- Yuki has come to wake up earlier than before.
- Yuki's host mother makes breakfast for her every morning and often takes her shopping on weekends.
- Yuki must submit a school application form by the end of the week, and she does not have to do the cleaning this week.
- Next week, Yuki plans to have a friend teach her Japanese, and she intends to give that friend sweets as thanks.
Listening task — Model summary
The speaker now speaks more Japanese and has more friends than before. Last week, the speaker gave a friend a birthday present and received sweets in return. This week, the speaker must submit homework by Thursday, but does not have to clean this weekend, so the speaker plans to go out with a friend.
Reading — Comprehension
- Yuki has come to go to sleep earlier than before.
- Last week, the host father took Yuki to the station.
- Yuki must submit a report by Friday because of a school rule, and she does not have to work her part-time job this week.
- Next week, Yuki plans to study together with a friend.
Chapter Review — Section A and B
Open-ended; check against the Vocabulary Review and Script and Kanji Review sections above.
Chapter Review — Section C
Open-ended; models follow the patterns shown in the Grammar Review section above.
Chapter Review — Section D
Model answer: ユキは前より早く寝るようになりました。今週は金曜日までにレポートを提出しなければなりません。 (Other accurate answers accepted.)
Chapter Review — Section E and F, and Unit I Performance Task
These are open-ended production tasks. Evaluate written work against the Writing Workshop checklist above, and evaluate the spoken update, listening check, and follow-up exchange against the assessment focus listed under the Unit I Performance Task.
Looking Ahead
いまできること — What you can do now
You can combine recent-life expressions, giving and receiving language, obligation and permission language, and plans into one connected spoken or written account, drawing on the vocabulary, kanji, and grammar developed across Chapters 1 through 4 of this unit.