復習２：実用問題を解決するUnit II Assessment: Solving Practical Problems
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Explain a problem that happened outside the home, using explanatory 「んです」 and 「てしまいました」 to give background and describe an unwanted result.
- Negotiate a return, exchange, or reservation, using 「なら」, 「場合」, 「ことができます」, and 「てもらえますか」 to state conditions and make polite requests.
- Describe travel plans and preferences, using 「つもりです」, 「予定です」, and sequencing with 「前に」 and 「後で」.
- Describe a health-related situation, using 「前から」, expanded 「ことがある」, and 「ほうがいい」, and recognize 「ようにしてください」 without independent production.
- Read and respond to practical notices, forms, and messages drawn from service, travel, and clinic contexts.
- Complete an integrated written and spoken task that combines problem-solving, negotiation, travel, and health language from Unit II.
Communication Scenario
Emma's trip with Yuki is approaching. In the same week, she needs to sort out a problem with a delayed delivery, confirm a hotel reservation with a condition attached, finalize her travel plans, and follow up after her clinic visit before she leaves. This chapter brings all four situations together into one connected review of Unit II.
- This chapter is Unit II's assessment chapter. It does not introduce new grammar or new productive kanji; instead, it reviews and integrates the language from Chapters 6 through 9.
- By the end of the chapter, you will be able to move between explaining a problem, negotiating a transaction, describing travel plans, and discussing a health follow-up, all in one connected set of tasks.
Cumulative Vocabulary Review
The table below reviews key vocabulary from Chapters 6 through 9. These words are drawn together here for assessment; no new vocabulary is introduced in this chapter.
| Chapter | Japanese | Reading | English meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 忘れ物 | わすれもの | lost item; forgotten item |
| 6 | 故障 | こしょう | breakdown; malfunction |
| 6 | 確認 | かくにん | confirmation |
| 7 | 返品 | へんぴん | return (of goods) |
| 7 | 交換 | こうかん | exchange |
| 7 | 領収書 | りょうしゅうしょ | receipt |
| 8 | 宿泊 | しゅくはく | lodging; staying overnight |
| 8 | 乗り換え | のりかえ | transfer (trains, buses) |
| 8 | 経路 | けいろ | route |
| 9 | 病院 | びょういん | hospital; clinic |
| 9 | 症状 | しょうじょう | symptom |
| 9 | 処方箋 | しょほうせん | prescription |
This table samples each chapter rather than repeating every item. Review your Chapter 6–9 vocabulary lists in full before beginning this chapter's tasks.
Script and Kanji Review
This chapter assesses the kanji introduced across Unit II. Chapter 6 kanji (忘れ物, 故障, 遅れる, 問題, 確認, 注意, 案内, 手伝う) and Chapter 7 kanji (返品, 交換, 予約, 領収書, 期限, 条件, 変更, 空) are now developing toward consolidation and may appear without furigana in familiar combinations. Chapter 8 kanji (宿泊, 荷物, 乗り換え, 経路, 目的地, 片道, 往復, 予定) and Chapter 9 kanji (病院, 症状, 保険証, 受付, 診察, 処方箋, 支払い, 次回) are still developing and keep furigana in this chapter's texts.
As this unit closes, Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 kanji continue toward consolidation and appear with reduced furigana in familiar words. Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 kanji remain in active development and keep furigana throughout this chapter. No new kanji are introduced here; the goal is confident recognition and correct handling of furigana reduction across all four chapters.
れんしゅう — Practice: Choose two kanji from each of Chapters 6 through 9 (eight total). Write each one once from memory, then check it against your Chapter 6–9 vocabulary lists.
Pronunciation Review
Review the following contrasts, drawn from across this unit, before completing the listening and speaking assessments:
- the double consonant in 故障 (こしょう) and やっきょく (pharmacy), which needs a clear pause before the following mora;
- the long vowels in 交換 (こうかん), 宿泊 (しゅくはく), and 病院 (びょういん);
- the moraic ん in 確認 (かくにん), 乗り換え's related forms, and 保険証 (ほけんしょう), each of which should keep its own timing; and
- phrase-level intonation when sequencing several steps in a row, as in a procedure explanation.
Practice reading the Cumulative Vocabulary Review table aloud, tapping out the mora count for each word before increasing your speed.
Grammar Review
This chapter reviews and assesses explanatory 「んです」, obligation and permission patterns, reservation and return language, travel sequencing, and health-related sequencing from Chapters 6 through 9. No new grammar is introduced.
1. Explaining a problem — んです and てしまいました
Purpose: to give background for a problem and describe an unwanted result, as introduced in Chapter 6.
- かさを忘れてしまったんです。The thing is, I ended up forgetting my umbrella.
- 予約の時間に間に合わなかったんです。The thing is, I didn't make it in time for the reservation.
2. Negotiating conditions — なら, 場合, ことができます, てもらえますか
Purpose: to state a condition and make a polite request, as introduced in Chapter 7.
- レシートがあるなら、交換することができます。If you have the receipt, an exchange is possible.
- サイズが合わない場合は、返品してもらえますか。If the size doesn't fit, could you have it returned for me?
3. Describing travel plans — つもりです, 予定です, 前に／後で
Purpose: to describe intentions, fixed plans, and the order of travel steps, as introduced in Chapter 8.
- 新幹線に乗る前に、駅弁を買うつもりです。Before getting on the shinkansen, I intend to buy a station lunch box.
- ホテルに着いた後で、荷物を置いて出かける予定です。After arriving at the hotel, my plan is to leave my luggage and go out.
4. Describing a health situation — 前から, ことがある, ほうがいい
Purpose: to state how long a symptom has continued, mention past experience, and give or receive advice, as introduced in Chapter 9.
- 三日前から咳が続いています。I've had a cough continuing since three days ago.
- 今日はゆっくり休んだほうがいいです。You should rest quietly today.
「ようにしてください」remains receptive only at this point in Volume II; recognize it in the reading and listening tasks below, but do not produce it independently.
Grammar Practice
- Write one sentence using んです or てしまいました to explain a problem.
- Write one sentence using なら or 場合 to state a condition for a return or reservation.
- Write one sentence using つもりです or 予定です to describe a travel plan.
- Write one sentence using 前から and ほうがいい together to describe a health follow-up.
- Combine two of your sentences above into one connected pair of sentences using それから or それで.
Integrated Dialogue
Setting: Emma calls a hotel to confirm her reservation and mentions a delivery problem and her recent clinic visit while making final arrangements before her trip with Yuki.
ないようりかい — Comprehension questions:
- What problem does Emma mention at the beginning of the call, and why does she call the hotel?
- What does the hotel say about the lodging reservation?
- What kind of shinkansen route does Emma plan to take?
- What health information does Emma share, and how does the hotel respond?
Guided Practice
タスク１ — Connect two situations. Choose two of the following four situations and write a short connected passage (at least four sentences) that moves from one to the other, following the Building Block pattern above.
- A lost item and a related exchange or return.
- A reservation confirmation and a travel plan.
- A travel plan and a health follow-up.
- A health follow-up and a returned or exchanged item.
タスク２ — Sequence a full day. Using まず, それから, and 最後に, describe the order of events in the Integrated Dialogue above, from the phone call to the planned check-in.
Listening Assessment
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 — A traveler describes a busy week
今週は忙しかったです。まず、注文した荷物が届かなくて、店に電話をして交換してもらいました。それから、ホテルに電話をして、宿泊の予約を確認しました。新幹線の切符は、乗り換えなしの経路にする予定です。実は三日前から熱が続いていたので、病院にも行きました。医者に、旅行の前にゆっくり休んだほうがいいと言われました。今は少し良くなってきたので、安心しています。
聞くタスク — Listening task: Note what problem the speaker had with a delivery and how it was resolved, what the speaker confirmed with the hotel, what kind of shinkansen route the speaker plans to use, and what health issue the speaker mentions along with the doctor's advice.
This script uses plain and polite style mixed naturally, as is common in a personal account that quotes earlier polite exchanges.
Speaking Assessment
コントロールされた練習 — Controlled practice: Quick answers
- 荷物が届かなかった時、どうしますか。
- 新幹線の切符はどんな経路にするつもりですか。
- 熱がある時、医者は何と言いますか。
コミュニケーションタスク — Problem-to-plan role-play
With a partner, act out a short phone call in which one person reports a problem (a lost item, a delayed delivery, or a broken device), negotiates a solution, and then mentions an upcoming travel plan or health follow-up. The other person responds appropriately in polite style.
ひとりでもできる練習 — Solo practice: Recorded weekly summary
Record yourself summarizing an imagined busy week that includes a problem, a negotiation, a travel plan, and a health follow-up, similar to the Listening Assessment passage. Listen back and check your mora timing, gemination, and moraic ん.
Reading Assessment
Read the following notice, then answer the questions below.
お客様へのお知らせ — A combined notice for customers and guests
商品の返品・交換は、領収書がある場合のみ、受け付けることができます。ご宿泊のお客様は、チェックインの前に予約内容のご確認をお願いします。体調がすぐれない場合は、むりをせず、近くの病院にご相談ください。ご旅行の予定に変更がある場合は、なるべく早めにご連絡ください。
ないようりかい — Comprehension questions:
- Under what condition can a return or exchange be accepted?
- What should guests confirm before check-in?
- What advice does the notice give if someone does not feel well?
- What should a guest do if their travel plan changes?
Writing Assessment
In this assessment you will write a connected message that moves through at least three of the four Unit II domains, using the Building Block pattern from the Grammar Review section.
- Explain a problem, using んです or てしまいました.
- Negotiate or state a condition for a solution, using なら, 場合, ことができます, or てもらえますか.
- Describe a travel plan, using つもりです or 予定です, and sequence at least one step with 前に or 後で.
- Add a health-related follow-up, using 前から, ことがある, and ほうがいい.
- Connect your sentences using それから, それで, or ので so the message reads as one account rather than four separate lists.
- Revise and check using the checklist below before finalizing your text.
チェックリスト — Editing checklist:
- My message includes language from at least three of the four Unit II chapters.
- I used んです or てしまいました correctly to explain a problem.
- I used なら, 場合, ことができます, or てもらえますか correctly in a negotiation.
- I used つもりです or 予定です correctly to describe a plan.
- I used 前から, ことがある, and ほうがいい correctly in a health follow-up.
- I did not require myself to produce ようにしてください; I only used it in a quotation, if at all.
- I kept furigana on developing Chapter 8 and Chapter 9 kanji, and used reduced furigana appropriately on Chapter 6 and Chapter 7 kanji.
- I ended each sentence with 。 and used consistent script and punctuation.
Culture and Communication
In practice, a single week of daily life often mixes several kinds of practical communication, such as a delivery problem, a hotel confirmation, and a clinic visit. Businesses and institutions typically expect customers to state conditions clearly, such as whether a receipt is available, while also responding with polite reassurance, as in お大事になさってください (please take care of yourself). Reading and listening for these combined situations, rather than treating each one as an isolated script, better reflects how practical Japanese communication actually unfolds.
Policies for returns, reservation changes, and clinic follow-up can vary between individual businesses, regions, and types of establishment. A convenience store, a department store, a small local shop, and a hotel may each handle a similar request somewhat differently. Confirming the specific policy of the business or institution in question, as modeled in the notice in the Reading Assessment, remains more reliable than assuming one policy applies everywhere.
Even when a conversation moves between several topics, such as a delivery problem, a reservation, and a health concern, both speakers in a service or institutional context typically remain in polite です／ます style throughout, as shown in the Integrated Dialogue. Plain style may appear inside a quotation, such as reporting what a doctor said, without changing the overall polite register of the conversation.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Error: *荷物が届かなかった。交換してもらえますか。 (mixing an abrupt plain-style statement with a polite request in the same service conversation).
Correction: 荷物が届かなかったんです。交換してもらえますか。 — んです softens the plain-style background information so it fits naturally within a polite conversation, as reviewed from Chapter 6.
Error: *ホテルの予約はチェックインするつもりです。 (using つもりです for a fixed reservation detail that is already arranged).
Correction: チェックインは三時の予定です。 — 予定です describes a fixed schedule or arrangement, while つもりです describes a personal intention, as reviewed from Chapter 8.
Error: Introducing an unreviewed or unscheduled grammar pattern into a Unit II assessment task because it seems useful for the topic.
Correction: This chapter only reviews and connects language already authorized in Chapters 6 through 9. If a new situation seems to require unscheduled language, simplify the situation or rely on an already authorized pattern instead.
Chapter Review
Section A — ごい (Vocabulary)
1. Choose one vocabulary item from each of Chapters 6, 7, 8, and 9, and use each one in a sentence.
Section B — もじ (Script)
1. Write 確認, 交換, 予定, and 診察 from memory, and state which of these are moving toward reduced furigana and which still keep furigana at this point in the volume.
Section C — ぶんぽう (Grammar)
1. Write one sentence using んです or てしまいました to explain a problem.
2. Write one sentence using なら or 場合 to state a condition.
3. Write one sentence using つもりです or 予定です to describe a plan.
4. Write one sentence using 前から and ほうがいい together.
5. Explain, in your own words, why ようにしてください is not required in your own production at this point in the volume.
Section D — どっかいりかい (Reading comprehension)
1. Look again at the notice in the Reading Assessment section. Write two sentences summarizing it in your own words.
Section E — かくこと (Writing)
1. Complete your own connected message, following the Writing Assessment steps.
Section F — はなすこと (Speaking)
1. With a partner or instructor, act out a short phone call that moves between a problem, a negotiation, and a plan or health follow-up.
Unit II Performance Task
パフォーマンスタスク
実用問題を解決する — Solving practical problems
Complete all three components below.
- Written report: Write a connected account of at least eight sentences that moves through a problem (Chapter 6), a negotiation or condition (Chapter 7), a travel plan (Chapter 8), and a health follow-up (Chapter 9), using the Building Block pattern from the Grammar Review.
- Spoken exchange: With a partner, instructor, or recording, role-play a phone call or in-person conversation that covers at least two of the four Unit II domains, or present your written account and respond to at least two follow-up questions.
- Listening check: Listen to a partner's or instructor's account covering at least two Unit II domains and correctly identify the problem, condition, plan, or health information described.
Assessment focus: accurate and natural use of んです／てしまいました, なら／場合／ことができます／てもらえますか, つもりです／予定です with 前に／後で sequencing, and 前から／ことがある／ほうがいい; accurate recognition (not required production) of ようにしてください; correct kanji recognition and appropriate furigana reduction across Chapters 6–9; consistent polite register with natural quoted plain style where relevant; and comprehensible pronunciation with attention to mora timing, gemination, and moraic ん.
Answer Key
Grammar Practice
1. Model: 荷物が届かなかったんです。 2. Model: レシートがあるなら、交換することができます。 3. Model: 新幹線に乗る前に、駅弁を買うつもりです。 4. Model: 三日前から熱が続いているので、休んだほうがいいです。 5. Open-ended; check that the two chosen sentences are connected naturally with それから or それで.
Integrated Dialogue — Comprehension
- Emma mentions that a package she ordered did not arrive, and she calls to confirm that her lodging reservation is still fine.
- The hotel says the lodging reservation has no problems and invites her to contact them if anything changes.
- Emma plans to take a shinkansen route without a transfer.
- Emma mentions she has had a slight fever since three days ago and was told to rest; the hotel tells her to take care of herself and reassures her that check-in is fine at any time.
Listening task — Model summary
The speaker's ordered package did not arrive, and it was exchanged after a phone call to the store. The speaker confirmed the lodging reservation with the hotel. The speaker plans to take a shinkansen route without a transfer. The speaker mentions a fever continuing since three days ago and reports the doctor's advice to rest before the trip.
Reading — Comprehension
- A return or exchange can be accepted only if a receipt is available.
- Guests should confirm their reservation details before check-in.
- The notice advises not to push through discomfort and to consult a nearby clinic.
- A guest whose travel plan changes should contact the business or hotel as early as possible.
Chapter Review — Section A and B
Open-ended; check against the Cumulative 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: 領収書がない場合、返品や交換はできません。宿泊するお客様はチェックインの前に予約を確認したほうがいいです。 (Other accurate answers accepted.)
Chapter Review — Section E and F, and Unit II Performance Task
These are open-ended production tasks. Evaluate written work against the Writing Assessment checklist above, and evaluate the spoken exchange and listening check against the assessment focus listed under the Unit II Performance Task.
Looking Ahead
いまできること — What you can do now
You can explain a problem with background information, negotiate a return, exchange, or reservation using stated conditions, describe travel plans and sequence travel steps, and describe a health situation while giving or receiving advice. You can also move between these four kinds of practical communication within a single connected conversation or written account.