Presentation Session II

This self-study explores the impacts of integrating Japanese Sign Language (JSL) with Total Physical Response (TPR) in a high school Japanese language classroom on student comprehension, engagement, and cultural understanding. The purpose was to support novice-level learners in accessing the implicit and nonverbal aspects of Japanese communication by incorporating embodied and visual forms of meaning-making that reflect the high-context nature of Japanese language and culture. Conducting a self-study at a Title I high school in the Hawaiʻi Department of Education (HIDOE), I explored the question: “How does the integration of Japanese Sign Language with Total Physical Response influence student comprehension, engagement, and meaning-making in a novice-level Japanese classroom?” Through reflective teaching logs and classroom observations collected over approximately twelve weeks, patterns related to embodiment, communication, and instructional practice were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The hope is that this self-study encourages world language teachers to consider how integrating sign and embodied communication can support comprehension, increase engagement, and foster intercultural communicative competence in culturally responsive language classrooms.