Activity

Wasei-Eigo quiz (+bonus round)

Students are given the wasei-eigo word in Japanese, and must guess how to say it in English. The bonus round has them guessing what foreign language the non-English loan word comes from.

I originally made this as an end of semester game for my 6th graders, but it can be adapted to different grades. For my class, I broke them into groups of 3-4 students, and gave each group a whiteboard to write their answers on.
The quiz is broken down into 3 levels (easy, medium, hard) and a "bonus round". Note that this quiz is written in American English so some people might disagree with the answers that I put. Of course, feel free to change them for your country.
Level 1 is mostly words that they should already know from the textbook (ex: convenience store, stapler), and was used as a "warm up" before they got into the harder questions. For this level, the students are simply given the word in katakana, and must raise their hands to answer in English. The first person to raise their hand and answer correctly gets one point for their group.
For level 2, the first three questions are all two word answers in English, that are similar to their katakana counterparts. For this, the students are shown six words in English, and must choose which two they think go together. They will write the answers on their whiteboards, gaining 2 points for a correct answer, and 1 point for getting only one word right. The next two questions are words that are "false friends", and are presented as multiple choice with two correct answers. Students will write two letters on their whiteboards (A, B, C, D, E, F). Similarly, both correct answers will get 2 points, and only one will get 1 point.
Level 3 is full of the most wasei-eigo, native-English-speakers-will-not-understand-them words. These are classic multiple choice (only one correct answer), and the students will again write the answer on their whiteboard. A correct answer will get one point for the group.
If you have extra time, you can go on to the bonus round! This is full of foreign loan words that do NOT come from English. The students are asked "What language is [katakana word]?", and are given four options to choose from. Correct answers will get 1 point, and I also reveal the original word in the other language so they can see how it looks similar.

Files:
Medium files (requires an account to download) -
  • 和製英語Quiz.pptx (2.95 MB)
  • 36
    Submitted by cboice August 29, 2024 Estimated time: ~45
    1. 3dbae September 3, 2024

      DUUUUUDE THIS IS CLEAN!! Thank you so much, can't wait to show my 6th Graders!

    2. genieg September 4, 2024

      I did this today! My co-teacher was impressed! Sorry, I took the credit from your hard work!

    3. mssamansa September 18, 2024

      Ran this last week with JHS 1年生 and it was a total hit! Even my JTEs were entertained. Thanks so much!

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