Unit 1 — Hajimemashite! (X は Y です) | オンライン英会話の大人の英会話倶楽部

Unit 1 — Hajimemashite! (X は Y です) — Trio Enhanced • Presenter’s Edition

A bright, emotional and logically rock-solid prototype designed for stakeholder review. Ready for presentation to the curriculum & production teams.

Duration: ~45–60 min demo

Goal: Approve design & prompts for image/audio production

Quick Pitch

This unit combines emotion-first micro-drama, deep-but-simple grammar scaffolding, localized “My Life Context” examples, and a robust safety-net navigation to ensure absolute beginners can study by themselves or follow a 2-hour lesson without confusion.

Emotion-First Micro-Drama (90 sec)

Scene: Joy boards a jeepney, meets Ken — she prepares for a short interview and is nervous. Ken gently coaches her. Raya cheers via video call. Joy succeeds — learners feel they can do the same.

Presenter’s note: Play the short clip before grammar. Emotion primes attention and retention.

Grammar in Layers — “See → Notice → Understand”

See: Show 3 example sentences in context (dialogue + comic).
Notice: Interactive activity — learners highlight は and です.
Understand: Short visual rule card and one-line explanation.

My-Life Context Examples

Start with adobo & jeepney rather than station scenes. Makes the content personally relevant and memorable.

これはわたしの アドボ です。
(This is my favorite adobo.)

わたしは がくせい です。
(I am a student.)

ケンさんは にほんじん です。
(Ken is Japanese.)

ラヤは マレーシアじん です。
(Raya is Malaysian.)

Class Flow vs Self-Study Flow (Checklist)

Class (120 min): Warm-up → Drama → Discovery → Practice → Roleplay → Review → HW.
Self-study (30–40 min): Hero visual → Watch video → Grammar card → Practice → Record → Review.

Safety Net: One-click ‘Return to Grammar Card’ and ‘Show Example’ buttons ensure learners never get lost. For LMS: implement anchors + breadcrumb map.

Trio Characters

Use these recurring avatars across the course. They provide narrative continuity and emotional attachment.

Joy (ジョイ) 🇵🇭
Filipina learner-stand-in. Energetic, anime fan, nervous but hopeful.

Joy prompt:
"Filipina young woman (18-25), braided hair, colorful casual outfit, expressive cheerful face, semi-realistic illustration, warm pastel palette, holding a small plate of adobo, friendly style, PNG 2000x2000"

Copy Joy prompt

Ken (ケン) 🇯🇵
Japanese exchange student. Calm, polite, slightly formal; teacher-figure.

Ken prompt:
"Japanese male university student (20-24), short black hair, casual hoodie, gentle smile, semi-realistic illustration, neutral warm tones, 2000x2000 PNG"

Copy Ken prompt

Raya (ラヤ) 🇲🇾
Malaysian remote worker — bridge character, confident and practical.

Raya prompt:
"Malaysian young professional (25-30), office-casual attire, bun or short hair, confident smile, semi-realistic illustration, cool-teal accents, 2000x2000 PNG"

Copy Raya prompt

Hero & Comic Prompts

Hero prompt:
"Ken, Joy, Raya standing near a colorful jeepney and a sari-sari store; warm late-afternoon light; semi-realistic illustrative style; friendly expressions; high detail; 16:9 PNG 3840x2160"

Copy Hero prompt

Comic Panel prompt (Panel2):
"Inside jeepney: Joy and Ken exchange greetings; speech bubbles: 'はじめまして', 'わたしはジョイです'; style: slice-of-life manga, soft color, high expressiveness; PNG 1920x1080"

Copy Panel2 prompt

Audio / TTS Suggestions

TTS suggestions:
Joy: female young, bright, slight Tagalog intonation optional.
Ken: male young, calm, clear JP polite.
Raya: female professional, clear English with neutral Malay intonation for Malay phrases.
Output: high-quality WAV/MP3 44.1kHz

Copy TTS suggestions

Full Unit Content (ready-to-export)

Below is the ready-to-use content you can paste into an LMS/WordPress page or export to PDF for the pilot presentation.

Warm-Up Comic (3 panels)

Immersive Dialogue (slow)

JP: A: はじめまして。わたしはジョイです。
B: はじめまして。わたしはケンです。
A: ケンさんはにほんじんですか？
B: はい、にほんじんです。

EN subtitle: A: Nice to meet you — I’m Joy. / B: Nice to meet you — I’m Ken. / A: Are you Japanese? / B: Yes, I am Japanese.

Grammar Discovery

わたしはジョイです。
ケンさんはにほんじんです。
ジョイはがくせい ではありません。

Open: Visual Rule Card

Structure: X + は + Y + です
Note: は pronounced ‘wa’. Use ではありません for polite negative.

Guided Practice (in-class & self-study)

Fill-in / Picture→Sentence / Make-Your-Own templates — see teacher packet below for answer keys and rubrics.

Micro-Quiz (auto-feedback-ready)

わたし ___ ジョイ ___ 。 (choose: は / が) — Answer: は / です
Translate: ‘I am Filipino.’ → わたしはフィリピンじんです。
Negative: ‘Ken is not a teacher.’ → ケンさんはせんせいではありません。

Homework Pack

10-min: Record 10–15s self-intro (one take).
20-min: Write 5 sentences using X は Y です (one about your favorite food).
30-min: Prepare two fictional friends and present (voice or text).

Teacher’s Quick Pack

Lesson Objective: Learners can introduce themselves using X は Y です and ask simple identity questions.
Common errors: Pronounce は as ‘ha’ (Remedy: oral practice), omit です (Remedy: choral chant).
Timing suggestion: 120-min layout provided in presenter notes.

High-Resolution Asset Prompts (A/B Variants)

Below are refined prompts ready to paste into image generators. Click the ‘Copy’ links in the right column or use the prompts as-is.

Hero Image — A (Warm slice-of-life)

A-Hero:
"Hero image: Ken (Japanese male student, 20s), Joy (Filipina young woman, 18-25), Raya (Malaysian young professional, 25-30) standing by a colorful jeepney and a sari-sari store; warm late-afternoon light; semi-realistic illustrative style with soft outlines; friendly, hopeful expressions; high detail on faces and clothing; subtle depth of field; PNG 3840x2160"

Hero Image — B (Vibrant stylized)

B-Hero:
"Vibrant stylized illustration: trio (Ken, Joy, Raya) in front of a decorated jeepney; bold colors, graphic shapes, playful energy, expressive faces; composition wide 16:9; include small details: adobo plate, laptop, backpack; PNG 3840x2160"

Comic Panels — Panel2 (Introductions)

Panel2:
"Inside jeepney panel: Joy and Ken exchange greetings; speech bubbles: 'はじめまして', 'わたしはジョイです'; style: mellow slice-of-life manga, soft color washes, high facial expressiveness; include sari-sari goods in background; PNG 1920x1080"

Avatar Pack (High-res)

Joy Avatar:
"Filipina young woman avatar, braided hair, pastel dress, cheerful expression, 2000x2000 PNG, transparent background"

Ken Avatar:
"Japanese male student avatar, short black hair, hoodie, gentle smile, 2000x2000 PNG, transparent background"

Raya Avatar:
"Malaysian young professional avatar, office casual, confident smile, 2000x2000 PNG, transparent background"

Food Close-up (Adobo)

Adobo:
"Photorealistic stylized: plate of Filipino adobo on wooden table, steam rising, warm natural light, shallow depth of field, include fork and banana leaf garnish, PNG 2000x1500"