In recent years, the shift toward learner-centered teaching has flourished. However, in the beginning Japanese course, the traditional mode of teachers uni- laterally imparting knowledge and learners passively receiving and memorizing knowledge is still maintained. The question remains: In the initial stage of language knowledge acquisition, is there a possibility for knowledge to be constructed by the learner? The author used Bruner’s Discovery Learning method to let students par- ticipate in the process of language knowledge construction in a beginning Japanese class in a university where a second foreign language was chosen as an elective. This paper introduces the specific content of this teaching practice and how the course is carried out, and explores the students’ acceptance of this teaching experiment based on the learning feedback they submitted after each class meeting. The results of the discussion show that although a few students expressed confusion or frustration about this new learning method, most of them held a positive attitude. In addition, the comparative analysis of the pre-test and post-test shows that students’ knowl- edge of Japanese phonetics and skills of phonetic recognition have improved upon completing this course. The Discovery Learning method attempts to make the fun of knowledge an essential aspect of learning. It demonstrates how today’s rapid de-velopment of IT technology and diverse language learning resources and media can create a completely different classroom landscape.
