Programs and Workshops

Japanese Teacher Training Program ALLEX/PSU

The Alliance for Language Learning and Educational Exchange (ALLEX) (www.EastAsia.org) at Portland State University (PSU) Japanese Teacher Training Program will be held June 16-August 8, 2008 at Portland State University in Oregon. The program is an intensive course for current teachers of Japanese and those who plan to enter the field. The intensive eight-week course provides future instructors with a foundation for teaching Japanese and gives current teachers substantial tools to reinforce and strengthen their Japanese programs. Effective methodology in teaching Japanese to North Americans is emphasized over a theoretical analysis of the Japanese language.

The program is directed by Patricia Wetzel, Professor of Japanese at Portland State University and former president of the Association for Teachers of Japanese. Highly experienced visiting professors from across the country lecture in their areas of expertise while mentoring students one-on-one. The eight-week program runs from June 16-August 10 (12 credits, $4,995); the four-week program is from June 16-July 11 (tuition TBA).

The curriculum of the full-time intensive program includes a lecture component covering such topics as the basic principles of effective Japanese language pedagogy, classroom teaching techniques, linguistic analysis of Japanese, and language testing, an observation component during which participants observe and analyze actual Japanese language classes taught by master instructors, and a demonstration component during which participants teach actual Japanese class sessions that are videotaped and critiqued by program faculty members. Limited financial support is available on a competitive basis. More information: www.east asia.org/jtti.htm.

Japanese Workshop at Northeast Conference

Cyrus Rolbin of Keio University, along with several of his colleagues and a number of Keio graduate students, will be presenting a three-hour workshop at the upcoming Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, March 27-29, 2008, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City. The workshop is scheduled for Saturday morning, March 29, from 9 a.m.-12 noon. It is titled "Lifelong, Online Language and Culture Exchange—Perspectives from Japan." The workshop is part of the NECTFL conference emphasis on the iGeneration, which will include a six-station tech playground created by Apple as well as a presentation by online learning expert Marc Prensky. NECTFL Board member Jessica Haxhi, who teaches Japanese at an elementary school in Connecticut, has helped to recruit a number of presenters and companies to the conference. Complete information and registration forms: www.nectfl.org.

Summer Program for Students in Puppet Theater in Japan

The Japanese Studies Program at the University of Missouri has prepared an opportunity for American college and university students to receive training this summer in traditional Japanese puppet theater, commonly known as ningyo joruri or Bunraku, with traditional troupes, each more than 300 years old. The programs will be in the form of internships in which the students spend about nine weeks training with one of the troupes and participating in a performance or performances at the end of the summer. Students will be able to use their free time for exploring Japan locally or further afield. Three to six hours of independent study credit will be available for the internship for those who want it. Information: http://asianinterstage.com/summer2008japan/.

The costs for the program are relatively low. The number of slots for non-Missouri students is limited, but applications from interested students from other colleges and universities will be considered. Students at any level of Japanese are welcome to apply. Participants in this program need to be thoughtful, self-motivated, responsible students who want to explore a community and who can enjoy a summer in a small city without a teeming expat crowd or any nightlife to speak of. Alumni of the summer training programs in Japan are eligible to audition to perform with Bunraku Bay Puppet Troupe, which performs traditional Japanese puppetry around the U.S. The troupe gave three performances at the Smithsonian Institution in April 2007 and at the Kennedy Center in 2005. Repertoire includes Kotobuki Shiki Sanbaso, Yaoya Oshichi, Hidakagawa Iriaizakura, Keisei Awa no Naruto, and other pieces. Recent tours have taken the troupe to the University of Chicago, as well as Indiana, Maine, Texas, Virginia, Florida, Kansas, and Missouri. For information about bringing Bunraku Bay to your institution to perform and/or to offer a lecture/demonstration/workshop, please write to the troupe's director, J. Martin Holman: holmanma@missouri.edu. www.bunraku.org/.

Japan Studies Program (JSP) at Tokyo International University (TIU)

The Japan Studies Program (JSP) at Tokyo International University (TIU) is a one- to two-semester Study-Abroad homestay program open to English-speaking students in all fields of study from accredited colleges and universities all around the world. The program was established in 1973 and has since hosted more than 500 undergraduate students from diverse institutions. Comprised of five schools and 7,000 students, both graduate and undergraduate, TIU is located in Kawagoe City about 35 minutes by train from downtown Tokyo. The University's location allows for easy access to the best of this major metropolis, while enjoying the benefits of a more natural, rural setting; allowing JSP participants to easily explore both the modern and traditional aspects of Japan. The Japan Studies Program is designed for students who want to experience full immersion and acquire first-hand knowledge of Japan. Living with a host family, students will be able to join in a Japanese family's daily life while exponentially improving their language skills. In addition, the program offers intensive Japanese language classes (required), elective courses on Japanese culture taught in English, and various opportunities to experience Japanese language and culture through a variety of field trips and excursions. More information: www.tiu.ac.jp/jsp/. Contact: jsp@tiu.ac.jp.

Temple University Offers American University Degree in Japan

In February 2005, Temple University’s Japan Campus (TUJ) became the first, and still only, foreign university to be recognized by Japan’s Ministry of Education. With this recognition, TUJ is in the unique position of being a fully accredited branch campus of an American university—Temple University in Philadelphia—while being accorded a status equivalent to that of Japanese universities.

Among the many benefits of TUJ’s recognition is an ability to sponsor visas for overseas students. This means that these students can now come to Tokyo to start, and complete, a full U.S. degree program. At TUJ, they can study Japanese language/culture, Asian studies, economics/business, communication, and a number of other disciplines, and all these studies can be done in English.

Students have the option of completing their entire degree at TUJ or they can transfer to the Temple University main campus or any other North American institution. They can also study at about a dozen Temple and Temple-affiliated study abroad programs around the world. Further, TUJ graduates are eligible to apply to graduate and professional schools in Japan, the United States, and elsewhere.

If you or your students are interested in learning more about TUJ, you may contact TUJ’s Overseas Admissions at oa@tuj.ac.jp. You can also learn more about scholarship opportunities for high school students and find other information at www.tuj.ac.jp.

Japanese M.A. Program at Arizona State University

The Department of Languages and Literatures in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University offers a graduate program leading to a Master of Arts degree in "Asian Languages and Civilizations—Japanese." The program is designed to prepare students not only for further academic training but also for jobs dealing with Japan as well as for entrance to professional schools in such fields as law, business, or journalism. It aims to enroll students who see a higher level of understanding of the language and culture of Japan as a valuable asset to a professional career, as well as students who want eventually to pursue doctoral studies.

The Japanese faculty at ASU includes Professors Anthony H. Chambers (Japanese language, literature, and theater; literary translation), Etsuko Obata Reiman (Japanese linguistics, language pedagogy, use and transformation of Chinese characters in Japan), and J. Timothy Wixted (Japanese language and literature, Japanese Sinology).

Application may be made at any time. An application form and list of guidelines are available at www.asu.edu/graduate. 1) Applicants must have completed a bachelor's degree and the equivalent of a Japanese major (24 credit hours at the 300-400 level) by the date of matriculation and have a minimum grade point average of 3.25 (on a 4.00 scale) during the last two years of work leading to the bachelor's degree. 2) All degree candidates must have spent at least nine continuous months in a Japanese-language environment within four years of completing the program. Applications are therefore welcome from those who have already spent time in such an environment, with study-abroad programs or business enterprises, or with such organizations as the JET program, missionary societies, or government agencies. 3) Degree candidates must complete a minimum of thirty hours of graduate-level work. Courses required of all candidates will include Bibliography and Research Methods, Advanced Classical Japanese, Japanese Language and Linguistics, and at least one Seminar. Each candidate will choose the remaining courses in consultation with his or her advisor and Program Committee. 4) In place of a comprehensive examination, each candidate is required to write either a research or a translation thesis. Either type of thesis is intended to demonstrate the synthesis of intellectual insights and actual experience that every candidate is expected to achieve.

Contact: Professor Gary Tipton, Dept. of Languages and Literatures, ASU, P.O. Box 870202, Tempe AZ 85287-0202. Tel.: 480/965-2520. gary.tipton@asu.edu. www.asu.edu/graduate. Information on financial assistance: gradaid@asu.edu or www.asu.edu/graduate/financial.

MA Program in Adult Language Learning

The new Master of Arts degree program in Adult Language Learning (MAALL) at Michigan State University is specifically designed for students who seek a career in the foreign language learning and teaching of adults. Unique nationally in its focus on adult language learning, the program is suitable particularly for students who prefer more professional and practical content and less linguistics or literature and language content. Students enrolled in this program will prepare to contribute and adapt to rapidly maturing possibilities in computer-assisted instruction and internet-based distance instruction. Requirements include courses in second language learning and teaching, linguistics, and the structure of the language of specialization. Students may choose to write a thesis or take an examination. The languages of specialization to be offered in the MAALL program are Japanese and German. For more information, deadlines, and admission requirements, visit www.msu.edu/~linglang/maall.htm or contact Prof. Mutsuko Endo Hudson at hudson@msu.edu.

NCOLCTL's Mentor Teachers Program

The National Council of Organizations of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL) invites teachers of the Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs) to participate in the Mentor Teacher Program. Both experienced LCTL teachers as well as novice teachers and those who have not had the opportunity to undergo formal teacher training and would like to engage in a regular pedagogical exchange with an experienced teacher of their LCTL are encouraged to participate in this pilot project

In this pilot program, the mentee, a novice teacher, is paired up with a seasoned mentor teacher who advises the mentee on pedagogical and linguistic questions, provides information on materials availability and their pedagogical merit, on curriculum design, testing strategies, etc. The mentor teacher may also serve as the mentee's professional counselor. The exchange with the mentor teacher may remain confidential, if so requested by the mentee.

If you are a LCTL teacher and would like to participate in the Mentor Teacher Program either as a mentee or as a mentor teacher, please contact Dr. Barbara Mozdzierz at mozdzier@gwis2.circ.gwu.edu, tel. (202) 994-0930, fax (202) 994-0171, or via regular mail at Dept. of German & Slavic, The George Washington University, 2130 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052. Please specify the LCTL you (plan to) teach, where and for how long you have taught, and whether you wish to be considered to be a mentor teacher or a mentee.

High School Scholarships to Japan

Youth For Understanding (YFU) International Exchange has 50 scholarships available for high school students interested in studying in Japan in the summer. This special program, Nichibei Kouryu, provides scholarship money to students providing a home and/or identifying other host families in the U.S. for incoming Japanese students. Each host family the student identifies here can provide the student with scholarship monies to study in Japan. For applications and futher information, contact Youth For Understanding, 3501 Newark Street, NW, Washington, DC 20016-3199. Call 1-800-TEENAGE toll-free of visit the web site at www.yfu.org.

Certification Program in K-12 Japanese

The School of Education in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill offers Master of Arts in Teaching degree for K-12 Japanese initial teacher licensure. This is a twelve-month full-time program built on partnerships between the public school and the university. For program and application information, visit www.unc.edu/courses/educ180/MAT.html or contact: Dr. Ryuko Kubota, (919) 962-2523, rkubota@email.unc.edu.

CET Kyoto Intensive Language and Internship Program

CET Academic Programs announces that its Kyoto Intensive Language and Internship Program is off to a successful start this term. The program offers a comprehensive experience to help students fully take advantage of their time abroad, including intensive language classes, homestays, group activities, and, for intermediate and advanced students, an internship with a Japanese company. For the first half of the term, all students take Japanese language classes at the Kyoto International Center of Languages (KICL). Current CET students are taking 16 hours per week of intensive Japanese classes. During the second half of the term, beginning students continue their language study at KICL, while intermediate and advanced students participate in an internship with companies in Kyoto. CET works with a partner, the Science Center International Corporation, to arrange internships to fit each student's skills and interests. Companies from a number of fields have expressed interest in hosting CET interns, including an economics newspaper, a multimedia company, a consulting firm, and an education organization.

CET strongly encourages students to take advantage of the rich cultural and historical environment of Kyoto and the surrounding area. To help them do so, weekend group activities are planned throughout the term, as well as shorter excursions during the week. Examples include watching sumo in Osaka, a trip to Nara, a bunraku performance, hiking Mount Hiei, cormorant fishing, and visits to numerous temples around Kyoto. In addition, students are reimbursed by CET for the costs of cultural activities they undertake on their own. Contact CET at 800/225-4262, or by e-mail at cet@academic-travel.com. If you are planning a trip to Kyoto and would like to learn more about the program, the CET resident staff will be happy to arrange a visit.

Tufts University Japanese Teaching Education Program

Tufts University is receiving applications for its Masters of Arts in Teaching, for those wishing to teach Japanese language and culture at the elementary, middle, and secondary school levels. The School of Education seeks students with strong academic records who are interested both in the intellectual structure of their discipline and in working with young people. Previous academic work in education is not required for admission to the program. The M.A.T. program prepares people to meet the requirements of the Massachusetts Department of Education for advanced provisional certification, which is reciprocal in more than thirty states. Fellowships are available. Contact Charles Shiro Inouye, Director of the Japanese Program. Tel.: 617/627-2359. E-mail: cinouye@tufts.edu.