I'm sure this was the fastest summer on record. I hope you accomplished a few more of the "to do's" on your list than I did!
Perhaps you finished a project that you'd like to report on at the next ATJ Seminar (in Chicago, March 22, 2001). Please note that the deadline for proposals has been moved forward this year to October 22, 2000.
And please announce another looming deadline to your students: applications for Bridging Scholarship are due October 4.
Elsewhere in this Newsletter you will find a copy of Vol. 1, No. 1, of a new e-newsletter on teaching and professional development published by the Professional Development Committee. If you would like to receive future editions of this e-newsletter, send a request to atj@colorado.edu. The first edition is already archived on the ATJ website, and future editions will be placed there for easy reference.
ATJ is launching a new project funded by the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission this fall. In collaboration with the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland, we will be surveying and assessing the language skills of a sampling of students in Ph.D. and other advanced degree programs. We hope to determine not only to what level of ability we are able to bring our most advanced students, but also to look at factors in the backgrounds of these students that enabled them to attain that level. This first study will be followed by an assessment of study abroad opportunities in Japan to see which program characteristics correlate with attainment of advanced level skills.
ATJ's Editorial Board continues to work with the National Foreign Language Center to categorize and enter selected Japanese learning and teaching materials into the LangNet database the NFLC is developing. The Board is currently targeting materials for reading skills de- velopment and professional development for teachers. We welcome your suggestions for appropriate materials for these purposes. The Board will be presenting the work accomplished so far at the ACTFL meeting in Boston this fall. Please plan to attend!
As always, the ATJ officers welcome your suggestions, questions, and input!
Laurel Rasplica Rodd, President