The Alliance of Associations of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ) is preparing for a summer institute in Makuhari, Japan, at which 12 Japanese language teachers from the U.S. will receive six weeks of culture, technology, and language training. The institute is co-sponsored by the National Institute of Multimedia Education, Japan, and it received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad program. The participants, selected from a wide field of applicants, are: Atsuko Ando-Portland, OR, immersion program at Richmond Elementary School; James Buoye-Demarest, NJ, Northern Valley High School; Noriko Cakmak-Philadelphia, PA, University of Pennsylvania; Kirsten Cais-Virginia Beach, VA, Cape Henry Collegiate (6-12); Tim Cornell-Columbia, SC, Pelion Elementary School; Joanna Hollis-Salinas, CA, Gavilan View Middle School; Noriko Koide-Astoria, NY, Nasau County high schools; Nicole Meckley-Manchester, CT, East Hartford-Glastonbury Elementary School; Kimiko Nakayama-Chicago, IL, New Trier High School; Jennifer Pedersen-Omaha, NE, Crestview School of International Studies (K-6); Kyoko Shoji-Van Nuys, CA, Note Dame High School; Michael Van Krey-Evanston, IL, Evanston Township High School.

The participants will be in Japan from June 16 to July 27. During the six-week institute they will collaborate with teachers from schools in Japan, develop media-based curriculum units for their classrooms, visit elementary and secondary school classrooms, and learn about ways to take advantage of new technology in their language teaching. The work they produce at the institute will be made available via the Internet to other teachers; watch this space in the fall for a full report.