Language, Culture, and Technology Institute in Japan

The Alliance of Associations of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ) and the Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa, sponsored a four-week Language, Culture, and Technology Institute in Japan during Summer 2006. Eighteen non-native-speaking teachers of Japanese in K-12 schools in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. received intermediate and advanced-level Japanese language instruction in an immersion environment; visited schools and other cultural sites; traveled to Nagano prefecture; collected authentic materials for classroom use; received training in the use of new media technologies; and collaborated in creating media-based materials (films, videos, computer programs) for use in their classrooms and for dissemination to colleagues.

The institute took place at the Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute in Urawa, Japan June 25–July 22, 2006. Project Director for the technology training section of the institute was Professor Yasu-Hiko Tohsaku of the University of California, San Diego.

Classroom materials created by participants in the institute will be compiled, presented at a session at the upcoming ACTFL conference in November, and archived online. They include multimedia projects on pop music, Japanese cell phones, food, careers and work, elementary school students’ lives, high school sports clubs, and rajio taisou. Similar materials created by participants in a previous summer institute can be viewed online at http://www.aatj.org/classroom/SummerInstitute2004/index.html.

Classroom Materials from AATJ Summer Institute Available Online

Classroom units and materials created by nine teachers who attended the Summer 2004 Language, Culture and Technology Institute in Japan, sponsored by the Alliance and the Japan Foundation, are now available online for use by any teacher. The materials range from films to PowerPoint presentations, and the themes range from ecology and garbage collection in Japan to pets, shrines, and popular culture. Also included is a Japanese version of "Family Feud." To view and download these materials, please visit www.aatj.org/classroom/SummerInstitute2004/index.html.

The following projects are offered via the website:

• Eco Life (PowerPoint and worksheets) by Patrick Bencke (Menomonie, Wisconsin).
• Places in Japan: 神社 (Shrine) and Wendy’s (Powerpoint with video clips and worksheet) by Anita Bieker (Redmond, Washington).
• Daily Life: Transportation (PowerPoint with video clips and worksheets) by Jaci Collins (Manitowoc, Wisconsin).
• Young People’s Popular Culture (PowerPoint and worksheets) by Lucinia Eubanks (Detroit, Michigan).
• Traveling in Tokyo (PowerPoint and worksheets) and Kappa (TPR Storytelling) (PowerPoint and worksheets) by Sandy Garcia (Forest Grove, Oregon).
• Watashi no Machi: Transportation and Buildings (DVD video) by Valerie Minakawa (Franklin Park, New Jersey); available by mail upon request as the file is too large to easily download.
• Cultural Understanding/Misunderstanding) (PowerPoint and worksheets) by Lucy Miyagawa (Davis, California).
• Rice in Japan (PowerPoint and worksheets) and Garbage and Recycling (PowerPoint and worksheets) by Jennifer Pedersen (Omaha, Nebraska).
• Pets (PowerPoint with video clips and worksheet) by Joanne Shaver (Williamsburg, Virginia).
• A Day in the Life: Verb Review (PowerPoint with worksheet) by Jessica Summers (Sierra Modre, California).