INSIDE... HE INTERVIEW • GCSE RESOURCE • NEW LIBRARY BOOKS

MADOVOLUME 22 • APRIL 2005

THE JAPAN FOUNDATIONLONDON LANGUAGE CENTRE NEWSLETTER

In March, the Japan Foundation’s JapaneseLanguage Institute in Urawa marked its 15thanniversary with an event called Nihongo deHanashimasenka? (Let’s Speak in Japanese).This included a panel discussion on what itmeans to learn and teach Japanese, a forumto present the results of the Urawa Survey2003, an exhibition of classroom picturesfrom around the globe and a display ofJapanese language related materialspublished by the Japan Foundation. We arevery grateful to all those of you whocontributed photos to represent the UK.

The Japanese Language Institute, Urawa, wasset up as an affiliated organisation of theJapan Foundation in 1989, in order tosupport Japanese language educationoverseas. The Institute runs a wide variety ofprogrammes in the three main areas ofteacher training, resource production andinformation provision. Among the trainingcourses there are several which provide theopportunity for non-native teachers toimprove their Japanese teaching methodologyand language proficiency, as well as todeepen their knowledge of Japanese cultureand life. Since 2000, 21 UK-based teachers ofJapanese have benefited from suchprogrammes. Participants have described theirstay at Urawa as an unforgettable experience.

Among the many resources created by theInstitute is Minna no Kyozai, a collection ofmore than 10,000 teaching materials, nowavailable through an English site. Developedand maintained by the Teaching ResourcesDivision, Minna no Kyozai contains a wealthof classroom activities which can be searchedby objective, skill and type. There is also aseries of grammar notes and even a photobank containing more than 7000 photographsand pictures, many of them accompanied byvoice recordings. If you have not alreadydone so, we hope you will make the most ofthis comprehensive teaching resource, which

can be found at http://momiji.jpf.go.jp/kyozai/English/.

During the 15 years since the Institute wasestablished, the UK has seen a remarkableincrease in Japanese language provision.From only four in the 1980s, there are nownearly 50 universities offering Japanese.Even more dramatic has been the expansionin the secondary sector – from a merehandful of pioneering schools in the 1980s,there are now more than 300 teachingJapanese to almost 10,000 pupils. As Urawacelebrates its 15th birthday, Japanese iseven beginning to be taught at UK primaryschools in a systematic way, throughinitiatives such as Ready Steady NihonGO. Letus hope that Japanese language educationin the UK will continue to flourish across allsectors in the 15 years to come.

Urawa celebrates 15th anniversary

Japanese learning around the world on display at Urawa

In January, seven senior teachers fromsecondary and primary schools attended theJFLLC’s Head Start course, designed toprovide an intensive introduction to theJapanese language, as well as an insightinto issues specific to the teaching of thesubject at school level.

The intensive three-day course included abasic introduction to all four skills as well asopportunities for participants to put theirnewly-acquired knowledge to the test,during a typical Japanese lunch at a nearbyrestaurant and a buffet to which guests fromthe UK-Japan world were invited.

Among this year’s participants was JoanneMetcalfe, ICT Co-ordinator for the MFLDepartment at Haygrove School andLanguage College in Bridgwater, Somerset,

who plans to introduce Japanese as part ofthe school’s primary outreach work thissummer. She described the course as‘brilliant’ adding: “I feel very privileged tohave participated and can’t believe the levelwe have reached in such a short time.”

Gareth Seddon is Language College Directorand Assistant Head Teacher at Noel-BakerCommunity School and Language College inDerby, which made a commitment to introduceJapanese as part of its Language College bidlast year. He said, “This course was exactlywhat I wanted. I will now be much betterinformed when recruiting teachers of Japanesebecause I know what the basic issues are. Ialso found it fascinating to learn the script,which felt like discovering the Rosetta Stonethat unlocks the code of the language.”

After three years, the time has come to return to Japan and takeup a new assignment there. I would like to take thisopportunity to express my gratitude for your support andfriendship over the years, which has made working togetherwith you to promote Japanese language education in the UKsuch an enjoyable experience. From the very beginning of my

service here in Britain, the enthusiasm for teaching andlearning Japanese shown by every teacher and student has

amazed and encouraged me enormously. I feel particularlyfortunate to have been involved in many developments in Japanese teaching, suchas the ever more active BATJ and JLC, and the bright appearance of primaryJapanese. My time here has been very rewarding, and enriched by wonderfulpartnerships with many colleagues and organisations. I hope that we will one dayhave the opportunity to work together again. Mana Takatori Centre Director

Hello Mado readers! I’mHiromi Kijima, the newChief JapaneseLanguage Advisor atthe JFLLC. I haveworked with many

people in the field ofJapanese language

education both in Japan (at the Japanese-Language Institute, Urawa)and overseas. Now I’m really excited to behere in UK and would like to do my best tosupport both teachers and students.Yoroshiku onegaishimasu! Hiromi Kijima

The JFLLC’s programme of structured visits,Stepping Out, continues to provide supportto teachers of Japanese in the classroom.Visits can be made to institutions in anysector and are tailor-made to the particularneeds of pupils and teachers.

On February 1, Tatsuya Nakagome visitedBath University, to support the teachingof the MA in Interpreting and Translating,which includes a Japanese languageoption. During his visit, Nakagome senseigave a demonstration lecture on ‘Supportfor Japanese Language Teaching in theUK’, which the MA students interpreted inrotation.

Tatsuya Nakagome and Rochelle Matthewsvisited Haberdashers’ Aske’s School forGirls on February 4, to observe classestaught by Yuka Yokozawa. The main aim ofthe visit was to introduce the Tobuwebsite to Year 5 students as well as toprovide support and advice to the schoolon plans to expand the teaching ofJapanese in the future. During the visit,Nakagome sensei led a popular session onkarate with a Year 3 class, while Rochelleintroduced Year 5 students to the Tobuwebsite. Yuka was delighted to see herpupils enjoying the on-line resources,which she hopes to use again in the future.

To request a Stepping Out visit or to make an appointment to see our Advisors,contact the Centre. Visits depend on staffavailability.

The primary Japanese course Ready Steady NihonGO,developed by Japan 21 and the JFLLC, has nowcompleted its second pilot phase.

Between January and April, six schools in London andone in Hove introduced the ten-unit course, which hasbeen revised and improved in response to feedback from

the first pilot phase last year.

The schools that participated last term were: Moss Hall Junior Schoolin Finchley, Eastcote Primary School in Welling, Eltham College JuniorSchool in Mottingham, Meadlands Primary School in Richmond,Arnhem Wharf Primary School in the Isle of Dogs, Hampton Hill JuniorSchool in Hampton and St Andrews C of E Primary School in Hove.

Ready Steady NihonGO is designed to be delivered by a class teachertogether with a Japanese native-speaker, supported by specially-created resources. At the Evaluation Session held on March 17,teachers commented on the positive impact the course had had ontheir pupils and the extent to which it had stimulated their interest

in a different language and culture.Once the course has been revisedagain based on the latest feedback, itwill be made available to schoolsnationwide this autumn.

In another exciting development, thecourse, modified so as to be delivered bynon-speakers of Japanese, will be usedwith Year 6 classes in nine schools around theUK as part of the ‘Discovering Language Project’, aSecondary Heads Association project funded by the Esmee FairbairnFoundation with the aim of developing language awareness as a basisfor future learning. Peter Downes, who leads the initiative, said: “Weare delighted to be able to incorporate Ready Steady NihonGO into thepilot, which involves introducing five different languages over twoyears. We hope that this experience will not only enhance primarypupils’ language acquisition skills but will also give them theconfidence and motivation to study languages at secondary level.”

Ready Steady NihonGO!

Stepping OutGETTING A HEAD START IN JAPANESE

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SPECIAL FEATURE ON HIGHER EDUCATION PAGE 3

What is the significance of Japanesebeing designated as a subject ofnational strategic importance?One of the key aspects is that it reflects anawareness that it is not good for courses tobe cut without any consideration of whatimpact this might have on the nationalinterest. Previously, nobody was thinkingabout the future of the subject or the futureneeds of the UK for specialists in Japanese.So I think this is a first step towards a morecoherent national strategy for Japaneselanguage and studies, which is a verypositive development.

What issues have been facing JapaneseStudies in the past 5-10 years?In general, languages are more expensive toteach, and this is particularly the case withJapanese. In the past, most of our studentshave come with no prior experience of thelanguage and have to be taught to a highlevel of fluency in four years, whichinevitably requires intensive teaching. Withhistory you can put 200 or even more first-

year students in a lecture, whereas forJapanese, we teach groups of 10 to 15 forup to 10 hours a week. One problem hasbeen that the funding does not reflect this.The other factor which affects Japanese isthe year abroad. European languagedepartments can often send their studentsout to Europe – which is close and relativelycheap – on work placements, whereas ourstudents still need intensive teaching and sothey go out to Japan and study full time,which makes the cost higher, particularlybecause the Japanese department also has tobear the cost of teaching Japanese exchangestudents who come to the UK to fill theBritish students’ places.

What is your view on the recent UCMLreport?Its broad aims and objectives are importantand were clearly and correctly put. Myconcern is more in relation to JapaneseStudies. Firstly, the report uses old figuresfrom 1998-2001 and secondly, they are solelybased on the total number of students takingJapanese at any level and regardless of howfew hours a week they were studying. Ananalysis based purely on numbers masks theboom in specialist intensive courses and sofalsely gives the impression that the subjectis in decline. In fact, although I have nodoubt that the overall number of peopletaking Japanese courses has dropped, manystudents would have been taking tastercourses for only a few hours a week. In themeantime, the core centres which teachJapanese intensively in an academic contexthave experienced a significant rise innumbers. So the figure of a 27% drop instudents quoted by the report disguises theactual strength of Japanese language studies.

What positive developments havethere been?The positive developments include a hugeincrease in Japanese at single and jointhonours level. Figures obtained fromcolleagues in the field show thatapplications for Japanese have risendramatically. At SOAS, they went up bynearly 300% between 2001 and 2004; Leedsdoubled its intake in 2004 over 2003 andapplications for entry 2005 are already 40%higher than this time last year; Sheffield hasalso experienced a similar rise in applicationsin 2004-05 compared to the previous year.

The developmentof Japaneselanguage atprimary andsecondary levelis alsoimportant

because it will help toembed the subject more firmly. In the

past, Japanese has been subject to trends offashion but as it continues to develop atprimary and secondary levels, this will buildup a much stronger base for long-termrecruitment.

What impact will the increase inschool learners have on universities?Although I think there will always be a largenumber of students who want to take ab initiocourses, universities are certainly aware of theneed to provide challenging and worthwhileinstruction for the increasing number ofpeople with prior knowledge of Japanese. As aresult, many centres now offer a slightlydifferent first year programme. Pupils whohave already studied Japanese at school canalso spend more time reading and studyingabout the academic context of Japan as wellas the language itself.

In what way have courses in JapaneseStudies developed?There is more flexibility and universities areemphasising the academic content more –many modules on history, politics, economicsand literature are now taught in Japanese aswell as English. And there is quite a broadvariety of options, with a shift towards themodern and contemporary. Film is verypopular for example, and as part of myJapanese historical text class, we are readingmanga from the 1930s.

How could the current issues facingJapanese Studies be tackled?Firstly, there is a need for a decision abouthow much Japanese Studies the UK needsand at what level. Then we should berealistic about how much it costs, and thefunding bands for higher education shouldbe more reflective of the true cost ofteaching the subject. I hope that Clarke’sinitiative will lead to the development of acoherent national strategy for Japanese,which would help to create more stability forthe subject in the future.

Japanese Studies at Higher Education

Last December, in a letter to theHigher Education Funding Council forEngland (HEFCE), the then Educationand Skills Secretary, Charles Clarkelisted Japanese among the courseswhich should be considered to be of‘national strategic importance’.

Following this positive developmentfor Japanese, the University Councilof Modern Languages (UCML) issuedthe National Languages Strategy inHigher Education on 24 February.According to this report, the numberof students taking Japanese at UKuniversities has fallen by 27%.However, data from core centres ofJapanese Studies suggest that ifanything, admissions have risensignificantly in the last few years.

In order to find out more about theissues currently facing JapaneseStudies at UK universities, we spoketo John Weste, who is a Lecturer inJapanese Studies at Leeds University.

University students enjoying Japanese

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PAGE 4 TEACHER’S PAGE

Hello, everybody. My name isHiromi Kijima and I am the newChief Advisor here at the JFLLC.I’m glad to be involved in creatingthe Teachers’ Pages from this issueand I’d like to make them usefuland enjoyable for both teachersand students of Japanese in theUK. Dozo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.The content of this issue’sTeachers’ Pages is a readingexercise especially designed forGCSE. There are many languagestructures from the GCSE syllabusin the passage which I hope willbe useful for revision. Oncestudents have understood thepassage, it could be used todevelop their writing and speakingskills. Gambatte kudasai!

Reading Comprehension for GCSE

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AimsTo practise reading comprehension

To revise language patterns for GCSE incontext

To learn about an aspect of Japanese dailylife (Part I on page 5) and compare it topupils’ own experience

To enable pupils to describe their ownjourneys by train, bus etc or being at astation (Part II)

LevelGCSE

ProcedureGive pupils a copy of the worksheet on page5. Set a time limit for them to read thepassage and answer the comprehensionquestions (see below for model answers).

To use the exercise as exam practice forGCSE, translate the questions and answersinto English.

Pupils should then try to fill in the gaps inPart II, using the words hidden in theillustration of the train (see page 5).

ExtensionAsk pupils to write a short paragraph ontheir own favourite form of transport, usingHiroko’s essay as a model.

Organise a class discussion on the differentforms of transport in the UK and Japan,referring to distinctive features of Japanesetransport (see background notes below).

Further related exercises can be found on theJFLLC website (see www.jpf.org.uk/language).

Background notesIn the Tokyo rush hour, trains get socrowded that staff are employed to pushcommuters into carriages – wearing whitegloves of course!

You will often see people reading manga inJapanese trains – but the readers are just aslikely to be adults as children.

Although mobile phones are ubiquitous inJapan, they must be turned off or switchedto ‘silent’ mode (‘manner’ mode in Japanese)when travelling on public transport.

Though once unthinkable, you can nowsometimes see people doing their makeup intrains – this still tends to shock the oldergeneration, however.

back

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Structures Answers to page 5 questions

*In this context, the meaning is: I hear/heard that. This structure is not included in the GCSE syllabus.

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PAGE 6 NEWS UPDATE

BATJ UpdateThe British Association for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language(BATJ) is an organisation set up to support and promote Japaneselanguage teaching in the UK, particularly at higher education level.

The Association’s Spring Conference, co-organised with the JapanFoundation London Language Centre, was held from March 20 to 21.The event focused on the theme of Action Research for Learners andfeatured speeches by Dr Richard Smith from the University ofWarwick, Dr Michiko Sasaki from Obirin University in Japan and DrSteve Mann from the University of Birmingham. There was also apresentation on the Common European Framework for Languages byKazumi Tanaka from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

Another recent initiative is a new Japanese Speech contest forUniversity Students, co-organised with the Japan Foundation. Thecontest will be held on January 28, 2006 at the University ofLondon’s SOAS. Eight finalists will be selected on the basis oftelephone interviews, to give speeches live at the Finals. Look out forfurther details on the BATJ website. It is hoped that the speechcontest will promote Japanese language education in highereducation as well as raise public awareness of the importance ofJapanese language learning in the UK.

BATJ’s 8th Annual Conference will take place at Cardiff Universityfrom September 2 to 3. The keynote speaker will be Dr Yukiko Hatasafrom the University of Iowa. For enquiries and bookings, pleasecontact the Conference Organiser Kyoko Yuri at Cardiff University on029 2087 6565 or by email: Yurik@cardiff.ac.uk.

To find out more about BATJ’s activities, please visit www.batj.org.ukor contact the Chair: Kazuki Morimoto, Department of East AsianStudies, University of Durham, Elvet Hill House, Durham DH1 3TH; tel: 0191 334 5334; fax: 0191 334 5331; email: Kazuki.Morimoto@durham.ac.uk.

JLC NewsThe main focus for the Committeeover the last few months has beenthe JLC Japanese Speech Contest forSecondary Schools (Nihongo Cup),which this year is being co-organisedwith the Japanese Embassy and theJapan Foundation. More than 105 entrieswere received from 15 schools around theUK and the screening panel had a hard timeselecting six finalists from each category. This year, a Key Stage 5category was added and, thanks to collaboration with theJapanese Speech Awards (JSA), the winner in this group will begiven the opportunity to travel to Japan to participate in the JSAFinals and Cultural Programme. Finals Day is coming up soon andwe look forward to seeing many of you there. We are delightedthat Dr Lid King, National Director for Languages, will attend asthe Guest of Honour. The speech contest is now set to be aregular event, so we hope that even more schools will decide toparticipate in the future.

At a meeting held last October, existing members of theCommittee were asked to continue in their roles for a furtheryear. If any Mado readers, who are also members of ALL, areinterested in joining the Committee and playing an active part,the JLC would be delighted to hear from you.

As part of the Association for Language Learning, JLC aims torepresent the views of Japanese language teachers at schools andcolleges in the UK. The Committee organises events to promotethe teaching of Japanese and also develops teaching resources. To find out more, log on to the website at www.jlcweb.org.uk orcontact the Chair David Farrell: (rdfarrell@aol.com; tel: 028 9332 2610).

Liverpool John Moores University

Japanese is available with a wide range ofcombinations including Tourism andLeisure, TEFL, EFL, and as a ‘single field’.The approach is practical and dynamic,with an emphasis on contemporaryaspects of Japan. Students are introducedto Japanese word-processing from day oneand a key feature of the course has beenkaraoke, which is taken as a serious partof Japanese culture and tested in the firstyear exam. Students do not have to begood singers, just willing to stand up andhave a go. They always say how useful ithas been – both during their year abroadand as graduates when working for orwith Japanese companies.

For their third year, students go to Japan.John Moores has links with seven

universities: from Kumamoto and Fukuokain the south, to Nagoya and Kanazawa incentral Japan, and Sapporo in the north.

In all years students have to give oralpresentations. On their return from Japanthey do a presentation of their ‘oraldossier’ – a study of something that hascaught their fancy in Japan. Exampleshave been:

Getting lost in Japan: taxis and streetnames.

Is HELLO KITTY taking over the world?Japanese ‘kawairasisa’.

Going down the drain: manhole covers ofold Kumamoto. To find out more about Japanese atLiverpool John Moores University, visithttp://cwis.livjm.ac.uk/lng/teaching/japanese/.

Japanese wasintroduced at Liverpool John

Moores University in 1990. The firstgraduates, in 1994, numbered four. Tenyears later in 2004, the first year intakewas over 40. To date, more than a hundredstudents have graduated in Japanese.

LIBRARY PAGE PAGE 7

In this issue, our Japanese Language Advisor RochelleMatthews reviews some of the recent additions toour library collection. Following a lively debate onthe jle-uk email discussion group about the bestway to teach script, we have decided to featuretwo books on this subject, written by authorsactive in the UK and Ireland. In response to the

growing interest in teaching Japanese to youngerpupils, we also introduce the Ohisama… connect!

series, which provides a complete programme of studyfor the primary level.

This term, the library will be closed on the followingdates: May 2 to 5 and 30, July 18 to 22 and August 29. Asthese dates are subject to change, please check the Librarypage of the website, or contact the Librarian, who can alsoanswer any other questions you may have about theLibrary. Tel: 020 7436 6698; Email: library@jpf.org.uk.

Teaching ScriptMotivating students to learn katakana can be a difficult task. Studentsoften recognise the need to master hiragana and are intrigued by kanjibut fail to tackle katakana with the same enthusiasm. And yet thepotential for pupils to extend their vocabulary through katakana is quitesignificant, since an estimated 15% of spoken Japanese and 80% oflanguage used in advertising is made up of katakana words. A masteryof katakana can also provide students with a sense of literacy in Japanas they walk the streets deciphering shop names, billboards and signs.

Katakana KantanUrsula Zimmermann The Linguistics Institute of Ireland2003 ISBN 0-946452-19-9

Katakana Kantan by UrsulaZimmermann is a great resource toincorporate into your teaching ofkatakana. It introduces all 46katakana syllables in 16 lessons ininnovative ways that appeal to andmotivate students. The workbookintroduces the script through basicsurvival skills such as reading a menu,shopping, writing one’s name, etc.Students are then presented with a variety of reading and writingtasks aimed at aiding acquisition, from basic crossword puzzles tocomprehension exercises using store floor guides, TV schedules, salesbrochures etc. Learning to handle authentic texts from this earlystage in their study of Japanese will motivate pupils and give themthe skills to move on to more advanced realia tasks.

The title of each lesson represents a country or place name,introducing katakana on a needs basis rather than in the order theyappear in the syllabary chart. Stroke order is shown and the workbookis designed to increase pupils’ vocabulary rapidly while providinginsights into Japan.

Look out for Hiragana Kantan, the next book in the series, due out soon.

Japanese Kana Workbook, Learning with ActivitiesMiyoko Yamashita, The University ofBirmingham, 2002 ISBN 0 780704 423589

Japanese Kana Workbook tackles the teachingof both the hiragana and katakanasyllabaries. It adopts a more traditionalapproach, introducing the basic Japanesephonetic system first through the use ofromaji. Worksheets and activities introducethe hiragana syllabary in the order that theyoccur in the chart before moving ontocombined, double consonant and long vowelsounds. Dakuten and handakuten charactersare taught at the same time as their originating character, eg: and

. Katakana is treated similarly, with an introduction to the basicchart. Voiced sounds, combined sounds and long vowel sounds aredealt with separately. A detailed section on writing loanwordsfeatures a step-by-step guide to converting English into Japanese,which will demystify a task that many pupils find daunting.

Whether used as a self-study workbook or to reinforce kana at thesecondary or tertiary level, this resource would extend a beginner’svocabulary and provide them with some insights into Japanesegeography and culture. Exercises develop from individual vocabularybuilding through to sentence level activities.

Ohisama…connect! Japanese language, directions and culturefor teachers and children

Mary Taguchi, Mingei Australia, 2000-2003

Book 1, Core ISBN 0646407376; Book 2: Sunbeams, part 1 ISBN 0-9579401-0-6Book 2: Sunbeams, part 2 ISBN 0-9579402-2-2;Book 3: Clouds, part 1 ISBN 0-9579401-3-0;Book 3, Clouds, part 2 ISBN 0-9579401-4-9

The Ohisama Connect series provides acomplete programme of study designed forthe primary classroom, although it would notbe out of place at lower secondary level.Mary Taguchi, through her experience-basededucational approach, provides a clearframework which can link to additionaltopics and cultural connections. The resourceset comprises three interconnectedcomponents: Core, Sunbeams and Clouds.There are five books in the series and aClouds songs CD. The series is colour codedfor ease of use, with coloured Teachers Notesand white photocopiable pages providingactivities, games and flashcards forclassroom use.

Reflecting the process of a child’s naturallanguage acquisition, the course is designedin a flexible way that allows a teacher to

order the components to cater to theneeds and interests of the class. It isrecommended that teachers begin withthe Core component, however.

Core, the first book inthe series,representsthe sun, andprovides aframework forlearningessentialJapanese fordaily life.Communication inthe targetlanguage is firmlyestablished at thislevel throughgreetings, commands,the weather and other classroom Japanese.All vocabulary is introduced using Japanesescript, with characters presented in anauthentic context.

Once pupils have developed some basic dailylanguage, Sunbeams allows them to expandtheir vocabularies and structures furtherthrough topic-based acquisition. Topicsinclude and .

Clouds is the floating component that ties inthe culture, history and traditions of Japan.Used at the lower secondary level, the Toysand Crafts section in Clouds part 1 providessome inspiring cross-curricular activities thatcould be incorporated into a Japan Dayinvolving the whole school. Pupils andteachers could use recycled newspapers tomake daruma from kaminendo (paper clay),prepare tasty treats from the Cooking sectionin Clouds part 2, or celebrate Matsuri withone of the many activities in the Festivalssection of Clouds part 1.

Whether it’s a little ray of sunshine or acloud burst in the form of a cultural insightyou require, this series has a something tooffer any class in this age range.

We congratulate Urawaon its 15th anniversary(see page 1) and hopethat many moreUK-basedteachers ofJapanese willbenefit from the courses offered by thiscentre of Japanese teaching excellence.Since the debate about Japanese teaching inthe UK has recently turned towards thetertiary sector, we asked John Weste ofLeeds University for his views on some ofthe current issues (see interview on page 3).The higher education focus continues in Atthe Chalkface on page 6, where you can alsofind the latest news about the Nihongo Cup,as well as details of a new joint initiativebetween BATJ and the JFLLC - a speechcontest for university students of Japanese,due to be launched in January 2006. Thisissue’s Teacher’s Pages, created by theCentre’s new Chief Advisor Hiromi Kijima,will give your pupils plenty of reading andcomprehension practice as they explorepublic transport in Japan. We hope that youwill take the time to complete the enclosedsurvey, which will help us to design pages 4 and 5 in a way that most suits your needs.

BRUSH UP YOUR

JAPANESE!

Give your language skills a boost by

signing up for the JFLLC’s Language

Refresher course. Designed for non-

native speaking teachers of

Japanese in the secondary sector,

the course will increase your

confidence and fluency in all four

skills in a supportive small-group

atmosphere. This year’s Refresher

Course takes place from Monday 18

to Friday 22 July. All levels are

catered for and the course is free.

Call the JFLLC on 020 7436 6698

for further details and to request

an application form.

PAGE 8 EVENTS & NOTICEBOARD

MADOEditor: Caroline Lewis • Design: François Hall

Published byTHE JAPAN FOUNDATION

LONDON LANGUAGE CENTRERussell Square House

10-12 Russell Square, London WC1B 5EHTelephone: 020 7436 6698

Fax: 020 7323 4888Website: www.jpf.org.uk

Enjoying calligraphyat Leicester AdultEducation College'sFamily LearningCourse, featured inthe last issue ofMado.

JLC PRIMARY WORKSHOP Tuesday 14 June

York St John, 4.30 – 6.30pmPractical workshop for Primary schoolteachers with or without Japanese, as

part of the York St John RegionalSupport Group programme.

Enquiries: JFLLC 020 7436 6698

ALL’S LANGUAGE WORLDFriday 1 – Sunday 3 July

University of Kent at CanterburyThe Association for Language Learning’s

Annual Conference.This year's conference includes 3

sessions specific to the teaching ofJapanese: Exploring Tobu and a

Japanese taster session, by RochelleMatthews (JFLLC), Introducing IT

Resources for the teaching of Japanese,by Tomoyo Mawhinney, and Ready

Steady NihonGO! Japanese at KS2, byKatherine Donaghy (Japan 21) andKornelia Achrafie (JFLLC). For more

details visit www.all-languages.org.uk orcontact 01788 546443.

SUMMER REFRESHER COURSEMonday 18 - Friday 22 July

The JFLLC’s annual language refreshercourse for non-native speaking teachersof Japanese, which caters for Beginner,

Intermediate and Advanced levels.See noticeboard for more details.

BATJ 8TH ANNUAL CONFERENCEFriday 2 – Saturday 3 September

Organised together with the JFLLC, theconference will be held at CardiffUniversity. See page 6 for further

details. For enquiries and bookings,please contact the Conference Organiser

Kyoko Yuri at Cardiff University on 029 2087-6565 or by

email: Yurik@cardiff.ac.uk.

Please visit our website for more up-to-date information on courses and events:

www.jpf.org.uk/language.Unless otherwise stated, all events takeplace at the Japan Foundation London

Language Centre in Russell Square House.Please call us on 020 7436 6698 for

further details. The JFLLC reserves the right to cancelcourses in the event of insufficient

take-up.