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BREEZE #97

NOVEMBER, 2015: BREEZE ISSUE #97
A FREE MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER FOR FRIENDS OF JAPAN & TEACHERS OF
JAPANESE

TRAINING PROGRAM
FOR JAPANESELANGUAGE TEACHERS
DR. SUEYON SEO
Japanese Lecturer
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Dr. Sueyon Seo (Japanese Lecturer, Universityof Wisconsin-Milwaukee) participated in our“Short-term(Summer) Teacher TrainingProgram” at the Japan Foundation-Japanese Language Institute, Urawa.
The two months, more specifically 7 weeks of stay in Japan changed me significantly. The
program provided an intensive course for Japanese language, pedagogy, and culture. My
favorite was the culture program including various fields such as kabuki performance, tea
ceremony, home stay, how to wear kimono, calligraphy, and most of all, Kansai area trip.
Amazingly, the program covers almost everything of cultural aspect you can think of. Every
event was so valuable and magnificent. You can literally participate to every activity that could
only be introduced in the books. You’ll never imagine how thrilling it was unless you try it
yourself.
I’ve been teaching Japanese in UWM (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) since I came toAmerica for study in 2005. However, I’ve never lived in Japan although I achieved level 1 JLPTand visited a couple of times for both business and pleasure. I love languages and I dare say
I’m pretty good at speaking in Japanese. However, when it comes to language teaching, fluent
speaking is not enough; you have to understand the culture of the target language andfurthermore, you should be able to appreciate it. At this point of view, my qualification lacks thePrivacy - Terms
crucial element: a real experience of living in Japan. No matter how hard I read books about

culture and study it myself in America, it cannot be authentic and I had less confidence in what
I said about Japan. Fortunately, teacher training by Japan Foundation saved me from long time
pain-in-my-neck problem.
If you’re aware that your Japanese language is up to a certain level, you should participate tothis teacher training program. It helps you extend your language ability and provides you withideas to make your classroom fun and interesting. Some people think 7 weeks is too long and I
might get homesick and suffer stress due to the totally different culture for a long time.
However, after 7 weeks, I felt it was too short and I didn’t even want to leave Japan. You candecently and truly experience normal Japanese people’s way of everyday living through theprogram and I assure you, this experience will make your classroom more vivid and live.
In addition, it is expanding not only your cultural horizon but also your social network. You canmeet Japanese instructors from all over the world, exchange knowledge, and build a friendship.
This is priceless. I’ll never forget the time I’d been in Japan and hopefully, if it allows me, I canparticipate to the program sometime in the future.

Breeze #98

Breeze #97

Japanese Langauge Education Update 24

ACTFL 2015

2015 Teacher Training Program: Sueyon Seo

2015 J-LEAP Report: Ami Kaneko

2015 J-LEAP Report: Seiji Arai2015 JET-MIP Essay: Claire Endl2015 JET-MIP Essay: Dillon Evans

2015 JET-MIP Essay: Nicholas Gallitano

2015 JET-MIP Essay: Isabelle Joyce
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