issue 3 Term 3: 22nd August 2011

iJapanese Newsletter
Published by iJapanese Language & Culture School

Autumn is a season for… 秋は○○の季節

End of Term
Event!
Please come along and join us
for Okonomi Yaki party atiJapanese!
Let’s enjoy making and eating
Okonomi yaki with some fungames!
All students are welcome tobring friends.
Date:
Time:
Place:Cost:
RSVP:

Noriko’s Thoughts

Finally the cold is letting up in Melbourne in Japan the heat is leaving them and making way
for autumn. This season offers the best weather for the year for doing just about anything.
Many sports games and art festivals are held in this autumn, so Japanese people often say‘Autumn is the best season for ….’
しょくよくあき‘ 食 欲 の秋’-‘Autumn is for eating’
どくしょあき‘読書の秋’-‘Autumn is for reading’Some people believe ‘Book Week’ may haveformed the Japanese habit of autumn
reading.

あき‘スポーツの秋’-‘Autumn is for sports’
げいじゅつ

あき

‘ 芸 術 の秋’-‘Autumn is for arts ‘Surprisingly we don’t have any otherexpressions to describe other seasons.
In Japan it’s generally said that…...
‘Autumn is for eating’ largely because innature animals start preparing themselves
for the winter days ahead by gatheringfood.
Japanese people eat more inAutumn than any other season and it’s also theharvesting season in Japan
when all the delicious foods
are in season.
‘Autumn is for reading’Reading a nice book during the warm
comfortable nights in Autumn while gazing
up at the stars is also why we say Autumn isa time to read.

‘Autumn is for sports’ during autumn it is
not so hot and not so cold. It’s said that weestablished sporting events after the Tokyo
Olympic games were held in Autumn of
1964.
‘Autumn is for art ‘ is thesame as spots, yet you canfocus on the delicate areas ofcreative ideas. Painting is aperfect
example of colourful vibrate
colours only found during theAutumn season.
According to a survey, most Japaneseimages of Autumn is foreating second to none,
followed by reading
then art. And lastlyfor sports.
How about you?
Do you startsomething new as
seasons change?

Autumn is also going season. The air isstimulating and the leaves have changedcolour. Magnificently tinged leaves of red
and yellow can be seen and many Japanese
enjoy this.
For me, speaking of autumn, this is ofcourse ’Autumn is for appetites’! There arerich, seasonal foods such as mushrooms,
Pacific Saury fish and rice.
Although we can get foods during the whole
year, seasonal foods provide great flavour
and are a more sustainable choice.

Important Information about Term 4 お知らせ
Our New Term 4 will commence from the26th of September and run until the 10th ofDecember.
In order to organise our new term schedule
we ask that you please confirm your nextterm scheduling with either Phillip orNoriko.
Contact Details:
0401 886 629 | info@ijapanese.com.auPlease note:
Tuesday the 1st of November is a public
holiday (Melbourne Cup). Consequently
there will not be any classes running on thisday.
We will replace these classes on theTuesday the 14th of December.
If you have any questions regarding theabove dates please contact your teacher.

Page 2 of 4

iJapanese Newsletter

Student’s Interview 生徒さんに聞く
With Jenny Webby— Please Make Sure —Entrance Door
Due to security at the main
entrance door, could you please
notify your teacher
when you are running late.
We are sorry for theinconvenience andappreciate yourunderstanding in this matter.

Cancelation System

Q:How long have you studied Japanese?
A: 5years
Q:Tell us a little about your life whilst living inJapan?
A: I worked at Tokyo DisneySea, singing

in a Broadway review show for 7months.
All of the Disney international
performers lived in a big studioapartment block one train station anda little bike ride from the park. It was
great fun and I met some wonderfulpeople, but as all of the Japanesecast members were fluent in English –I didn’t get to practice muchJapanese!

Q:Why do you learn Japanese?
A: Because I hope to one day get a little

better at it.
Q:What do you enjoy most about iJapanese
Language & Culture School?
A:Noriko-san!
Q:Learning at iJapanese, what makes it
different to other schools you have learntJapanese?

A: More conversation and less tests.
(a good thing!)

If you are unable to attend yourclass, we ask that you notify us
as soon as possible.

Q:What do you like the most about Japan?
A: The differences in culture, the people

Private Lessons;48 hours notification is requiredto reschedule lesson
within the same term.

Introducing Our New Teacher 新しい先生のご紹介Group lessons;
You will be able to rescheduleand join another group lesson orreschedule a private lesson at a
$15 rescheduling fee.
If you cancel a catch up lesson,
you are still required to pay forit.

PROMOTION
Where offering YOU
our current students
a promotion !!
All you need to do is introduce
a friend & you both receive
1hour Bonus Lesson!
[Conditions Apply]

and the food.

We are pleased to introduce our new teacher to iJapanese.
Mari sensee desu!
KonnichiwaHajimemashite.

My name is Mari Koshiba, and I am a newteacher at iJapanese. I have been
involved in teaching Japanese for 6 years
and have taught at a university, private
language schools, and a secondary school,
both in Australia and Japan.
Working as a teacher, I have met many
people and not only shared thoughts andideas, but also deepened myunderstanding of teaching a language tothose who have different goals.
Through my teaching experiences, I havegenerated the teaching philosophy thatlearning a language should provide
students with a ‘bridge’ to thereal-world. In order to build this bridge, I
have been able to actively integrate avariety of materials and Japanese
language into the curriculum so that theclassroom can foster a strong foundationin language skills and cultural knowledge
that students can actually utilise outside
the classroom.

In Australia, where there are students
with different cultural backgrounds, I
have developed diverse skills to design aneffective curriculum that can raise
students' intercultural competence.
My hometown is Utsunomiya, Tochigiprefecture, which is located above Tokyo.
You may have been to Nikko, which is thenorthern part of Tochigi, or have seen
photos of Saru (monkeys) bathing in hotsprings!
Utsunomiya is also famous for its delicious
Gyoza.
During my spare time, I enjoy reading,cooking and running along the Yarra
River. I also enjoy spending time at art
galleries and jazz bars.
Last but not least, I would like to show
my gratitude to Phillip and Noriko forallowing me to be apart of their school
and to share great experiences with thestudents.
I look forward to seeing you very soon!
Minasan, douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
(Pleased to meet you.)

iJapanese Newsletter

Culture Classes

Page 3 of 4

文化講座

iJapanese isn’t just about learning a language, but also about culture.
So we are now happy to announce our new cultural classes.

iCalligraphy Workshop
This workshop consists of 2 sessions.
First session, you will learn basic skills of calligraphy writing
while knowing the correct style of brush techniques and tool
usage from a professional calligrapher.
In the second session, you will create your own calligraphy art ona traditional Japanese fan or paper board to keep.
In particular you will be able to take home your tools to continue
practising calligraphy at home.
This means we will continue to be providing advance workshops toimprove your calligraphy skills.

Schedulesession 1: 13th Sep 6:00pm - 8:00pm
session 2: 20th Sep 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Price$85 (including calligraphy sets)$60 (only sessions)

Please tell us yourrecommendations!
We need your help…..
We would appreciate it if you
would tell about us any goodJapanese restaurants orwebsites.
Also, if you wish to participate
in our ‘Student’s Interview’,
please let us know.
info@ijapanese.com.au

These classes are also available !
Kanji Class

Origami Class

It is hard to learn Kanji, but Kanji has ameaning and structure. If you know its
structure you will find leaning kanji
becomes more enjoyable!!

Origami is the art of folding paper which isbeautiful and subtle craftsmanship.
Japanese people enjoy creating various
objects using coloured paper such asanimals and flowers.

For enquires about our new culture classes please ask your teacher or contact
us on 0401 886 629 or by email info@ijapanese.com.au

Let’s try cooking Japanese food!
日本料理をつくってみよう！
Introducing a Japanese cooking recipe which is easy to make and tastes great !

EBIMAYO(prawn with mayonnaise)

Ingredients for 2 serves:
160g Prawns (take off shell)
3-4 tbs Potato Starch
3 bunches Asparagus
A 2 tbs Milk
2 tbs Mayonnaise
1 tbs Tomato Ketchup
0.5tbs Sugar
A little lemon juice

Method:1. Put prawn with potato starch into aplastic bag and shake it lightly.
Tip: Don’t shake too much, just flip a fewtimes.
2.Place oil into the pan and cook theprawns till crisply.
3. Steam asparagus and put aside.
4. Mix A ingredients together and add
cooked prawns.
5. Serve prawn mixture topped withasparagus.

The Tsukiji market in Tokyo
is the world's largest fishmarket.
The term ‘karaoke’ means"empty orchestra" inJapanese.
Geisha means "person of thearts" and the first geisha
were actually men.
In the past men would shave
their heads to apologize.
On average, it takes about
7-10 years of intensive
training to become a fugu
(blowfish) chef. This training
may not be needed in thefuture as some fish farms inJapan are producing
non-poisonous fugu.

iJapanese Newsletter

Page 4 of 4

From Phillip フィルより

Questionnaire
Thank you for participating in
our previous questionnaire!
The feedback from you was
great and helped us a lot!
Along with this newsletter, youwill be given a new
Questionnaire!
We strongly ask that if you wish
to participate, please fill it inand return to us.
Any feedback, positive ornegative, will be gratefullyreceived and will help us tobuild a better and moreenjoyable school for the future.

iJapanese free service
for students!
Write a diary in Japanese!
日本語で日記を書こう！
And Noriko will complimentary
check your writing !
The best way to improve yourJapanese is to use it on a dailybasis.
We recommend writing a diaryin Japanese. It would help yourJapanese skill, not only writing,but also in speaking, listening
and reading.

Have you ever thought about the word
“Japan” and what it really means?

For example:

As some of you know in Kanji it’s 日本“Ni Hon” Ni meaning ‘sun’ and Hon
meaning ‘origin’ hence it’s meaning “Theland of the rising sun”.

This is ‘Yama’ which means Mountain.

Learning Japanese can be fun,learning to write Kanji also can be fun,but it also can be difficult to remember.
What if I was to tell you there is an easy
way to remember Kanji?

Now you can see the process of kanji
being created and its meaning andlearning about it will not only help you
remember but also help you tounderstand Kanji itself.

We all associate names with faces, right?
Imagery is what we use to remember
names, places, so why not kanji too?
Images associated with kanji isn’t
anything new, in fact learning about themeaning behind Kanji can be quite
interesting and will help you to better
remember it.

As of next Term we will be conducting
Culture Classes to better enrich yourknowledge of Japan and its language andCulture.
For more details please ask your teacher
or contact us on 0401 886 629.

From Noriko のりこよりI’ve been here for three & half years in
Melbourne, but I sometimes still struggle
with English.
It is very hard for Japanese people to findthe difference in the pronunciation of‘V’ and ‘B’ and also ‘R’ and ’L’.
We don't have ‘V’ pronunciation only ’B’
and this hiragana symbol‘ら’ sounds in
between ’la’ and ’ra’.
For me though, ’S’, ’SH’ and ’TH’ is very
hard as well. For example I find it
difficult to pronounce the differences
between ‘seat’ and ’sheet’.
One day, when I ordered ‘Three Lattes’

from a coffee shop, the shop staff gave
me a ’SOYA Latte’.
Another time, I was playing with myfriend’s nephew and his dog. I said to thedog ’Sit’, however because of mypronunciation, the 7 year-old boy wasvery surprised and said ’Oh! No! Noriko!
You are a bad girl!!’
Can you imagine what he heard??
You want
me to doWHAT???

Thanks ご挨拶
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our students for learning with us at
iJapanese Language & Culture School and we hope you have enjoyed learning Japanesewith us.
We are pleased to announce an increase in students and we are currently expanding ourresources so that we can make sure that our school continues to be the best inMelbourne.
We are looking forward to seeing all of you during the new term!

We are happy to help you
improve your Japanese!
iJapanese Language & Culture School
488 Bourke Street Melbourne 3000
Phone: 0401 886 629
E-Mail: Info@ijapanese.com.au
Website: www.ijapanese.com.au