The Japan Foundation Language Center, Quarterly Newsletter
Number Three, June 1993

The Current State of U.S. Pre-Collegiate Japanese Language Education: A
Statistical Update From Year End '92 to Mid-'93

Japanese Language Learning in the United States:
Statistics from the Most Current Sources
appeared in the December issue of The Breeze.
Since then, The Japan Foundation Language Center(the Center) has received many inquiries andcomments regarding this. In this issue, we hope toaddress some of these inquiries.
One of our tasks at the Center is to form a network
among teachers of the Japanese language in theUnited States, especially at the pre-collegiate level.
To accomplish this task, we have decided toinvestigate how many schools at the pre-collegiate
level are offering Japanese, who are the instructors,
and more. We began collecting the information at theend of last year, and have just finished compiling thedata for the academic year 1992-93.
The data for this investigation were collected fromindividual states' departments of education, twenty
associations and organizations for teachers ofJapanese, a directory of schools offering lesscommonly taught languages, distance learning
programs and individuals. Each department ofeducation was asked to give us the number of schools
offering Japanese, their school names, addresses, andso forth in its state. Since some departments ofeducation do not record the number of schools
offering Japanese, other sources, such as directories
from associations and the results from Centerquestionnaire, were used to supplement the data. The
questionnaire to individuals included items such as
school information, the number of classes at eachlevel, enrollment and textbooks.
Some of the results are presented below. Table 1
shows the number of pre-collegiate Japanese
programs. The Center found the total number of precollegiate schools to be 1,713. This number has
doubled since the 1991 National Foreign Language

Center (NFLC) survey. The top three states with themost Japanese programs are all found on the Pacific
Coast. These states --Washington, Oregon andCalifornia -- have more than one hundred schools
offering Japanese. In the NFLC data, four states -Delaware, Tennessee, South Dakota and Wyoming-didn't have a Japanese program. However, at present,
only South Dakota doesn't have a program. The
percentage of schools offering Japanese on thePacific Coast has increased from 32% in 1991 to37.54% in our data. The Mountain region has
increased from 3% to 4.26%. The percentages of theother regions are decreasing.
Grade levels are divided into three categories: 1) elementary, 2) secondary and 3) mixed/unknown.
"Secondary" is used instead of "middle/junior high"and "senior high" since some schools are a
combination junior-senior high school. "Mixed"
means a school that has a program from elementarythrough secondary level. "Unknown" is used if a
grade level cannot be determined from its school
name. School districts are categorized as "unknown."If a state has a high number for the"mixed/unknown," it means there could be more
schools than the total number reported.
Table 1 also shows the number of distance learning
programs. Eight distance learning programs havebeen found offering Japanese. The biggest satellite
program is called Satellite Educational ResourceConsortium (SERC), based in Nebraska. Twenty-twostates are receiving Japanese I and II through SERC.
The
secondbiggestoneisSatellite
Telecommunications Educational Programming(STEP), based in Washington, serving seven westernstates. The third is Texas Interactive InstitutionalNetwork (TI-IN), based in Texas. Much smaller ones
are based in the University of Alabama, Virginia's
Renrico County, Wisconsin (two), and Texas (one).
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The total number of schools receiving Japanese via
satellite or TV is approximately 500, according to thedistance learning program officials. However, theCenter has been able to identify only 314. Private
distance learning organizations appear to be reluctant
to give out information.
Table 2 lists the textbooks used at the secondary level.
The popular textbooks among high school teachers
seem to be the ones with more volumes, workbooks,teachers' manuals, and/or other supplementarymaterials. Currently there are more high school
textbooks available than when NFLC conducted theirsurvey in 1991. New textbooks, such as Kimono andSpeak Japanese, are presently popular. NTC's BasicJapanese and Bess' Nihongo are also gaining inpopularity. There are still some college textbooks,
such as An Introduction to Modern Japanese,
Beginning Japanese and Japanese: The Spoken
Language, used at the secondary level. One reason
might be because some teachers think these texts
provide an easier transition for students continuing on
to a college Japanese program. Another reason might
be that teachers who studied with a particular
textbook in college feel comfortable using the sametextbook at the secondary level. The textbooks usedby SERC, STEP and Alabama satellite programs areexcluded from the lists. That is because they are
selected by teachers of distance learning programs
rather than teachers in each local school. SERC uses
the textbooks Japanese I and Japanese II publishedby SERC; STEP Learn Japanese; and the Universityof Alabama, Japanese: The Spoken Language.

collect the best number possible of the pre-collegiateschools offering Japanese. The new trend in the secondary textbooks was also able to be observed.
During the data compilation, an increasing number ofquestions came to our mind regarding thecomplicated American education system. The
Center's next survey will contain more detailed
questions than this year's. So that we may offer you
better services, we would appreciate it if you could
help us obtain information on your school.
References
Jorden, Eleanor H., with R.D. Lambert. 1991.
Japanese Language Instruction in the United States:
Resources, Practice, and Investment Strategy.
Washington D.C.: National Foreign Language
Center.
Institute for Crucial Languages. 1991. Directory for
US Elementary and Secondary Schools Teaching
Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian. Washington
D.C.: Friends of International Education.

Overall, in spite of the limited data, some interesting
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The Japanese Language Proficiency Test

W

e are excited to announce the first
implementation of the proficiency test inthe United States. The Japan FoundationLanguage Center has decided to administer the firstexam in the United
The Japan Foundation Language Center has decided
to administer the first exam in the United States inLos Angeles on December 5, 1993. The test will beheld on the first Sunday of December every year
hereafter. Final details and application information
regarding the exam will be announced soon.
Application forms will be available at The JapanFoundation Language Center.
Objectives
The test is devised for an administered to non-native
speakers of Japanese in order to measure and certify
Japanese language proficiency.
Sponsors
Japan The Association of International Education,Japan
Abroad The Japan Foundation
Administration of the Test
Since 1984, the test has been administered once ayear, on the first or second Sunday of December. In
1984, 4,500 people took the exam in twenty cities
throughout fourteen countries abroad (2,500 in Japan).
In 1992, 39,500 people in fifty-two cities throughout
twenty-eight countries took the exam (29,000 inJapan). Among English speaking countries, there
were six hundred people who took the exam in theAustralian cities of Canberra, Sidney, Perth, andBrisbane; in New Zealand, approximately four
hundred and sixty people took the exam in the citiesof Wellington, Oakland, and Christchurch; twohundred thirty people in Vancouver, Canada, andthree hundred people in London also participated.

Test results of an examinee who takes the Level 1
exam and who is applying for admission to a
Japanese university will be forwarded to that university as well.
Drafting of the Test Questions
Japanese language specialists in collaboration withthe specialists in other fields of education (such aseducational statistics) gather and select test questions
every year.
Prior to the first administration of the test, The JapanFoundation conducted two trial tests in Indonesia andNew Zealand for two consecutive years and analyzed
the results. Also, The Foundation conducted a test foroutstanding foreign students of the Japanese language(equivalent to Level 3) and has collected data for theproficiency test questions since 1976.
Release of the Test Questions
The 1984 test questions were publicly released forJapanese language educators' use. During the period
from 1985 to 1989, only selected questions werereleased as samples. This was because similar
questions were repeated for future exams to develop
statistically comparable results. However, there has
been an increased demand to release test questions,and, in response, The Foundation began releasing
them to the public in1990.
Drafting of the Syllabus
The Japanese Language Proficiency Test Committee
assigned a Syllabus Committee to prepare more
precise criteria for Levels 1 through 4. Details such as
the time as to when the criteria will be announced
have not yet been confirmed.

Announcement of the Test Results
All examinees will be notified of their scores as wellas the average score and his/her ranking among theexaminees at the end of February.
Passing scores will be scores of approximately 70%
or higher of the highest possible score for Level 1,and approximately 60% or higher of the highest
possible score for Levels 2, 3, and 4. All examinees
who pass the exam will be sent certificates ofproficiency.

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Library ServiceT

he Japan Foundation Language Center Libraryoffers library services in order to provide
access for teachers of Japanese to teachingmaterials and resources.
Library Membership
Teachers who are affiliated with the following
associations are eligible for membership:
Association of Teachers of Japanese (ATJ)
National Council of Secondary Teachers of Japanese(NC STJ)
Teachers of Japanese in Southern California (TJSC)Applicants for library membership are required toprovide the following:
1.
Individual application form.
2.
A copy of identification, such as a driver'slicense.
3.
We may ask for proof of membership in theapplicant's affiliated association if we are not able toverify such membership from our lists.
Circulation Loan Period and Limits
Circulation books3 weeks, 3 items at a time
Audio-visual materials .... 3 weeks, 1 set at a timeItems may be renewed one time only.

Circulation by Mail
The registered patrons are also allowed to borrow thelibrary materials by mail. Requests can be made by
telephone or by mail.
The borrowing period through the mail is three weeks
with an additional one-week turnaround period.
Library Materials List
A list of our library holdings, including audio-visualmaterial, textbooks, teaching materials, magazinesand others, is available for members upon written
request.
Library Hours and Holidays
Monday through Friday
10:00 am-5:00 p.m.
The library is closed on the following days from June
through November 1993 to observe these holidays:
Independence Day (Observed)
Labor Day
Columbus Day
Veteran's Day
Thanksgiving Day
July 5, 1993 September 6, 1993 October 11, 1993
November 11, 1993 November 25, 1993

Textbooks for Pre-Collegiate Level (2)Romanization? Hiragana? Katakana? Kanji?
When do you teach hiragana and katakana? How
many kanji do you teach?
The following graph explains the use of romanization,
hiragana, katakana and kanji in textbooks used in precollegiate schools. The result does not necessarily tellwhen to teach each writing sys-tern. Since themajority of existing secondary level programs are
two-year programs, the analysis is focused on thebeginning level textbooks. The textbooks in the u p
per part of the graph begin with romanization and thelower part begin with hiragana.

books stop using romanization before the middle ofthe first volume. This implies that the majority oftextbooks are designed to make students lessdependent on romanization either from the beginning
or in the early stage of learning.

Romanization
6 out of 14 books employ romanization in thebeginning. Five of these books, however, useromanization with hiragana and katakana. These five

The Number of Kanji
The number of kanji that appear in textbooks for thefirst two years is relatively few.

Introduction of Hiragana and Katakana
The majority of the textbooks introduce hiragana
from the beginning. Half of them also use katakana
from the beginning. None of these textbooks
introduce katakana nor to hiragana.

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Discussion
1. Following the writing system of the textbooks,
romanization is used only in the introductory stage,and early acquisition of hiragana and katakana is preferred. However, for pre-collegiate school students,
it is difficult to remember all hiragana and katakana
in a short time. Early introduction of these writing
systems create dropouts. Then, what should teachers

do? How much time should be spent teaching
hiragana and katakana?
2. The number of kanji that a p pear in pre-collegiate
textbooks is smaller than that of in college texts. Do
we need to teach kanji for the secondary school
students? If yes, approximately how many?
We look forward to hearing from you on this matter!

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Breezy MessageF

rom our sixth floor office, clouds looking likecotton candy hover gently over the light blueocean. It feels like summer is just around thecorner. Children must be looking forward to theirsummer vacation - going swimming in the ocean, or
cool swimming pools! The freshness of these childhood memories - friends and family enjoying juicy
watermelon together, flickering fireflies, cool
evening air - is something that we all share, as we allgather together to achieve our goals.
In this issue, we introduced the Japanese Language
Proficiency Test, an analysis on the teachingmaterials for elementary, junior and high schools, andan interim report on the status of Japanese language
education for high schools in the United States. From
the next issue on, we plan to have special topics

about the Foreign Language Assistant Act-working
plan, Japanese language education through satellite
programs, immersion programs and so on. A
guideline on how to apply for information on
Japanese language related programs will also beintroduced.
We sincerely hope that you have a very pleasantsummer holiday. (YK)The 'Breeze' is an English and Japanese-language
newsletter published quarterly by The JapanFoundation Language Center.
Please address any comments or questions to: TheJapan Foundation Language Center, The Water
Garden, Suite 650E, 2425
W. Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica, CA 90404-4043,
tel: (310) 829-3172, Fax: (310) 829-9510

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