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2016 JLP FOR SPECIALISTSNOVEMBER, 2016: BREEZE ISSUE #109
A FREE MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER FOR FRIENDS OF JAPAN & TEACHERS OFJAPANESE

2016 JAPANESE LANGUAGE
PROGRAM FOR SPECIALISTSIN CULTURAL AND ACADEMIC
FIELDS (SHORT-TERM)
BY LIN LI
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Though it feels like I just arrived in Tajiri-cho last week, ourprogram has already come to an end. I have benefited a lot
from the Japanese Language Program for Specialists in
Cultural and Academic Fields (two-month course). Here, Iwould like to focus on three of its most impressive aspects.
First, the Kansai center has a unique way of organizing courses. Before participating in thisprogram, I took Japanese language courses at two different North American universities wherestudents were divided into different levels and take courses corresponding to that level. For
example, if one is placed into the advanced level, they are supposed to take advanced courses
on speaking, writing, and reading. The problem with this method is that even while one’s
spoken Japanese may be of the advanced level, their writing or reading ability may be at alower level. Grouping students into one level tends to neglect the fact that various aspects oflanguage acquisition are often balanced. By contrast, our courses at the Kansai center were
designated according to a comprehensive assessment of students’ linguistic capabilities. For
example, I am much better at writing and reading than speaking and listening, so consequently
I was placed into the advanced reading and writing courses but intermediate conversation
courses. In my opinion, this is indeed an excellent way of organizing courses as it takes into
account students’ strengths and weaknesses.
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Furthermore, people with the same linguistic background tend to make certain mistakes whenlearning Japanese. For example, as a nativeChinese, when I see Kanji I often
subconsciously use Chinese pronunciations toread them. It was not until my instructor Todai
sensei pointed this out that I began to realize
the problem with my pronunciation. Whenlanguage instructors have a good command ofindividual linguistic group’s features, language
learners can benefit greatly.
Third, as a program dedicated to cultivatingspecialists and researchers, we had a course
called “Specialist Reading” where we got to choose readings of our own interest and read themduring individual meetings with instructors. This kind of individually tailored language course isquite rare at North American universities. During this class, I read several articles relevant to
my dissertation and have benefited greatly from it.
I enjoyed my time at the Kansai Center and deeply appreciate the effort the instructors have
put into our courses and individual meetings. I want to thank our instructors for their hard workin the past two months and for making CA2 an unforgettable experience.

Breeze #110

Breeze #109

Japanese Langauge Education Update 362016 J-LEAP Report: Akiko Inagaki

2016 J-LEAP Report: Sakurako Hiroike2016 Short-Term Teacher Training Program: Kristin Wingate

2016 Short-Term Teacher Training Program: Madeleine Graham

2016 Japanese Language Program for Specialists: Lin Li2016 Japanese Language Program for Specialists: Samuel Timinsky
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