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BREEZE #110

DECEMBER, 2016: BREEZE ISSUE #110
Like 0ShareA Free E-Newsletter for Friends of Japan & Teachers of Japanese

GREETING FROM THE DIRECTORGreetings! I would like to start this month’s message thanking all the Japanese teachers whocame to the American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ) bi-annual convention inBoston. JFLA presented at the convention and we found out that the state of Japanese
language education in the US is still vibrant in terms of the number of students, but it can beprecarious down the road as the number of teachers is declining based on the results of the2015 survey. At this critical moment, it is very important for all of us, teachers, schools,governments and foundations to unite and remind the decision-makers how important it is forthe kids to be exposed to a different culture at an early stage of their lives in order for them tosurvive in the ever more globalized 21st century!
One of our most successful programs in bringing Japanese culture to American classrooms is JLEAP. From the viewpoint of an American teacher of Japanese language, the merits of theprogram are two-fold. Obviously, the first is you get a native speaker of Japanese in yourclassroom who has been trained to teach. The second, through the robust teacher training

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sessions built into the program, you get to hone your team-teaching skills. The deadline forapplication to become a Lead Teacher (LT a.k.a. host teacher) will be on January 10. Please do
not miss this great opportunity to enrich your class as well as your own professional skills.
For JFLA, the year of the Monkey has been a great ‘monkey’ leap forward in terms of thenumber of people we have been able to engage. It has also been a year in which I havereaffirmed my conviction that celebrating diverse cultures and inspiring new encounters andideas are far more important than just promoting Japan. Thank you all for your heartfelt support
throughout the year. We will continue to keep you culturally enthralled in the coming year.
Sincerely,

Hideki Hara, Director

FREE JAPANESE CINEMA SCREENING"BLINDLY IN LOVE" (117MINS, 2013)
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14 AT 7PM (JFLA AUDITORIUM)
IN JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
Warm-hearted love story that gained popularity through word of mouth. A clumsy andintroverted 35-year-old virgin guy falls in love for the first time in his life, with a blind woman.
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TIME AFTER TIME CAPSULE "DROP-OFF"DAYSPECIAL DISPLAY AT JAPANESE AMERICAN NATIONAL MUSEUMTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 15 AT 3PM-8PM
ADMISSION: FREE
Help kawaii artist Sebastian Masuda fill a gigantic Hello Kitty time capsule! Bring either acherished personal item or a letter to your future self, to be placed in the capsule. The capsuleis one of ten that are currently traveling the world and will be assembled for a major display inTokyo in 2020. The capsules will be opened in 2035.

LECTURE:MAGIC AND POWER IN EDO'S CITY PLANNINGFRIDAY, DECEMBER 2 AT 7PM
Edo (modern Tokyo) was built to be the Tokugawa seat in 1590, and in 1603 it became
headquarters of their shogunate. It was carefully planned to meet ancestral expectations ofhow an impressive East Asian metropolis should look, entailing a certain alignment of streets,with temples positioned in designated locations, according to magical criteria.
Read MoreJAPANESE LANGUAGE COURSESWINTER 2017 TERM: JAN. 14 - APRIL 4
REGISTER NOW!
Winter is nearly here, and the registration period for our JF Nihongo Winter Term has begun!
We are now accepting registrations for our popular Japanese courses which will begin on
January 14th. Our courses are designed for new Japanese-language learners, as well as those

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who are interested in improving their existing language skills.
We will again be offering "Introduction to Polite Japanese," which will meet three times fromJan. 21 to Feb 4.
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2017-2018 J-LEAP: NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONSDEADLINE: JANUARY 10, 2017
Are you interested in inviting a Japanese Assistant Teacher (AT) to your K-12 classroom for up
to two consecutive school years? Do you want to give your students an opportunity to learn
and hear Japanese from a native speaker or an additional native speakers for some variation?
If so, make sure you apply for J-LEAP, which was started in 2011 with the help of the Laurasian
Institute (TLI).
Program Information

2016-17 JAPANESE LANGUAGE GRANTS ARE STILL AVAILABLE!
We are still accepting applications for the Japanese-Language Education Project Grant(Deadline: 2 months prior to project start date). For eligibility requirements and application
documents, please visit the link below.
Program Information

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CINEMA KABUKI "ONE PIECE" COSPLAY CONTEST VOTING!
Last Sunday, JFLA held two free screenings of Cinema Kabuki, “ONE PIECE.” See the event
video here! We had a “cosplay corner” with several costume pieces, and a number of people
even came dressed as their favorite One Piece character. We held a cosplay photo contest andthe winner will receive our entire collection of One Piece cosplay pieces (which we bought inJapan!).
Click here to vote for your favorite One Piece cosplay photo. Search the hashtag#onepiecekabuki to find more photos!!

ANNOUNCEMENT: JF SURVEY 2015 U.S. RESULTS REPORT AVAILABLE NOWEvery three years, the Japan Foundation conducts a global survey of Japanese-teaching
institutions, including public, private, non-profit organizations, for-profit companies, and more.
JFLA conducted the JF Survey 2015 for the United States, and the official report is now
available as a PDF at this link.

JAPANESE LANGUAGE EDUCATION UPDATE 37:
INTERPRETING THE JF SURVEY 2015 U.S. RESULTS

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The Japan Foundation is the only organization that gathers nationwide data on Japanese
language teaching in the United States at all levels of education. We use the data to decideregional grant allocations, to create new support programs, and to spread awareness about ourresources. But you can use the data too! Our Tokyo Headquarters maintains a free, online
database of every school that answered our survey. The 2015 results will be entered into thedatabase in early 2017.
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2016-2017 J-LEAP REPORTS
For the 2016-2017 school year, we invited twelve native assistant teachers (AT) to various
schools around the country as part of the Japanese Language Education Assistant Program (JLEAP). This is the sixth year of this program where schools around the country are given theopportunity to invite an AT for up to two years with the goal of strengthening their Japanese
language program. This month, we will feature the reports from the following ATs detailing theirexperiences at American schools.
Akane Miyazawa, Eleanor Roosevelt High School (Greenbelt, MD)
Yasuharu Higure, San Dieguito High School Academy (Encinitas, CA)

HOLIDAY LIBRARY SCHEDULEDue to the upcoming holidays, we will be closed from Friday, December 23rd, 2016 to Tuesday,January 3rd, 2017. The library will reopen on Wednesday, January 4th.

Past Issues (2020)

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Past Issues (2019)

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Past Issues (2018)

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Past Issues (2017)

Past Issues (2016)

Breeze #110Breeze #109Breeze #108

Breeze #107

Breeze #106

Breeze #105

Breeze #104

Breeze #103

Breeze #102Breeze #101

Breeze #100Breeze #99

Breeze Past Issues

Breeze Issues #1-#36 (PDF)
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