SEARCHContact Us

Site Map

JAPANESE LANGUAGE UPDATE #49

DECEMBER, 2017: BREEZE ISSUE #122
A FREE MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER FOR FRIENDS OF JAPAN & TEACHERS OF
JAPANESE
JAPANESE LANGUAGE EDUCATIONUPDATE 49:
2017 ACTFL CONVENTION AT
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEEBy Derek Chin, Japanese Language Program /Advocacy Coordinator
From November 17 – 19, The Japan Foundation,
Los Angeles participated in the 2017 ACTFL(American Council on the Teaching of Foreign
Languages) Convention, held in Nashville,Tennessee. We teamed up with the Japanese Consulate General in Nashville to put up a booth
together and introduce educators and school administrators to useful information andresources for learning and teaching Japanese.
At our booth, we had about 200 teachers and administrators visit us; we were able to meetmany Japanese teachers from all around the U.S., as well as other language educators such as
Chinese and Spanish teachers who stopped by and were interested in either bringing some ofour goodies to their Japanese colleagues at their schools, or strengthening their Japanese
programs, or simply learning Japanese themselves. We presented all our visitors with “goodybags” that included many resources for teaching and learning Japanese that they could use inthe classroom: vocab booklets, info on useful web apps, websites, and grants, cute badges andstickers, and much, much more.
We also teamed up with The Laurasian Institute and J-LEAP (Japanese Language Education
Assistant Program) participants. During open exhibit hours, J-LEAP participants explained tovisitors about their experiences with the J-LEAP program and how they can collaborate with
Lead Teachers to provide a rich learning experience for students. If you are an educator, there
is still time to apply! For more information on the J-LEAP program, see this link
Privacy - Terms(https://www. jflalc.org/jle-j-leap).

Meanwhile, the various educational sessions that were held were extremely informative, withmany of them addressing how to incorporate global competency and social issues into thelanguage classroom, an ever-continuing and ever-important topic that we also highlighted in aprevious education update article (https://www. jflalc.org/pub-breeze118). One group ofpresenters showed a real-life example of how these issues were incorporated into the novice
classroom, proving this topic can be possible at almost any level. Their example showed alesson discussing the diversification of the family in Japan, inspired by the movie “Haafu.” The
students learning Japanese related their own diverse family backgrounds to the diversity inJapan; they made videos describing their own different backgrounds to students in Japan.
Through these videos, they were able to raise awareness of such diversity, both among
themselves and in Japan, and celebrate it as a shared commonality. Like this, it is soheartening to see many educators leading the way in equipping students with the skills toconnect them with both their surrounding community and with Japan.
Indeed, one must keep in mind the bigger picture to prepare students (and our own selves) for
global citizenship. How can we make meaningful, personal connections to the world around
us? What can we share and learn about ourselves and others, and how can we encourageempathy? An enhanced and nuanced understanding of the world – both our own and those ofothers – and a way to make connections will be key for living and communicating in the 21stcentury.
The next ACTFL is scheduled to be held in New Orleans. We hope to see you there!

Breeze #122

Japanese Language Update #49

2017 J-LEAP Report: Minobe Masaki

2017 J-LEAP Report: Yoshiyasu Horino

Breeze #121Breeze #120

Breeze #119

Breeze #118
Privacy - Terms

Breeze #117

Breeze #116

Breeze #115

Breeze #114

Breeze #113

Breeze #112

Breeze #111

Headquarters

New York Office

ボランティア募集

Center for Global PartnershipJapan Related Links

Volunteer

Job Openings (Updated)

5700 Wilshire blvd, Suite 100
Los Angeles, CA 90036
P. 323.761.7510

Annual Report© 2019 The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles
Web Design.

Privacy - Terms