FEB 2022 | VOL. 11 | NO. 1

AATJ NEWSLETTER
全米日本語教育学会 American Association of Teachers of Japanese

Messagefrom thePresident

TOMOKO TAKAMIIn this issue...
OFFICERMESSAGESAATJ SPRINGCONFERENCENENGAJYOCONTESTRESULTS
INTERVIEWSERIESJNHS SPOTLIGHT
ADVOCACY DAYHIGHLIGHTSJAPANESEPROGRAM SOSSERIES
AND MORE!

I am Tomoko Takami from the University of Pennsylvania, serving as the AATJ
President in 2022. This year marks the 10th anniversary since the AATJ wasestablished after the Association of Teachers of Japanese (ATJ), which began in
1963, and the National Council of Japanese Language Teachers (NCJLT), whichbegan in 1992, were merged to form the AATJ. I am very excited to be serving
as the President of the AATJ during such a milestone. Together with the AATJ
Officers, Directors, and members, I would like to explore more about the field
and move the AATJ forward.
Please let me introduce myself briefly: I came to the U.S. to study at theGraduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania in 1994, specializing in
TESOL. I started teaching Japanese as a graduate student, teaching one
beginning class as a part-time instructor. After graduation, I stayed as a full-time
instructor there, where I am now. In 2000, I started to teach Business Japanese
courses and joined ATJ to find a network of business Japanese teachers. I started
the JSP-SIG and later served as the National Japanese Exam Director at AATJ. I
am grateful to have had the experience of working with many different teachers
through these experiences. In my personal life, away from work, I play pickleball.
Pickleball has become the center of my private life, and I even practice in therain or near-freezing cold with my partner. It brings not only joy but also
frustration and disappointment when I cannot get better at the game. Throughthis ordeal, I have discovered that such learning journeys in sports have a lot incommon with learning languages.
In January, the New Year's card contest started at AATJ with Andy Scott-sensei
serving as the Director, and the results of this year's contest have beenannounced. This is also the time for the National Japanese Exam, and thanks tothe efforts of Director Tomomi Sato-sensei, and her team of teachers, we wereable to hold the exam again this year.
In February, under the leadership of Yoshiko Abbott Saito-sensei, Director ofProfessional Development, and with the support and cooperation of the JapanFoundation Los Angeles Center for Japanese Language and Culture (JFLA), we
held a leadership training for Japanese language education leaders from acrossthe United States. In addition, the Joint-National Committee for Languages1

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National Council for Languages and International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS) held a Language Advocacy Day, and
Immediate Past President Ann Jordan-sensei, President-Elect Shingo Satsutani-sensei, Executive Director Susan
Schmidt, and I participated in the meeting, representing AATJ. We learned about language education policy in
the U.S. and lobbied our state legislators on behalf of our respective States with other foreign language
teachers (see separate article for details).
The AATJ Annual Spring Conference will be held online again this year in March. Preparations for the
conference are underway under the leadership ofAnnual Spring Conference Co-Directors, Yoshiko Mori-sensei,
Mieko Kawai-sensei, and Shinsuke Tsuchiya-sensei. We have also received the support of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison and the Center for East Asian Studies in organizing the conference this year, thanks to thehelp of Past President Junko Mori-sensei. Junko Mori-sensei has also continued to be involved in the
management of the Spring Conference this year.
This year, AATJ welcomed several new board members. Shingo Satsutani-sensei and Mieko Avello-sensei were
elected as President-Elect and Vice-President, respectively, in the elections held last fall and have been
supporting AATJ in their respective positions since this year. Yasuo Uotate-sensei, Annual Fall Conference CoDirector, has completed his duties, and we have Yuko Prefume-sensei and Jaimelynn Tateyama-sensei to takeover. Also, John Cadena-sensei, our newsletter Director, has finished his term, and Elizabeth Hojo-sensei took
over. Will Matsuzaki-sensei joined us with the new Director position, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Please see
the interview article on him in this newsletter. In February, we held a virtual get-together “Meet and Greet” for
Officers, Directors, and staff members, including these new members, to meet each other and enhance teambuilding. I am looking forward to working closely with these wonderful teachers and members to advance theactivities of AATJ.
With the unpredictable rapid expansion of the omicron variant this winter, the most pressing issue is adjusting
to the new “normal life.” Please do not hesitate to reach out to AATJ; we will do what we can. I wish you all a
happy and healthy life, both physically and mentally, in 2022. I am looking forward to seeing many of ourmembers at the spring conference.

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年度会長を務めることになりましたペンシルベニア大学 (University of Pennsylvania)の高見智子です。どうぞ宜しくお願いいたします。今年は1963年に創立のAssociation of Teachers of Japanese (ATJ)と1992年に創立のNational Council of Japanese Language Teachers (NCJLT)が統合され、AATJが設立されてから10年目の年になります。このような節目に会長を務めることになり、気が引き締まるような思いで毎日を過ごしています。私自身はATJ会員になったのがちょうど15年前でまだまだ若輩者ですが、諸先輩方が築いてきた米国の日本語教育学会の現在、そしてどのように次の時代に繋げていくか、役員を始め会員の皆様と共に考え、行動に移していくことができればと思っております。
まずは簡単に自己紹介をさせていただきます。私は日本で生まれ育ちましたが、1994年ペンシルベニ
ア大学・大学院に入学し、英語教育を専門に学びました。日本語を教え始めたのは、大学院生の時に非常勤講師として一つの初級クラスを担当したのがきっかけです。卒業後、常勤講師としてペンシル
ベニア大学に残り、現在に至ります。2000年にビジネス日本語コースの担当になり、ビジネス日本語の先生のネットワークを探したいと思って、ATJに入りました。それから、JSP-SIGを始め、その後、
National Japanese Examディレクターを務めました。AATJで様々な先生に出会い、一緒に活動をする経験を持てたことを感謝しています。仕事を離れたプライベートでは、ピックルボールというスポーツ
中心の、体育会系女子の生活を送っています。時には雨の中でも、氷点下に近い寒さの中でもパート
ナーと一緒に特訓練習をしています。「好き」以上に、上手になれず悔しい、情けないと思うことも多いのですが、そういうLearning Journeyの中にスポーツでも日本語の学習でも共通する部分が多くあることを発見しています。
さて、AATJでは例年通り、新年が明けていろいろな活動が始まっています。1月には年賀状コンテストが始まりました。アンディー・スコット先生がディレクターを務め、今年もコンテストの結果が発表されています。また、この時期はNational Japanese Examの時期でもありますが、ディレクターである
佐藤友美先生、そしてチームの先生方にご尽力いただき、試験の開催となりました。
2月にはプロフェッショナル・ディベロップメント・ディレクターの齋藤アボット佳子先生の下、国際交流基金ロサンゼルス日本文化センター(JFLA)のご支援・ご協力で全米から日本語教育リーダーを招いて、リーダーシップ・トレーニングを開催しました。また、Joint-National Committee for LanguagesNational Council for Languages and International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS)より言語アドボカシー・ディの集会が開かれ、AATJからはアン・ジョーダン前会長、札谷新吾次期会長、スーザン・シュミット事務局長と私が参加しました。米国の言語教育政策について学び、それぞれの州を代表して他の外国語教育の先生と一緒に州議員に陳情しました。（詳細は別の記事をご参照ください）
3月にはいよいよAATJ年次春季大会が今年もオンラインで開かれます。大会実行委員の森美子先生、河合見恵子先生、土屋伸介先生が中心となって準備が進められています。また学会運営にはウィスコン
シン大学マディソン校、及び、東アジア研究センターの協力を今年も得ましたが、それは森純子前会
長のお力添えのおかげです。また、森純子先生には昨年に引き続き、春学会の運営にも携わっていた
だいています。
今年AATJでは数人の新役員を迎えました。昨年秋に行われた選挙で札谷新吾先生が次期会長として、そしてアベロ美恵子先生が副会長として選出され、それぞれの役職でAATJを支えてくださっています。これまでの年次秋季大会ディレクターであった魚立康夫先生が任務を終えられ、新しくプレヒュ
ーメ裕子先生と立山ジェイミー先生にお願いしました。また、ニュースレターのジョン・カデナ先生
が任期を終え、エリザベス北條先生が担当くださいます。そして今年から、ダイバーシティ（多様性）・エクィティ（衡平）・インクルージョン（包括性）のディレクターとしてウィリアム松崎先生をお迎えしました。松崎先生のインタビュー記事がこのニュースレターに入っているのでお読みください。2月には新メンバーも含めた役員・スタッフが集まる懇親会をバーチャルで開き、お互いが顔を合わせ、チームビルディングを行いました。これから、この素晴らしいチームと、そして会員の皆様とAATJの活動を進めていきたいと思います。
この冬は新型コロナオミクロン株が急拡大するなど、状況は予断を許しませんが、ニューノーマル・
ウィズコロナ時代をどう乗り切っていくのかがまずは当面の課題でしょうか。私たちも引き続き学会として何ができるのか考えていきますので、皆様もいつでもご連絡ください。
皆様が心身ともに健やかに幸せにお過ごしでありますように祈念して、会長の最初の挨拶とさせていただきます。AATJ 年次春季大会で多くの会員の皆様とお会いできるのを楽しみにしております。
2022

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本年度副会長に就任しましたアベロ美恵子です。2015年から３年間秋の年次学会のコ・ディレクターを務めさせていただきました。その間各開催地の教師会やご参加の先生方と知り合いになれ
多くのことを学ばせていただいたことをありがたく思っています。副会長の仕事は会長と次期会長のサポートと同時に全米の各教師会とのパイプ役と言われています。それぞれの教師会から貴重なご意見、ご助言をいただき、改善点があれば少しでもより良い方向に改めていき、多様な交流を通して、円滑にコミュニケー
ションが取れますように努力していく所存です。
この数年間、私たちはパンデミックが私たちの生活をどのように変化させたかを目の当たりにしてきました。新しい日常の中、A A
Message
T Jと各教師会の皆さまがより強いコミュニティ意識を築き、新たfrom theな機会を生かすために互いに助け合えるよう微力ではありますがVice President 力を尽くしていきたいと思います。これからの２年間どうぞよろしくお願いいたします。
MIEKO AVELLO

２０２０年１月ちょうど新型コロナウイルスがまさに猛威を奮わんとしている
時に副会長に就任し副会長としての２年間の任期中は新型コロナウイルスによるパンデミックと重なってしまいました。昨年の学会選挙にて次期会長候補に推薦され投票の結果、次期会長に就任することになりました。昨年までの2年間
は全米各地の先生方に副会長としての僕を随分支えていただきましたが、これからの２年間も今までにも増して引き続きよろしくお願い申し上げます。
各教師会とのパイプ役は向こう２年間、新しく副会長に選出されたアベロ美恵
子先生に引き継いでいただきます。昨年秋からはAATJ本部からのBulletinを各教師会とのパイプ役である副会長が日本語に簡約して全米の各教師会へ配信し始めました。是非ご活用ください。
「コロナ禍」は大きな負の遺産を残しながら完全に終息する兆しはいまだに見えていません。今後はこの厄介なウイルスと何らかの形で「共存」しながら「効果的な日本語教育」を模索していく日々となりそうな気配です。学校ではすでに「コロナ禍」前の状態に近い形で授業を行おうとしているところが多い
ようですが、自分たち自身の心身の健康状態も考慮しながらみんなで協力し合って進んでいきましょう。
まだまだ確固たる「ニューノーマル」が定まらぬ流動的な厳しい状況ですが、皆さんが頼れるAATJとして、来月３月の春学会（バーチャル）をはじめ様々なテーマでのウェビナーも計画しています。今後も教師である皆さんが自宅にいながら参加することができ、今まで会ったことのない世界中の先生とパソコンのモニタースクリーンを通してリアルタイムで話せる機会を少しでも多く創れるよう頑張ってまいります。これまでAATJが中心となって実施してきたウェビ
ナーはいつでも閲覧視聴できるようAATJのホームページからアクセスできます
のでご利用ください。
皆さんが共有したいことや興味のあることを僕に連絡していただければ幸甚です。全員参加の「全米日本語教育学会」を目指したいと思います。AATJとしてお手伝いできることの相談も含めて、satsutan@cod.eduまで連絡よろしくお願いします。
個人的には、現在「鎖国」状態の日本が一日でも早く海外から多くの人を受け入れてくれる日本に戻って、日本語学習者にとって憧れの「日本」が再来することを願ってやみません。既に5回の日本短期研修の引率をキャンセルしました。この夏こそ、一人でも多くの学生を引率したい気持ちでいっぱいです。
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Messagefrom thePresident
Elect
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AATJ 2022 Spring Conference
SUSAN SCHMIDTEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The 2022 Annual Spring Conference will be held VIRTUALLY between Thursday, March 17, and Saturday,
March 19, 2022. The event will take place with live online sessions via Zoom. The sessions will be recorded andmade available for later viewing by conference registrants.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE AND PROGRAM
The keynote session will be held at 7:00 PM (US Eastern time) on the evening of Thursday, March 17.
Presentation sessions will be held on Friday, March 18, and Saturday, March 19, from 4:00 PM to 9:30 PM US
Eastern time. The conference program is posted at https://www.aatj.org/conferences-spring. The program is also
printed on pages 6 - 11 of this newsletter.

REGISTRATION
Registration for the conference is open. A link to registration can be found at https://www.aatj.org/conferencesspring. The registration fee is $50 for members who are college faculty, $30 for K-12 teachers, $20 for student
members, and $100 for non-members.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
The keynote speaker at the 2022 Spring Conference will be Professor Ryuko Kubota (University of British
Columbia), who will speak in Japanese on the topic of―― ("Japanese
Language Education and Social Justice: Possibilities and Challenges"):

日本語教育と社会正義 可能性と課題

社会正義が外国語教育の重要な柱として積極的に取り上げられるようになってきた。社会正義を日本語教育に取り入れるためには、その概念を理解するとともに、その可能性と問題点を探り実践していくことが必要となる。この発表では、社会正義の概念の中でも多様性の諸相と人間の尊厳の擁護に注
目し、日本語教育においてどのような役割を果たすのかを探る。さまざまな多様性は日本語・日本語
使用者・日本語学習動機・日本語環境などに見られる。多様性を認識し指導に取り入れることは重要であるが、すべての人間の尊厳を認めて擁護していくためには、多様性に潜むさまざまな権力関係を見極める必要がある。それには、反人種差別運動、人種とその他の属性との交差性の認識、そして反植民地化の視点が重要となる。しかし、日本語教育をグローバルにとらえた場合、社会正義にまつわる概念自体を普遍的・固定的に捉えるべきなのかも議論する必要がある。具体的に日本語教育でどのようなアプローチが可能であるのか探ってみる。
Social justice has increasingly been illuminated in world language education. In order to integrate social justicein Japanese language education, it is necessary to understand the concept, explore its possibilities andchallenges, and put its principles into practice. Focusing on various facets of diversity and the importance ofprotecting human dignity, this presentation explores roles of these perspectives in Japanese language education.
Diversity is observed in various components of Japanese language education, such as language forms, languageusers, motivation, and learning environments. While it is important to recognize diversity and integrate it into
pedagogy, it is further necessary to recognize multiple relations of power that lie behind diversity. This requires
an engagement with anti-racism, recognition of intersectionality between race and other identities, anddecolonial perspectives. Yet, a global view of Japanese language education requires an examination whether
concepts related to social justice can be discussed in a universally fixed manner. This presentation also explores
what concrete pedagogical approaches are possible.
The keynote session will be held on the evening of Thursday, March 17, at 7:00 PM Eastern time; it will befollowed by a social hour.

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AATJ Officers and Directors
Officers
President: Tomoko Takami (University of Pennsylvania)
President Elect: Shingo Satsutani (College of DuPage, IL)
Immediate Past President: Ann Jordan (Laurasian Institution, CA)
Vice President: Mieko Avello (Miami Palmetto Senior High School, FL)
Past President, International Projects Director: Junko Mori (University of Wisconsin, Madison)

Directors
Newsletter: Elizabeth Hojo (The Woodlands College Park High School, TX)
Professional Development: Yoshiko Saito-Abbott (California State University, Monterey Bay)
Advocacy: Noriko Otsuka (Fox Mill Elementary School, VA)
Diversity and Inclusion: Will Matsuzaki (All Saints Episcopal School, TX)
Student Activities (Nengajo Contest): Andy Scott (Kamehameha High School, HI)
Japanese National Honor Society: Holly Didi-Ogren (The College of New Jersey), Kumi Kobayashi(Los Gatos High School, CA)
National Japanese Exam: Tomomi Sato (University of Virginia)
Fall Conference: Takayuki Masai (Graham-Kapowsin High School, WA), Junko Tokuda Simpson(University of California, San Diego), Yuko Prefume (Baylor University), Jaime Tateyama Gusman(Moanalua High School, HI)
Spring Conference: Yoshiko Mori (Georgetown University), Mieko Kawai (University of Virginia),
Shinsuke Tsuchiya (Brigham Young University)

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2022 Year of the Tiger
Nengajo Contest Results
ANDREW SCOTTNENGAJO CONTEST DIRECTOR
Congratulations and thank you to all the student and teacher participantsin the 2022 AATJ Nengajo Contest. The judges and I truly enjoyedseeing the creativity and passion for the Japanese language and culture
in each card! I truly appreciate your willingness to continue to submit thenengajo cards online, especially during these tough times! Whilesubmitting online may involve extra steps, it is much more efficient thanwhen I last served as Nengajo Director, over a decade ago, in the NCJLT.
We had binders and binders of nengajo that had to be mailed to thejudges!
With this in mind, we had 756 cards, with 94, 157, 465, and 40 fromelementary, middle, high school, and college respectively. After an initial
screening of cards, to ensure they complied with our expectations, theeligible cards were judged by six judges from around the country. Cards
were judged blind to ensure fairness, so information, such as school,
location, student and teacher name, was not provided to the judges. The
cards selected represent the best of the best eligible cards and reflect agreat deal of talent, creativity, and effort.
All of the student-participants will receive participation certificates, andstudents with winning cards will receive certificates, in addition to online
Amazon gift-cards as prizes. Congratulations! Below, you will find thewinners (bold) listed with their teachers and school (italicized).
Thank you sincerely for your patience and participation!!!! I hope you
have a wonderful Year of the Tiger and look forward to seeing your cards
next year!!!

Total Cards Submitted Per Level

Total Cards Submitted
By Local Affiliates
AFFILIATE

TOTAL

WATJ

137

WIATJ

6

OATJ

14

NJATJ

23

NECTJ

98

NCJTA

2

NCATJ

19

MCTJ

8

MAATJ

100

KAJLT

33

JTAT

45

INDIVIDUAL

53

IATJ

16

HATJ

32

GATJ

10

CJLEA

31

ES

MS

HS

CL

TOTAL

CAJLT

83

2022

94

157

465

40

756

ATJO

11

2021

119

100

288

14

472

AKATJ

8

2020

101

138

440

37

730

AITJ

6

2019

111

155

440

62

758

AFTJ

21

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Nengajo Contest Results
ENCOURAGEMENT

Grade-Level/ PlaceARTISTIC

COMICAL

Lower Elementary 1st

Stouffer, Jenny
Endo, KeikoFox Mill Elem.

Del Manzo, Noah
Monheim, Ayaka
Great Falls Elem.

2nd

Yoshioka, Isamu
Tanaka, Masahiro
UN Int’l School

Knight, Narumi
Iwai, Kaori
Keisho Center

3rd

Niamien, Alexandra
Monheim, Ayaka
Great Falls Elem.

Toida, Keishi
Furuya, Emiko
South Acad. of Int’l
Languages

Upper Elementary 1st

Zawacki, Ryan
Reckinger, Takako
John Stanford Int’lFrierson, Nanami
Koshiya, Keiko
Keisho Center

Kodani, Kacie
Agena, Junko
Aina Haina Elem.

2nd

Bair, Janaki
Reckinger, Takako
John Stanford Int’l

Kasai, Kayoko
John Stanford Int’l

B-Zakharenko, Darya

Terry, Lillian
Agena, Junko
Aina Haina Elem.

3rd

Santos, Saturn
Reckinger, Takako
Great Falls Elem.

Saeedi, Hana
Koshiya, Keiko
Keisho Center

Ralph, Elliana
Hunter, Hiroko
Stonewall Elem.

Middle School 1stTran, Lan
Tanaka, Masahiro
UN Int’l School

Jacobson, Chloe
Okamoto, Maki
St. Paul’s School

Naab, Sonoa
Tanaka, Masahiro
UN Int’l School

Poholsky, Noah
Laidlaw, Kristin
Felix Festa MS

2ndMosher, Cordelia
Okamoto, Maki
St. Paul’s School

Dominguez, Yamilet

Johnson, Miyuki
Elkins Pointe MS

Carroll, Charlotte
Okamoto, Maki
St. Paul’s School

Maurath, Riley
Okamoto, Maki
St. Paul’s School

3rd

Louzini, Maeva
Furuya, Emiko
South Acad. of Int’l
Languages

Christopher, Louis
Okamoto, Maki
St. Paul’s School

Beckford, Kira
Shirata, Akane
Keisho Center

Gonzalez, Julia
KarymeDolbear, Yoshiko
Denver Ctr. Int’l Studies

High School 1st

Okuno, Sarah
Watson, Susan
University of Houston

Belisario, Nicole
Rochkind, Chiaki
H. LaGuardia HS

Ahn, Stephanie
Barber, Etsuko
RL Turner HS

Arhens, Jessica

2ndLim, Heechan
Danshita, Hiroki
Issaquah HS

Derisi, Marina
Okada, Naomi
Lowell High School

Moore, Emma
Imamura, Tracy
Fort Hayes HS

Enomoto, Emma
Rochkind, Chiaki
H. LaGuardia HS

3rdLou, Louisa
Glenn, StephanieCharles Wright Acad.

Vanderhoof, Lianna
Iwami, Sachiko
Palos Verde Peninsula

Gacasan, Cherilynne
Glenn, StephanieCharles Wright Acad.

Espedido, Kairi
Iwami, Sachiko
Palos Verde PeninsulaCollege 1stBoyd, Elspeth
Chang, Jinhwa
Mt. Holyoke College

Korali, Kouadio
Collis, Nahoko
Univ. of Rhode Island

Gresham, Darcy
Katayama, Akemi
Univ. of TX at Austin.

2nd

Tjinakwie, Audrey
Liu, Jing
University of Houston

Donald, Meagan
Liu, Jing
University of Houston

Velasquez, Alejandra
Liu, Jing
University of Houston

Garcia-Sanchez, Natalia

Nichols, Jennie
Teel, Wenhong
Monmouth College

3rd

Monstserrat, Mireles

Liu, Jing
Lonestar Kingwood

CG

Liu, Jing
University of Houston

13

Masai, Takayuki
G. Kapowsin HS

FEB 2022 | VOL. 11 | NO.1

Nengajo Showcase - First Place Winners

See Chart on Page 13 for teacher and school information

Jenny Stouffer
Lower Elementary
Artistic

Noah Del Manzo
Lower Elementary
ComicalRyan Zawacki
Upper Elementary
Artistic

Nanami Frierson
Upper Elementary
ComicalKacie Kodani
Upper Elementary
CGI

Lan Tran
Middle School
Artistic

Chloe Jacobson
Middle School
ComicalNoah Poholsky
Middle School
Encouragement

Sonoa NaabMiddle School
CGI

Sarah Okuno
High School
Artistic

Nicole BelisarioHigh School
ComicalJessica Ahrens
High School
Encouragement

Stephanie Ahn
High School
CGI

Elspeth Boyd
College
Artistic

Kouadio Korali
College
ComicalDarcy Gresham
College
CGI

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FEB 2022 | VOL. 11 | NO.1

Nengajo Showcase - Second Place Winners

See Chart on Page 13 for teacher and school information

Isamu Yoshioka
Lower Elementary
Artistic

Narumi Knight
Lower Elementary
ComicalJanaki Bair
Upper Elementary
Artistic

Darya B-Zakharenko
Upper Elementary
ComicalLillian Terry
Upper Elementary
CGI

Cordelia Mosher
Middle School
Artistic

Yamilet Dominguez
Middle School
ComicalRiley Maurath
Middle School
Encouragement

Charlotte Carroll
Middle School
CGI

Heechan Lim
High School
Artistic

Marina Derisi
High School
ComicalEmma Enomoto
High School
Encouragement

Emma Moore
High School
CGI

Audrey Tjinakwie
College
Artistic

Meagan Donald
College
Comical

Alejandra Velasquez
College
CGI

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FEB 2022 | VOL. 11 | NO.1

Nengajo Showcase - Third Place Winners

See Chart on Page 13 for teacher and school information

Alexandra Niamien
Lower Elementary
Artistic

Keishi Toida
Lower Elementary
ComicalSaturn Santos
Upper Elementary
Artistic

Hana Saeedi
Upper Elementary
ComicalElliana Ralph
Upper Elementary
CGI

Maeva Louzini
Middle School
Artistic

Louis Christopher
Middle School
ComicalJulia Karyme Gonzalez
Middle School
Encouragement

Kira Beckford
Middle School
CGI

Louisa Lou
High School
Artistic

Lianna Vanderhoof
High School
ComicalKairi Espedido
High School
Encouragement

Cherilynne GacasanHigh School
CGI

Mireles Monsterrat
College
Artistic

Natalia Garcia-Sanchez
College
ComicalJennie Nichols
College
CGI

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FEB 2022 | VOL. 11 | NO.1

Meet Will Matsuzaki

California Transplant in the Lone Star StateANN JORDANIMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Meet William Matsuzaki sensei, who wears two hats as administrator and Japanese teacher, at All Saints Episcopal
School in Fort Worth, Texas. His many leadership contributions at AATJ include serving as Advocacy Director from 20172018. His focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion issues has been an important part of his work the past few years, andwe are pleased that he will be serving as AATJ’s Director of DEI.

East L.A. Sodachi
Jordan:Will sensei, I’d like to start by digging into your roots. You’re in Texas now, but you were born and raised in East Los
Angeles, in Boyle Heights, a neighborhood with a very rich cultural history. It was once the largest neighborhood ofJapanese immigrants and Japanese Americans in Southern California, just outside of Little Tokyo. What was it likegrowing up and coming of age in East L.A. in the 80’s and 90’s?
Matsuzaki:
My mom was born in Japan, my dad in Hawaii, and they met somewhere in California. I grew up in East L.A. pretty muchnear where the Evergreen Cemetery is, and from kindergarten to third grade went to a Catholic Japanese school rightnear Little Tokyo called Maryknoll School. After that, my parents put us into First Street School, a public school near First
St. and Boyle. I was introverted growing up, so moving to such a big school was an adjustment for me. Until a teacher
called on me, I wouldn’t even speak. Garfield, which was the school in the movie, “Stand and Deliver”, is where I went tohigh school.
That was around the time of the Rodney King riots. What was it like to be so close to the violence, especially at yourimpressionable age?
My parents were very conservative, so during all of that, I would hear their side of it at home, but then a very different
view at school, where most of the students were on the liberal side of the issue. There was so much racial tension and somany different opinions about the verdict and the reasons for the riot. That was a real formative time for me as I wasstarting to develop my own way of thinking. Being on the quieter side, I didn’t articulate any of it, but seeing and hearing
so much, I started to question a lot. I began to realize that people have different struggles beyond their control thatmight have nothing to do with whether they worked hard or not.
I also started becoming politically aware. I remember being in junior high school when Dianne Feinstein was running forgovernor. One of my teachers was a big supporter, and our classroom became like the headquarters for her campaign at
one point.
Can you imagine that today? That teacher would be in so much trouble!
Now that I think about it, that would definitely not be okay today! We were making posters and doing all kinds of things
for the campaign! Later, Proposition 187 was on the ballot, and listening to my friends who were passionate about theimmigration issue started me thinking about what the whole process of immigrating to another country means. What
are the background stories of immigrants and all the layers behind it?
Developmentally, that’s a time when we begin to develop separate
identities from our parents anyways. But being in the middle of all of
that, along with the push and pull of grappling with your own racial andcultural identities must have made that time even more difficult.
Yes. I think the other formative time was during my senior year of highschool in 1994-95 during the college application process. There was so muchback and forth about affirmative action and conflicts between what I washearing from school versus messaging I was receiving from home. From myparents it was, “because you're Asian, it's gonna be harder”. From school it
was more centered around how important it is to have affirmative action forequity and representation in college and all that. So I think I was reallystruggling with not just grappling with college admissions, already a hardthing, but having those two different messages being communicated to me
and not knowing which was right.
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How did your parents feel about you heading off to Minnesota to go to school?
Going to school in such a crowded place is probably the reason I chose a liberal arts school in a completely different
environment for college. My mom was more vocal than my dad, and she was one of those parents who pushed for the Ivy
leagues and pre-med. So I think it took her a while to be okay with a college that did not fit those expectations.
So your mother wanted you to become a doctor, but what did you want be when you grew up? Not a Japanese teacher,probably.
No, not a Japanese teacher. I thought I wanted to become a physician because that was what I kept hearing at home.
The reason I even took any language classes was because it was required at my high school. There was no Japanese, so I
took Spanish, but everybody else in the class already spoke Spanish at home. I remember the first day of class, theassignment was to write about your summer in Spanish. So I looked in my Spanish English dictionary, put the words inthe same order as English, and turned it in. I completed the courses and once I had fulfilled the language requirement, I
was sure I was never again going to take a foreign language.

A Life-changing Encounter at Carleton College
But then, I enrolled at Carleton College, which had a two-year foreign language requirement that you can test out of bytaking a placement test. I took the Spanish test and must have gotten like 5%. So of course, I had to take a foreign
language. And I was like, Ugh. It wasn't a surprise because everything was way hard on the exam. And I was writing inanything that sounded Spanish.
So I was walking around the Great Hall, thinking I would just restart Spanish, when this super energetic Japanese
professor approached me, marketing her class. I could already function a little bit in Japanese, and she was very excitedand told me that I should sign up for Japanese because it would be a lot of fun.
And, and I thought, “okay, why not?” And signed up for Japanese. The professor, Kaga sensei, was the whole reason that I
even considered starting Japanese, and the reason that I continued. She was always kind, and she told me, “You’re doing
well. Have you considered doing a special major in Japanese?”At the time I was taking bio and physics and math, not enjoying it. I was still at that point kind of heading in the pre-med
direction, but beginning to think, “Geez…if I have to do this for the rest of my life forever, I don’t think I can do this.”
So when the Japanese professor suggested a special major in Japanese, I thought, “huh, that might be fun.”Something about that conversation pulled you in and created a connection that ultimately determined the directionof your professional life. Are you still in touch with her?
She retired about a year ago, but I keep in touch with her. Her name is Mariko Kaga sensei. She was the master ofconnecting with people. And even when I wasn't taking her course, she always made sure to check in. I remember in mysenior year she said, “You played tennis. Why don't you come and give me a couple of lessons? I'll see you at 9:00 AM at
the tennis courts.” And I couldn’t disappoint her. I would do anything for her.
Sounds like she not only knew how to connect with students, but also how to make them feel valued and important.
Yes. She started me on the path, and then I did a program in Manchester, New Hampshire called Summerbridge, now
called Breakthrough, for middle and high school students. I had never thought about teaching before, but somebody
from the career center had suggested that I apply for the program.
I was assigned to teach first year physics and Japanese. Wow, did I have fun! I still didn't think of it as a career yet, just agreat summer job. So the second summer I came back and taught Japanese again and also math. And I loved it. I went
back for the third summer and taught two Japanese classes.
In my senior year of college I was applying for jobs in the corporate world and grad school. I couldn't apply to publicschools because I didn't have a teaching certificate, but the people in the Summerbridge program suggested that I apply
to private schools because it looked like I really enjoyed teaching. So I applied, but I was like maybe kind of stuff. I applied
to firms like Deloitte, all those places you're supposed to apply to as a college senior, even the CIA. I laugh when I think
about it now. What the heck was I thinking?
I was just throwing things at the wall and got into a couple of grad schools for Japanese masters and then I got aninterview in the spring for a private school in Maryland teaching middle school. I went with what I thought I would enjoy
the most, and my salary as a beginning teacher at a private school was in the twenty thousands. So, at that time, rightout of college, I thought, “20-Something! Wow!”
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But your mom had hopes and expectations that you would become a doctor. How did she react to your changing
course?
You had to declare your major in sophomore year, and I remember it was such a big screaming fight over the phone, soloud you could hear it all down the hall. That was hard. I could hear how disappointed she was. My friends all came to myroom.
Good thing that it was over the phone. She was probably afraid that you were choosing a harder path financially.
I think it was also because teaching was not prestigious. I remember when I first became a teacher, almost anytime wetalked, there was an attitude of “Anybody can do that job. Why are you working so late? It’s easy”.
I’m sure she changed her mind as she watched how hard you have worked as a teacher and the impact you’ve madeon your students and school. Your first time to go to Japan without your mom was the study abroad year that you
spent in Nagoya. Did you return to Japan for extended periods after that?
When I was working as a middle school teacher at St. Paul’s in Maryland, I also ran the three week and a four-monthexchange program with our sister school, Gakushuin. So, I would go to Japan maybe two to three times a year. A lot oftimes I wound up staying for about two to three months in Japan, which was also just so wonderful.
When the program expanded, I took the high school students that I had when they were in middle school. I worked there
for 16 years and took students for about eleven or twelve years. I was a middle school principal at a smaller school in
Maryland before coming here to Texas. If you're familiar with Maryland, my first school was in Baltimore.
I also lived in Baltimore twice. The second time was in the Catonsville area, and we had just come from Japan. I
remember having to go all the way into DC to buy Japanese rice because there were no Asian markets in Baltimore. I
also remember being the only Asian kids of any kind, hyphenated or not, in the whole elementary school. One day
my mom was substituting in the classroom down the hall, and kids were slowing down to look inside the classroom
to look at her. They’d never seen a person with an Asian face sitting in the teacher’s desk. It was just so baffling tothem. I was so embarrassed.
Catonsville actually has a couple of H Marts and is a huge Asian area now.
What? Wow. That's certainly different from when we lived there. So back to your school. Did you initiate theconnection with Gakushuin School?
It started before I arrived. St Paul's used to be number one in lacrosse in the late eighties, and they had tagged along with
the Johns Hopkins team to do a lacrosse tour of Japan. And the head of the school at that time decided that they needed
to offer more than just Spanish and French at our St. Paul’s. That’s how Japanese got started, and then it continued. I
arrived in 1999, and the person who had been running the exchange program became ill in 2003, so I took it over.

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Identity
Let’s talk about identity. How do you answer the question that we get in both Japan and the United States, “What areyou?” Has your response changed over the years?
When I studied abroad in Japan in college, I would answer, “Nikkei-jin”. And a lot of people would be very confused. I
remember so many times the reaction was surprise. “Oh, wow! the Japanese blood is so strong then.” I think they
assumed Nikkei-jin meant that one of my parents was non-Asian. So I had to explain all that and then they would say,
“Ohhh. So that's your story?”
And here in the U.S., when I was asked that question in college, I used to answer either “Japanese American” or “Asian
American”. I think most Asian Americans learn that we can't just answer with, “I'm from the US” or “I'm American”because
that’s not really what they’re asking.
So, you just have to cut to the chase and say Japanese American or Asian American.
In your presentation for the Globally Connected Online Japanese Language Education event last August, you talked
about how your two identities had been in conflict as you grappled with the question, “How American am I? HowJapanese am I?” And that being a non-native speaker of Japanese, who “looked” Japanese, you felt, especially in the
beginning of your career, a strong sense of imposter syndrome. Could you share some of that struggle?
Well, one part is that people have a certain sense of what is Japanese or American, and I don’t think I fit into either of theimages people associate with the two.
And I think even if you grew up going to the same English speaking school as anybody else, for some reason especiallywhen you grow up speaking an Asian language, there's a sort of tone or some sort of voice where you can often tell that
person is Asian American. It’s not an accent or anything like that, but just the cadence or something that you could tell,even without video, that person must be Asian American. So that even audio wise, you don't quite fit into that “American”
mode.
Also, because my Japanese is nowhere near native level, either written or oral, it just makes it hard to make everything
neatly fit into what some people assume Japanese and American to be. Saying “Japanese American” sort of presents aquestion to people of what that actually is as an identity. About 10 years ago, one of my good friends did her dissertation
on hyphens. It made me think about what it actually means in terms of identity, and how expressing Japanese Americanwith the hyphen or without the hyphen, reflects whether the two are separate entities or mixed together.
How has your identity influenced you as a Japanese teacher?
One part of it is that I'm very proud of my Japanese American heritage. I think what really influences me is how much andwhat Kaga sensei did for me, and I always try to emulate the personal touches that she showed me. And also, what drew
me into the language and how important, more than the initial flashy stuff, is keeping students and making them feelthat they want to stay in it. I think that's the part that carries me through beyond even Japanese teaching, in the schoolthat I work at and the different programs that I’ve been involved in. The most important part for anybody, which is to feelthat you matter.

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Changing Minds and Fostering Inclusion
Feeling that you matter is the “I” of DEI, Inclusion. Sometimes I run into a perception that Japanese isn’t useful, or is“too foreign” or difficult for certain students, or that Japanese language study is more suitable for some, and notothers. What can we Japanese teachers do to change help change those perceptions and how do we do a better job offacilitating inclusion and equity?
If you can get the students excited and help them find ways to use the language, then it's not useless. The more excitedthey are about it, the more useful it will be for them than some of the perceived usefulness of, for example, Spanish. The
first department chair that I worked with was a German teacher who talked a lot about the importance of planting theseed as early as possible.
I think if you plant that seed and are intentional about how you're going to really break down that wall to show how thispath could really be a great road for your child, I think parents can buy into it. But if you don't do that work intentionallyand put in the time and effort, I don't think it happens. One of the big things that I reiterate to the teachers here is allthese things are mindsets and the intentional work you make for years. And you may see just an inch of progress, but that
inch is so important.
One of the diversity practitioners said there are 10 levels of the mindset. He related it to a thermometer. Zero level istotally against it, and in order to move to the next part of the 10, you have to have at least seven significant bumps in yourlife that sort of shake up your life. And I think it's the same for changing your mindset about another language.
We also want to make sure we examine our own teaching practices and consider things such as learning differences,developmental differences, and the kinds of accommodations we can give to students. Just making sure we have thatmindset is important.
You currently wear two hats. You're an administrator, and you are also teaching Japanese.
I'm teaching Japanese electives, which is the first year of Japanese broken up into two semesters where students can justfinish with Japanese one, which is one semester, or they can do Japanese two, which is the second half of a regularJapanese one.
It’s a class that just pitched as an elective that doesn’t fulfill any language requirement, but is for students interested inJapanese. So the students who are in that class have to take an additional language class to fulfill the requirement. But if
there was a Japanese class that would fulfill it, that's probably what they’d choose. Currently, we only offer Spanish and
Latin, but the head of the school is in favor of offering an additional language. So, I’m planting a seed and hoping that we
can start a Japanese program.
If that does happen, and the program grows, eventually you’ll
need to find somebody else. So, you're not only planting theseed, but you’re also nurturing that seed for the future. In
terms of nurturing DEI, what are some things that you feel you
are able to do or facilitate as an administrator that you can't do
as a classroom teacher?
One of the big reasons I became an administrator was because of
an awesome middle school principal at my first school, who said
that if you the only way to make schoolwide, systemic change is as
an administrator. It's very, very hard, nearly impossible to do thatas a classroom teacher.

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Teacher vs Administrator
What do you love about being a Japanese teacher, but also what's the hardest part?
I think the thing that I love the most about being a Japanese teacher is that there's so much leeway to make it so active
and for the students to really be drawn into the mixture of language, culture, and just life at the same time. There are somany things that you have to integrate to make it interesting, and I love to see the students’ excitement as it unfolds. The
other part that I love is instantly seeing that they're learning and can apply it very quickly. I love how the students are soeager to use it outside of the classroom.
And like Pinterest is for adults, students sort of go down the rabbit hole through everything you mentioned in class, thengrab onto something and spend hours on their own, learning more about it. So I love just all those different parts aboutit.
I think the challenge is always the initial hesitancy of teaching a language that might not be perceived as useful. I think
we're both immune to it by now of hearing that we're like, oh, okay, like we've heard that a million times already, but I
think that's always the challenge of seeing the students wanting to take it and being discouraged from doing so.
I think the other challenge, which might be a good thing and a bad thing, is there are so many more resources for Spanish
and French. Spanish has moved the ball quite a bit in comprehensible input, and teachers are benefiting so much fromthe numerous resources available. It’s hard for Japanese teachers to do that because everything is self-created. Japaneseteachers are constantly in the creation phase of making, making, making, and because it's such a small community, it's
harder to have it all in one place where we can share it and just grab it.
So true. I don't think I've ever heard an administrator say, “I love being an administrator”, but what do you like themost about it and what's the hardest part?
So I'm actually someone who loves being an administrator. As a full-time teacher, you just don't have the time to make as
many connections with people outside of your classroom. But as an administrator, there's a little bit of flexibility on how
you use your time to go into classrooms and make those connections, and I love that. I think the greatest part is seeing
those individual teachers who are uplift, help, and mentor the teachers who need support. Even the people who needthat support have their own gifts that they can use to support others in certain areas. Administrators get to see that, andthey are connected with students, faculty, other administrators, parents, donors, really anybody who’s part of the school.
I love that when you set some sort of an academic vision, you are helping every single teacher move in the same direction.
You know that because of that overall alignment, the bumps that the students feel from grade to grade will decrease. I
also love that as an administrator, you could set the tone of the school to whatever you want it to be. watching that
happen at my current and previous schools is an amazing feeling, knowing that whatever you think the culture should be,
you will see it in a few months.
That really speaks to the power and potential that an administrator has to do really good work. On the other side ofit, thought, they also have the power to mess things up. It can make a school really shine and thrive, or it can ensurethat a school just stays the same or goes back. Here’s my last question for you. You have not lived or worked in
California since leaving for college. But you’re still a SoCal kid at heart, I’m guessing. What do you miss most about
California?
Number one thing I miss is being in a big city where there's so many people from all walks of life. I also miss the access to
so many things that you have in Los Angeles. It’s such a mixture that you can’t really say, “This is the culture of Los
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Yes, LA is such a patchwork quilt of different neighborhoods, including the Boyle Heights neighborhood that you
grew up in. You’ve lived in Texas now for three and a half years. What do you love about Texas? I love the barbecue,
especially brisket. There’s no brisket in California that even comes close.
I do love barbecue, and my cholesterol has definitely gone up. I also think it is so awesome to have space and no traffic a
lot of times. And since Toyota moved its huge plant from Torrance to Dallas, there’s a large Japanese population here.
And about four or five Japanese markets. I can get there in under an hour. I think there’s a new Japanese store popping up
every month.
I’m also getting into the Texas lifestyle. I'm going to a rodeo on Monday with a couple of friends. I can see how people
here love that culture. I love that if I drive a little bit further, there's the Japanese area in Dallas. Austin is only a couple ofhours away, too. And there are nonstop flights to Japan as well because of the American airlines hub. So life is good.
Well, you are going to the rodeo next week because of Kaga sensei. If she had not tapped you on the shoulder thatday, you would have been leading a very different life. It might have been really cool, but it wouldn't have been thesame life.
Thank you so much, Will sensei, for a fun conversation. And best wishes on your work as DEI Director for AATJ!

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Language Advocacy Day 2022

TOMOKO TAKAMIAATJ PRESIDENT

Language Advocacy Day 2022 took place virtually on February 2-4, 2022, organized by the Joint National Committee
for Languages and the National Council for Languages and International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS). The event had its
largest number of participants, more than 280 advocates representing all 50 states and District of Colombia, and 289
congressional meetings.
In this special event, AATJ was represented by Tomoko Takami (AATJ President), Ann Jordan (AATJ Past President),and Shingo Satsutani (AATJ President-Elect), and Susan Schmidt (AATJ Executive Director). All participants
attended meetings with their state’s Senators and House representatives to promote language and international
education.
The legislative requests focused on in 2022 were as follows:
1. Support providing at least $15 million for the World Language Advancement and Readiness Program (WLARA)
in FY 2022.The support is to establish, improve, or expand innovative programs in world language learning for
Department of Defense schools and local education agencies with Junior ROTC programs.
2. Support forthcoming World Language Education Assistance Program (World LEAP) legislation which would
establish a new world language program in the Department of Education.
3. Support passage of the Senate version of the Advancing International and Foreign Language Education Act toreauthorize International Education Programs under Title VI of the Higher Education Act, which is included in the
United States Innovation and Competition Act- USICA. ‘
4. Support the authorization of the Biliteracy Educational Seal and Teaching (BEST) Act that will provide federal
funding for equitable implementation of programs to allow every student in America to achieve the opportunity
to achieve a Seal of Biliteracy
5. Support authorization and funding for the Native American Language Resource Center Act Bill when it isintroduced
6. Join the Congressional America’s Languages Caucus
For more detailed information, please visit these websites:
JNCL-NCLIS website: https://www.languagepolicy.org/
JNCL-NCLIS Advocacy resources: https://www.languagepolicy.org//resources
JNCL-NCLIS Newsbrief: https://www.languagepolicy.org/post/newsbrief-april-23-2021
Advocacy Alerts: https://www.languagepolicy.org/newsroom/categories/advocacy-alerts
Biliteracy Education Seal and Teaching Act Reintroduced to Establish Federal Grant Program:
https://www.languagepolicy.org/post/biliteracy-education-seal-and-teaching-act-reintroduced-to-establish-federalgrant-p
As a member organization of JNCL-NCLIS, AATJ will continue to advocate world language education aligning with
JNCL-NCLIS.
Also, resources for advocacy of Japanese language education can be found at the AATJ website:
https://www.aatj.org/advocacy

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JNHS Spotlight - Thomas Jefferson HS

ANN JORDANIMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Leadership is a key component of JNHS. Find out what a group of committed and organized Alexandria, Virginia
JNHS officer leaders did when their beloved Japanese program was in jeopardy. Their inspiring story will “encourage
student leaders to believe in the power they have to shape the lives of those around them.” Please share it with yourstudents.

And…exciting news!

JNHS officers of Los Gatos High School in California met on Zoom recently with the Thomas Jefferson High School
for Science and Technology officers to brainstorm ideas for an online meetup and summit sometime this May
bringing together JNHS student leaders from all over. We will let you know via email bulletin and AATJ social media
once details are finalized. So stay tuned to find out how your students can participate in this great event!

初めまして。 We are the officers of the Japanese National Honor Society of Thomas Jefferson High School for
Science and Technology (TJHSST), and we are so honored to be able to share our story with everyone through
AATJ’s newsletter.

Our program has been around for a couple of decades now and currently consists of three organizations: our chapter
of JNHS, our school’s Japanese Culture Club (JCC), and our Japan Bowl team. Our JNHS is a group of especiallydevoted students that organizes events and fundraisers, offers tutoring services, runs publicity for the program onsocial media, and oversees and assists JCC and our Japan Bowl team. Through JCC, we also run student-led taiko andyosakoi groups. Our Japan Bowl team has continuously placed in the top ten teams nationally since 2012, and ourschool was also the first high school to host the Tomodachi Project. We also have a 27-year long partnership with oursister school, Chiben Gakuen Wakayama, which we hope to continue for many more years into the future. However,despite our successes, our program has also faced its fair share of obstacles.
The pandemic changed a lot for everyone. For our program, it meant we couldn’t do as much “recruiting” as normal,
and it showed. Though 28 students had signed up for Japanese 1 the year prior, sign-ups during the summer of 2020
didn’t have enough students to fill one class. The following summer of 2021, one of our worst fears came to be: oursensei was leaving our school. The position of Japanese teacher had been changed to a part-time job instead of a fulltime one, and Japanese 1 was taken off of the course list. Suddenly, it seemed we would inherit a dying program.
All of us are seniors who have been dedicated to the program for our whole high school careers. As underclassmen
we sat with then-seniors during lunch and after school in the Japanese room, listening to their advice, laughing
together, and building relationships that have lasted beyond their high school careers. From our taiko group to ourJapan Bowl team, the activities and events the program offers have touched the lives of generations of Japaneselearners, ourselves included. We were determined to do all that we could to ensure that future students will have thesame opportunities and support system that we had thanks to the Japanese program. So, we reached out to ourcommunity for help.

Upon the release of the news that our teacher was leaving,
we immediately began receiving messages from alumni,
even those who predated our sensei, asking how they
could help maintain the program. The same people who
trained us to take over leadership of the program years
before were once again alongside us to help out, though
this time over video call. The support we received from thegreater Japanese learning community, especially StudyJapanese in Arlington and the AATJ, was swift and strong,
and we are so grateful for the fellowship that we share.
We are especially grateful to AATJ President Jordan for
meeting with us and drafting a letter outlining theimportance of our program. Her continued guidance has
meant the world to us.
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FEB 2022 | VOL. 11 | NO.1

We began collecting student and alumni testimony about the importance of the program and thinking of possible
paths forward. We met with our school principal to discuss the future of the program and were relieved to hear that
she also wished to help preserve our program. Meanwhile, we also reached out to our school administrators to begin
searching for new sponsors for our clubs.
Luckily, before the summer ended, our current Japanese teacher was officially hired. Though we didn’t get to host
our usual summer events due to our lack of a teacher, we were relieved that our students would have a qualified
teacher for the upcoming year. Despite the demanding nature of her job, Kuriki-sensei has done a wonderful job of
helping us maintain our traditions alongside being a fantastic teacher. However, as a first-year teacher, she can’t do itall. To help, one of our school’s Spanish teachers offered to be the official sponsor for JCC. Thanks to his assistance,
the Japanese program was able to get most of our usual activities up and running by the time the school year was infull swing.
Though many things have had to change, TJHSST’s JNHS has pushed through. Usually, we run taiko, yosakoi,
wotagei, and shodo groups. However, all of our taiko and bachi belonged to our previous sensei, meaning we needed
to build our own from scratch. In the meantime, our previous sensei kindly allowed us to borrow some of his taiko as
we got back on our feet. He also wrote the music for our previous performances, so we asked our veteran taiko
players to compose this year’s performance on their own. With our new sponsor, we had to figure out the process forreserving rehearsal locations and hosting our own events. Through many mishaps and lessons learned as we went, we
also managed to successfully hold our annual Oshogatsu event, where we sold food, ran Oshogatsu-themed stations,and had a taiko performance. However, not everything could be saved. With a new teacher and a different sponsor
for JCC, our shodo group, which normally performs at Sakura Matsuri in D.C., had to go on hiatus. Still, we plan toleave everything we know to our successors in the hope that they can bring the group back.
Though this year’s number of new Japanese students is low, JCC’s membership has increased. Sign-ups for nearly
every meeting fill up quickly, and we also run a tutoring program for students who couldn’t take Japanese 1 but stillwant to study Japanese. As painful as this process has been, it has also taught us a lot about leadership andperseverance. It has highlighted the strength we have as students to make a difference in our community and the
profound effect the program has had on people. We hope to set our successors up to not only uphold the program as
it is now but to grow and refine it further.
It’s clear that preserving TJHSST’s Japanese program isn’t just about preserving a course, it’s about preserving aprecious community: a community of learners, friends, mentors, and students. It’s about preserving a legacy of
curiosity, empathy, and dedication. However, our program is just one of many that also need help. Now more thanever, students everywhere need the community and empathy that small language programs and diverse language
departments provide. What makes JNHS a special organization is not just the companionship we have within eachchapter but also the community we all share as members of a niche group of language learners. We hope that ourstory will encourage student leaders to believe in the power they have to shape the lives of those around them. We
want JNHS chapters across the country to know that should anything similar happen to them, TJHSST’s JNHS will behere to help.
Thomas Jefferson JNHS Officers:
Aneri Shah and Alana Nii, Presidents
John Kim and Catherine Pak, Secretaries
Marissa Hirakawa and Yoo-bin Kwon, Treasurers
Rachel Kwon, Publicist/HistorianJapanese
National
Honor
Society26

FEB 2022 | VOL. 11 | NO.1

2022 Summer M.A. Program in Japanese Pedagogy at Columbia University
The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures) at
Columbia University invites applications for the summer M. A. program in Japanese Pedagogy. The
2020 and 2021 programs offered only online courses, but we plan to run the 2022 program inperson again next summer. The 2022 program will begin on Monday, June 6th and last until Friday,
August 5th, during which the following courses will be taught:
I. Three-week Pedagogy Course (6/6-6/24):- Elementary Japanese Pedagogy
II. 3 MA Courses (6/27-8/5):- Teaching Japanese Through Literature- Sociolinguistics- Pragmatics
Degree candidates may fulfill the requirements for the M.A. degree in three consecutive summers
or in any three summers within a period of six years by taking eleven courses and writing an M.A.
thesis. The thesis is required to have a focus on a particular area of Japanese pedagogy. Students
take courses for six weeks in one summer and nine weeks during the other two summers.
We also welcome non-degree students for the three-week Elementary Japanese Pedagogy course.
Special Admission Requirements: B.A. or equivalent from an accredited institution in the U.S., Japanor elsewhere,
proficiency in English (for native Japanese speakers: 570/IBT88/CBT230 TOEFL or above) orJapanese (for non-native Japanese speakers/ACTFL: Advanced-High or above).
More information is available at the following websites.
http://ealac.columbia.edu/program/language-programs/japanese/jlp-summerprograms/
https://gsas.columbia.edu/degree-programs/ma-programs/japanese-pedagogy
Application deadline: February 15th, 2022.
Online Application: https://gsas.columbia.edu/degree-programs/admissions
Successful applicants will be notified of their admission by the middle of March. On-campus
housing is available during the summer.
Contact: Shigeru Eguchi,
Administrative Director of the 2022 Summer M.A. Program in Japanese Pedagogy
Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALAC)
407 Kent Hall, Columbia University
New York, NY 10027
Email: se53@columbia.edu
Tel: 212/854-8345; FAX: 212/678-8629

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FEB 2022 | VOL. 11 | NO.1

Japanese Program S.O.S. #3

Strategies, Opportunities, and Support
ANN JORDANIMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT

Welcome back to SOS, our series on Strategies, Opportunities, and Support for Japanese programs. In the firstarticle in the SOS series, we focused on the nuts and bolts of the SOS that Japanese teachers can activate toadvocate for and strengthen their programs. The second article highlighted the advocacy success stories of threecollege teachers. This time, I’ll be sharing some advocacy related insights from my conversation with former AATJ
Advocacy Director and current DEI Director William Matsuzaki on current advocacy challenges and strategies.

Changes and Challenges
What are some of the ways that advocacy needs and strategies have changed since you served as AATJ Advocacy
Director in 2017-2018?
Advocacy is more challenging now because there are a lot of barriers that didn’t exist then. Students often takeclasses because of the teacher, not just the subject, but we went through a year and a half where teachers didn’t evensee their students, so the loss of that connection was very hard. They didn’t have the relationship to bring them thefirsthand experiences. We had to reimagine how to set up those relationships and those experiences that students
have that are unique to the Japanese classroom that they might not be able to have another class. We didn’t have theopportunity during that time for students to have those touch points that are necessary for them to see the greatness
or the potential greatness of your class.
The other challenge that I see both as an administrator and as a teacher is the skills that the students are lacking
because of the last year and a half. So teachers are trying to make their classes as interesting as possible, but have todo the basic teaching and remediation even more than in the past. And that goes with having to redo and rethink all
the planning that we've had before.
One of the challenges of a Japanese teacher, especially high school, has always been usually teaching four or fivepreps a day. And doing that with the students that we have right now, trying to make class interesting and lively, isreally hard.We often forget that students are not the only ones suffering from the loss of not being together duringthat time. And when teachers don't have support from the administrators to take care of some of the social,emotional needs, I don't think they're able to go above and beyond to do some of the advocacy work might beimportant. A big challenge that I would give the administrators is to really think about what the teachers need at thistime. I think we're all, we're all fatigued, but that advocacy work is so important, more so right now than ever.
I'm also noticing is a huge attrition rate for teachers and that has an impact. In education in general, there has been ahuge drop in the number of candidates for each position. We used to get thick packets of candidates and now it's
very, very, very slim. There are just not enough teachers for all classes, and classroom teachers are being asked toeven cover even more than before. Planning periods are almost out for most people right now.

Keeping Students Motivated and Hopeful
Recently, Prime Minister Kishida announced that Japan will start to allow limited entry for students and businesstravelers. Opportunities to study and work in Japan are key motivators for students of Japanese language and culture.
What are your thoughts on how we can keep motivation and hope alive for learners and teachers of Japanese?
Those of us who run exchange programs know that experience is on one of the number one reasons why students
continue to study Japanese. We see how much their language improves during that time, and how excited they are.
But getting the students to Japan is out of our control, so we have to think of ways to motivate the students
differently by coming up with maybe two tangible things that reframe why students should continue to study
Japanese.
Most of our students don’t have the resources to travel to Japan for that firsthand have experience. This might be agood opportunity for us to rethink that experience and come up with ways to deliver it to our campuses for all
students. So that it's not just the few that are able to do that exchange trip. Going to Japan and using the language ina very real-life situation with people other outside than the Japanese teacher is exciting for students, so coming up
with ways to one way is to try to bring that experience into the classroom for the students is one way to make it
accessible for all, rather than just a small, select group.
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FEB 2022 | VOL. 11 | NO.1

Listening to Student VoiceAn important tool for advocacy is listening to student voice. The pause in exchange programs is a huge loss, but one
thing we can do to increase student agency and involvement is identifying why our students signed up for Japaneseand then, incorporating those interests. I think as teachers we plan, plan, plan, but often from the single lens of what
we think they’re interested in. A great book that somebody recommended called Street Data, focuses on theimportance of student voice and ways to incorporate that into your teaching so that you have the buy-in. Language
teachers can then integrate all different things that we know excite our students, and our classes can be fun, yet still
very rigorous.

Your Program’s Identity
I’ll be sure to check that book out. In your panel presentation, you talked about the importance of being strategic intaking your Japanese programs to the next iteration. Could you explain what you mean by the “next iteration” andshare some different things that you implemented that led your program to the next level or the next iteration?
We’re all so busy that we tend to repeat a pattern of coming up with an idea, then implementing, and then anotheridea that we implement and so on. The stakeholders can begin to lose sight of what our goal is and not know what
the Japanese program stands for.
We have to really think about how we communicate all those different things and the goals of the program. One of
the most important parts is to come up with some sort of a strategic plan, so that when parents want to know why
their son or daughter should take Japanese, there’s a clear answer. Communicating with parents about the things
their children are doing in Japanese class and involving them is also helpful. That involvement could be part of some
homework that they are engaging either people at home or their friends which can create interest in the program
beyond the students.

Defining Your Program

It’s also really important to define what your Japanese program is. At my previous school, I was one of four Japaneseteachers, so it was really important for all of us to be on the same page. Something we used to do was publish a“Japan times” newsletter highlighting each of the divisions. Students wrote the articles, which made it reallyengaging and helped to provide singular communication.
Whether you are the only teacher, or one of several at your school, it’s important that the reasons you tell parents andstudents for taking Japanese align with what they will actually get out of your program. It makes me think about all
the lists that often part of some advocacy articles or kits, with titles like, “10 reasons to take Japanese”. Those are good,
but the problem is that if you just say, “take my class, because Japan is number one in such and such, or the biggest
importer of something, something, or you can get a job in…”, it might be too far away and not directly connected towhat students will get out of your class in the immediate future.
That is so far away for many of them. I think something that might be good to include in an advocacy kit might be acouple of reflection questions for teachers about reasons why students should take Japanese in their programs.

Filling the Bucket
Do you have any thoughts on how Japanese teachers can work more effectively with their administrators?
Many Japanese teachers try to work hard and stay under the radar with the administrators, but I personally think that
doesn't work well to foster healthy programs. You have to figure out a way to build that relationship because it’s suchan important part. One thing that Japanese teachers can do is to work up the courage to really highlight some of thethings that you are doing. As an administrator, if you were to have a negative and a positive bucket, something thatmight be in the negative bucket would be having parents or students complain about you or students complain aboutyou. Maybe there's a disconnect between you and the students, or they don't feel like they're learning.
So that's a negative bucket that will impact your program. A positive bucket would be keeping your principal
informed so that the principal is able to talk about your program when he or she is sharing some of the highlights ofthe school. By keeping that person informed, there's a greater chance that your program will be highlighted in the
newsletter, or that it will be talked about it during a meeting. When you have a request for something, theadministrator is more likely to support that request. Establishing that relationship is one of the keys to having a
thriving program.

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FEB 2022 | VOL. 11 | NO.1

Invitation to the 6th Annual Junior Japan Bowl Competition
Dear Educators, Parents, and Supporters of Japanese Language Programs,

全米の小中学校の日本語の先生方へ
小中学生の日本語・日本文化大会のジュニアジャパンボウル第６回が下記の通り、４月２９日にオンライン開催されます。Kahootで行う無料のイベントです。準備用の教材はすべて揃っていますので先生方のご負担を最小限に、チームで楽しく学習できる大会です。勉強会やソフトウェアチェックの日程も併せて、ぜひ生徒さんにお知らせください。
J-LEARN (Japanese Language Education and Resource Network) cordially invites students in grades
one through eight (Gr. 1-8) who are studying Japanese to compete in the sixth annual Junior Japan Bowl
(J2B) competition 2022, which will be held virtually on Friday, April 29, 2022, from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Eastern Daylight Time.
Junior Japan Bowl is a team-based academic competition modeled after the National Japan Bowl hosted
by the Japan-America Society of Washington DC, where elementary and middle school students answer
questions about the Japanese language, history, and culture in a quiz-bowl format. In 2021, 150 students
from Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Oregon, and Virginia competed in J2B2021. Click HERE to see
how much fun we had! Detailed information on J2B2022, including important links, are below:
Who

What
When
Why

How
More
More 2More 3All elementary and middle school students, including Japanese heritage
students, who are studying Japanese are eligible to compete as long as they
have not attended a school in Japan where Japanese is the primary languageof instruction for more than two academic years after the age of six.
A free academic competition on the Japanese language, history, and culture.
Friday, April 29, 2022, on Zoom
It’s fun and easy to prepare for J2B. All questions for J2B come from theofficial J2B Study Guide, which J-LEARN developed. The J2B2022 Study
Guide and other study resources (self-paced and classroom enrichment) canbe accessed at our WEBSITE. Teachers can also contact J-LEARN(admin@jcc-gfes.org) to access Kahoot games designed for classroom
teachers.
Create a team of 2-3 students, choose a team name that includes your school
initials, and register HERE by March 31, 2022.
We will have a Study Session on March 27. Please register HERE.
Students should attend one of the mandatory online software practices on
April 16 or April 24.
Email us for a list of Kahoot games teachers can use in the classroom.

If you are new to J2B and want to learn more, please contact Yuka Ohta at admin@jcc-gfes.org.
Noriko Otsuka
AATJ Advocacy Director

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FEB 2022 | VOL. 11 | NO.1

Diplomatic Language Services Is Recruiting Japanese Teachers
Diplomatic Language Services, based in Arlington, VA, has been a leading
provider of foreign language instruction and cultural training for various
US government agencies and branches of the military since 1985. We
are currently hiring experienced Japanese instructors for a variety ofpotential classes: part-time, full-time, short-term, and/or long-term. We
have in-person, online, and hybrid classes currently running.
To apply, please send full resume, availability, and location preference(s)to kmarden@dlsdc.com.

31

In the new Modern Japan Program (MJP) at Nanzan University’s Center for Japanese Studies(CJS), students develop a deep understanding of Japan in an English-medium program, while
fostering their elementary Japanese language skills.
Students participating in the MJP:
- take courses in six fields – Japanese society and history, politics and international relations,business and economics, language and linguistics, literature, and arts and culture.
- experience traditional Japan in elective practical art courses: calligraphy, manga drawing,tea ceremony, traditional dance, flower arrangement, traditional martial arts.
- improve their Japanese language skills in daily language classes.
- participate in regular events and field trips with Japanese students.
- stay at our brand-new Janssen International Residence, or homestay with a local family.
The MJP provides an alternative to our renowned Intensive Japanese Program (IJP).
Conveniently located in Nagoya in central Japan, our reasonably priced CJS programs run to
the American academic calendar (Fall: September to December; Spring: January to May); we
also offer a four-week and eight-week Summer Program in June and July.
For further information:
MJP: https://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/English/academics/cjs/mjp/
CJS: https://www.nanzan-u.ac.jp/English/academics/cjs/

32

ELGIN HEINZOUTSTANDINGTEACHER AWARDABOUT THE AWARD
The Elgin Heinz Award is named inhonor of Elgin Heinz for his commitment
to educating students about Asia as well
as for the inspiration he has provided to
the field of pre-college education. It
recognizes exceptional teachers who
further mutual understanding between
Americans and Japanese.

APPLICATIONAPPLY BY
APRIL 15, 2022

The award is open to current full-time K12 classroom teachers of any relevant
subject in the United States. For details,
please go to our website:
https://www.elginheinzaward.org.
33

The 36th Japanese Language and Japanese Culture Program
Hokkaido International Foundation (Hakodate, Hokkaido)
http://www.hif.or.jp/en/summer/

jj@hif.or.jp
34

Need a Chinese, Korean
or Japanese instructor?
The ALLEX Foundation helps universities
start or maintain high quality language
programs by providing them withprofessionally trained, native speaking
instructors.
For over 30 years ALLEX has worked with more than 230
universities and trained more than 1,000 teachers from
China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.
ESTABLISHING NEW PROGRAMSALLEX provides universities with a professionally trained naive Chinese, Korean
or Japanese instructor who will teach for two years in exchange for ﬁnancial
support to pursue a Master's or second Bachelor's degree. The institution does
not pay a salary, but rather provides tuition, room and board.
ENHANCING CURRENT PROGRAMS
For institutions that already have established Asian language programs the ALLEX
Foundation oﬀers a one-year op0on designed as a cost-eﬀective way to replace
faculty on leave, expand course oﬀerings, add drill instructors, or staﬀ languagehouse positions. Teaching Fellows in the one-year plan teach in exchange forroom, board and tuition to take two classes, either for credit or as auditors. They
are not degree seeking.

Give us a call! 978-401-0085

www.allex.org I oﬃce@allex.org I 978-401-0085 33
Bradford Street Concord, MA 01742 USA
35

American Association ofTeachers of Japanese, Inc.
Campus Box 366
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0366

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Contact our social media director, Noriko Otsuka HERE!