INSIDE... FLIGHTS OF FANCY • CLASS ACTS • MIRAI REVIEW

MADOVOLUME 11 • SEPTEMBER 2001

THE JAPAN FOUNDATIONNIHONGO CENTRE NEWSLETTER

Mind the GapTeachers bridge the sectoral divide at 2001 Symposium on Japanese Language EducationOver 160 teachers of Japanese from 21countries gathered at the Kaetsu Centre inNew Hall College, University of Cambridge,from September 7 to 9 to attend the 2001Symposium on Japanese LanguageEducation, which incorporated the 6thEuropean Symposium on Japanese LanguageEducation and the 4th Annual Conference ofthe British Association for TeachingJapanese as a Foreign Language (BATJ).

The focus of the event, organised by BATJ aspart of Japan 2001, was the question of howto bridge a perceived gap between thesecondary and tertiary sectors in Japaneselanguage education. As the symposium wasco-ordinated in conjunction with both theAssociation of Japanese Language Teachersin Europe and the Association for LanguageLearning’s Japanese Language Committee, itprovided an unprecedented opportunity forteachers in different sectors and fromvarious countries to exchange informationand share ideas.

The keynote speech was delivered byProfessor Ueno Tazuko of Tokyo Woman’sChristian University. Addressing thesymposium’s main theme of Multi-Dimensional Japanese Language Education,Professor Ueno drew on her extensiveexperience to describe significant changes inthe approach to teaching Japanese as aforeign language, both in Japan andoverseas. She noted that since the state ofJapanese language teaching varied greatlyfrom place to place, it was essential to takethe particular circumstances of each countryinto account when considering how best toimprove communication between sectors.Although one approach was the developmentof a national framework for teachingJapanese, such as exists in the US, ProfessorUeno stressed that it was important toconsider a range of options. She felt thatefforts must be made by each sector to raisetheir awareness of the actual situation in theother, if the knowledge gained by pupils inschools was not to go to waste. “Asteachers,” she concluded, “we have aresponsibility to develop a programme whichhas continuity through different stages. Todo this, we need to exchange ideas with oneanother and learn from the experience ofother countries.”

A presentation on Teaching Japaneselanguage in Australia: links and lacunas byMs Robyn Spence-Brown from MonashUniversity in Australia gave participants theopportunity to do just that. Ms Spence-

Brown, whose experience spans the primary,secondary and tertiary sectors, began byexplaining that Australia had the secondhighest number of learners of Japanese inthe world, 96% of whom are studying in theprimary and secondary sectors. Since themajority of students taking Japanese coursesin higher education have already studied thelanguage for between 5 and 7 years atschool, she added, Australian universitieshave had to change their perspective tocater for students with existing knowledge.To illustrate this point, she described theJapanese programme at Monash University,which has developed multiple entry and exitpoints in response to the increasingdiversification of student backgrounds andcompetencies. Nevertheless, there were stilldiscontinuities between sectors, she noted,and these often stemmed from a lack ofcontact between teachers in secondary andhigher education. “I believe that both sideshave a lot to learn from each other and it isessential to have mechanisms forinformation sharing and co-operation suchas teachers’ associations. One of the bestways to bridge the gap between sectors isthrough joint projects where teachers areworking together towards a common goal.”

A panel discussion on the theme Opening theDialogue: What can the secondary and tertiarysectors learn from each other? enableddelegates to discuss how best to moveforward in order to bridge the sectoraldivide. Panellists included teachers in boththe secondary and higher education sectors,representing the UK, France, Germany andAustralia. After presentations on the state of

Japanese Language Education in each ofthese countries, members of the audienceput forward a range of concrete suggestionsfor action, including the creation of aEurope-wide framework for standards inJapanese language teaching and the settingup of a joint working group with teachersfrom both sectors, with the possiblemediation of the Japan Foundation.

Among participants from the secondarysector was Rakesh Dixit, who teachesJapanese at Walkden High School andLanguage College in Worsley. He felt that thesymposium had provided “a rare and valuableopportunity to meet teachers in the tertiarysector as well as to learn about excitingresource bank projects.” He also found itfascinating to hear about developments inJapanese Language Education in Australia.

Harumi Horie from the University of Limerickin Ireland commented, “It was extremelyuseful to be able to exchange informationwith other teachers, not just from Europebut from all over the world – it made merealise that the problems I face are notunique. Also, after teaching for a while it’seasy to stop being innovative, but listeningto presentations by other teachers has reallyinspired me to introduce new ideas into myteaching.”

At BATJ’s Annual General Meeting, heldduring the symposium it was decided thatKazuko Sorensen of Royal Holloway,University of London, would take over fromKazumi Tanaka as Chair. For further detailsabout BATJ, please visit the website at:www.batj.org.uk.

Lydia Morey updates delegates on Japanese language teaching in the UK secondary sector

Urawa Summer Course For the first time this year, a three-week summertraining programme for teachers was held at theJapan Foundation’s Language Institute in Urawa inJuly. Designed to brush up language skills as well asenhancing understanding of Japanese society andculture, the programme proved popular with the fourparticipants from the UK. Flights to and from Japan

were generously sponsored by the Great BritainSasakawa Foundation and Japan Airlines.

Sally Benson, who started teaching Japanese at TavistockCollege in Devon in September comments, “In addition to

studying the language in formal lessons – a first for me as I pickedup all my Japanese in Japan – the teachers also demonstrateddifferent ways of teaching topics and specific grammar points.Suggestions came from other members of my class too, and it was anexcellent opportunity to get ideas from experienced teachers.” Shewas also positive about the cultural programme and gained invaluableinsights into youth culture during a resource-gathering trip to a localJunior High School.

The course also inspired enthusiasm among experienced teachers suchas Sian Hanlon, Head of Japanese at Hendon School: “The fact thatthe classes were small meant that everyone could participate fully. Ireally felt that the course served both to improve my Japanese and tostimulate my enthusiasm for the country, and for teaching thelanguage back in the UK. Having the opportunity to focus on my ownlanguage skills was invaluable. A very productive and extremelyenjoyable programme that I would definitely recommend to allJapanese teachers out there!”

Teachers enjoy Role ReversalSixteen teachers attended this year’s Summer RefresherCourse, which took place at the Nihongo Centre fromJuly 16 to 20. Participants, who were divided intothree groups according to level, received intensivetraining from a team of five teachers, led by theCentre’s Chief Advisor, Naoyuki Kitani.

Armelle Stephant, who teaches Japanese at MillaisSchool, was attending the Refresher Course for thesecond time: “It’s really the only opportunity I get tospeak Japanese with adult native speakers in context,” sheexplains, adding “What I liked about the course was that itseemed to fall into two distinct parts – the first enabling me toconsolidate structures and vocabulary that I already knew, and thesecond introducing new language. I especially valued being able toask questions on the spot.”

PAGE 2 NIHONGO CENTRE NEWS

The Homestay UK programme, jointly run bythe Nihongo Centre and JFET (Japan FestivalEducation Trust) as a core education projectfor Japan 2001, has proved extremelysuccessful, with 54 homestays having takenplace so far. The programme gives manyschool-aged learners of Japanese their firstopportunity to practise the language in a‘real’ context, while gaining insights intoJapanese family life and culture.

Alex Purdy, aged 13, has studied Japanese atAldercar Community School in Nottingham fora year and a half. The weekend he spent withthe Honda family in Putney was the first timehe had been able to put his language skills tothe test. “I was a bit afraid to speak at first,”he explains, “but once I got used to theenvironment I was much more confidentabout using Japanese. The family correctedme too, which helped a lot. I found the

house really interesting, as most of thedecoration and ornaments were Japanese. Thefood and eating habits were quite differentfrom what I had expected and I learnt a lotof new expressions at mealtimes.”

Helen Gilhooly, who teaches Japanese atAldercar, has already noticed the impact ofthe programme on Alex. “He was very excitedbefore the weekend and he had already hadseveral e-mail ‘conversations’ with theJapanese boy he was going to stay with,”she comments. “He asked me lots ofquestions and used the Homestay UK bookletto learn phrases by heart. His confidence hasreally improved as a result of the weekend,and he now plays a much more active part inclass. He doesn’t just see Japanese as aschool subject any more – it’s actuallyspoken by people and he can join in too!”

Homestay UK was launched in May 2001 andwill continue until March 2002. It is open tostudents aged 11 to 19 and to teachers ofJapanese. To find out more or to registerinterest contact the Homestay UK Co-ordinator Kazuko Sato on 020 7630 8696 orby email: hsuk@jfet.org.uk.

Annual SupportProgrammesIt’s time to start thinking about yourapplications for the Japan FoundationAnnual Support Programmes such asthe Materials Donation Programmeand our Teacher Training Programmesin Japan. We’ve listed the keylanguage-related programmes on theenclosed insert, but please contact usto request a full list of guidelinesand application forms. Furtherinformation can also be found on theJapan Foundation’s Tokyo website at:www.jpf.go.jp/e/about/program/index.html. All non-language programmesare handled by the Japan FoundationLondon Office, tel: 020 7499 4726;email: admin@japanfdnldn.org.uk.The application deadline for allprogrammes is Saturday, December 1,2001.

The British participants relax during a two-day trip to Nikko

Enomoto sensei in action during the Summer Refresher Course

It was also the first real exposure to Japanese that Marianne Arnothad had since she learnt to speak the language in Japan several yearsago. As she takes up a position at Aldercar Community School inNottingham this month, the course couldn’t have come at a bettertime: “I really appreciated having a number of different teachers andbeing able to observe a range of teaching styles.”

Jane Rutherford from Queen Mary’s High School,Walsall, found thecourse useful in that the topic areas covered were based on thosethat she needed to teach in class: “I also found the use of differentmedia very stimulating,” she adds. “As a teacher, you rarely have thechance to study yourself and the Refresher Course provides awonderful opportunity to do just that.”

PAGE 3

DigitalResources Pilotnear completionThe Key Stage 3 pilot project funded bythe Department for Education and Skills,which is being carried out in partnershipbetween the BBC and the Nihongo Centre,is now nearing completion. The aim of theproject was to create digital resources forbeginners learning Japanese in the KeyStage 3 age-group and the resultingwebsite: Tobu, developed with specialistteachers of Japanese as scripters, hasbeen piloted by a number of schools andindependent learners around England andWales since January.

The website, which includes core content,resources and practice activities nowcontains twelve units of work, sufficientto cover the whole of a year of study forable pupils. The resource includes a hugenumber of sound files recorded byJapanese speakers and video clipspurpose-recorded in Japan in 2001.Language and vocabulary are presentedthrough animated graphics, interactivegames and quizzes and the course alsoprovides an extensive reference section.

Feedback has been very positive so farand, while it is clear that different usersprefer different elements of the site, theredoes appear to be something for everyone.Pupils like the colourful aspects of theresource and enjoy the character-drivennarrative of the units. Learners ofdifferent abilities appreciate the ability towork at their own pace and since the siteis available through the Internet, they canwork on it at home as well as in class andin the school self-study area.

Teachers are beginning to developinteresting ways of integrating thewebsite into their practice, some takingtheir class to the network room andsupporting individuals at their ownmachines; others using a digital projectorto arrange a whole-class session. In onelesson on the topic ‘members of thefamily,’ a teacher used a projector andelectronic whiteboard linked to thewebsite to present new vocabulary byclicking on pictures in a photo albumlinked to sound files. Pupils then took itin turns to select appropriate picturesprompted by the teacher; they instantly

heard a voice recording from thewebsite to confirm (or

correct!) their choice.

A general conclusion hasbeen that the site has

great potential as ateacher and learner resource,

both in and outside theclassroom, but that on-line

learning works best when learnershave at least occasional access to ateacher too. Discussions are ongoingabout the possibility of making theresources available after the end of thepilot period, so watch this space!

Flights of Fancy Let your imagination take off!

It’s not too late to enter Flights of Fancy, The British Airways Japanese SpeechContest for Schools organised by ALL’sJapanese Language Committee (JLC).

Don’t let your students miss out on this wonderfulopportunity to practise their spoken Japanese with the

great incentive of winning free flights to Japan. You mightwant to get a group of interested pupils together at lunch,

breaktime or after school to work on their speeches. Pupils can interpretthe theme Perfect Day in any way they like – they could describe a

memorable occasion; an unforgettable holiday; a meeting with a famous person; afantastic journey; a school or family outing; a move to a new house, country orschool; making a new friend; or a trip to Japan – real or imaginary!

Speeches will be judged in three categories: World Traveller (Years 7 to9), Club World (Years 10 to 13 - pre GCSE) and First (Year 10 onwards –post GCSE). Eighteen finalists will present their speeches live at theFinals Day, hosted by BA at their impressive Waterside Building onMonday December 10. The best speaker in each category will win two freeflights to Japan and the British Airways Flag Award for Schools and therewill be lots of other prizes for runners up. Plans for the day include a seriesof themed environments where pupils will be able to eat club class meals in arestaurant and take their seats in a mock cabin, guided by Japanese-speaking flightattendants crew – as well as Japanese-style entertainment.

You’ll find an application form and poster for Flights of Fancy inside this issue of Mado – forfurther information, visit the JLC website at www.jlcweb.org.uk or contact Caroline Lewis on020 7379 3934 ; email: cml@japanesematters.co.uk. Don’t forget, the deadline for entries isMonday October 15.

These are the just some of the commentsmade by teachers and learners of Japanesewhen interviewed for the Class Acts video,part of the Nihongo Centre’s contribution toJapan 2001. The one year project, whichinvolved shooting 70 hours of classroomfootage and collecting interviews from 20schools across the country, aims to show therange of teaching styles and good practicethat exists in Japanese teaching in the UKsecondary sector today. It is hoped that thevideo will provide inspiration for bothexperienced and trainee teachers as well asinforming curriculum planners about thepotential of Japanese and the practicalitiesof introducing the subject in schools.

The editorial team selected 24 focus areas asa framework for the video. These range from

planning issues such as Why teach Japanese?to aspects of classroom practice, includingTarget Language, Teaching the four skills, andIntegrating ICT. Each topic is exploredthrough a series of short clips from theclassroom backed up by comments fromteachers and learners. Although participantsat the BATJ Symposium have already seen apreview of the material, the video will beformally launched at an evening reception atthe Nihongo Centre on October 17, followingEdexcel’s AS/A2 Level INSET Day. Teachersand interested colleagues are welcome tojoin us in celebrating the launch. Please callSally Lewis on 020 7838 9955 if you wouldlike to attend.

Class Acts “I was looking for a language that wouldgive them experience of a different culture,a different script, a new challenge, atotally non-European style grammar.”

“It’s really different... It’s also really goodto have on your CV.”

“As long as we enjoy it we can keepourselves motivated.”

“It’s just led to so many things that Icouldn’t imagine doing otherwise.”

“Here is an opportunity for people towiden their horizons.”

“I’m only beginning to understand reallywhat a powerful tool it is within thecurriculum.”

WIN

A FREE FLIGHT

TO JAPAN

Ben Stainer, Tile Hill Wood School

PAGE 4 TEACHER’S PAGE

Making a speech in Japanese

CONJUNCTIONS EXPRESSION OF OPINIONS

AimsTo enable pupils to develop and practisediscrete elements of a speech, eitherindividually, in pairs or in groups

To enable pupils to produce any element oftheir speech in any order, cutting downreliance on memorisation and encouragingspontaneity

To boost confidence in speaking and freepupils from too much reliance on the writtenword

Speaking with DicePupils brainstorm on the content of theirspeech and come up with six main points.

Hand out photocopies of page 5 (designedfor the topic My Town) which pupils cantrace to produce a blank outline of a dice.

Pupils draw pictures on each face of the diceadding key words or phrases to representeach main point of the speech they arepreparing. Photos and other authenticmaterials can also be used.

Pupils cut, fold and stick the sheet to makea dice. Taking turns to throw it, pupils startgenerating sentences for their speech,prompted by whatever image comes up.

Once students can confidently producesentences relating to all the faces of thedice, practise linking the sentences usingone or more of the structures outlined below.

Use of conjunctionsConjunctions have an important role to playwhen making a speech as they help toclarify the relationship between individualsentences and paragraphs. In particular,pupils should be familiar with the use ofconjunctions to express time sequences,opposition, addition and causal relationshipsas well as for providing examples andparaphrasing. I have listed examples in thetable below. For example:

Expression of opinionsAs summarised in the table below, there area variety of expressions of opinion whichpupils can use. Encourage your pupils to

make good use of sentences with the different types ofexpressions of opinion listed, for example:

Justification of opinionsPupils should also practise usingconjunctions of causal relationship in orderto justify opinions (see table). For example:

ExtensionThe outline on page 5 can also be used flatas a visual memo when actually making aspeech. In this case, the introductory part ofthe speech should be shown on the top faceof the dice, the main points that pupilswant to develop illustrated in differentcolours on the third, fourth and fifth facesand the conclusion on the bottom face.

With speaking becoming an assessedcomponent of the Japanese GCSE from2003 and the recent launch of Flightsof Fancy, JLC’s Japanese speechcontest for secondary schools, thisterm seems to be a particularly goodtime to focus on how to prepare yourpupils for making a speech inJapanese. Breaking a speech downinto small units and representingthese with visual prompts is aneffective way of making the wholeprocess of preparing and making aspeech less daunting. I would like tointroduce this approach with anactivity called Speaking with Dice,which I hope will help your pupils topractise and develop their speakingand speech-making skills. Thisapproach can be adapted for use atany level.

Time sequence

Opposition

Addition

Paraphrase

Explaining with an example

Causal relation

Basic expressions

Extension

Further expressions

1

3

2

TEACHER’S PAGE PAGE 5

PAGE 6 NEWS UPDATE

BATJ UpdateAlthough the main focus of BATJ’sactivities this year was the 2001Symposium on Japanese LanguageEducation in Cambridge (described indetail on the front cover), the summerwas also busy with a number of workshopsand seminars. In June, Kitani sensei gavetwo one-day workshops for BATJ membersin Edinburgh and London. The seminarsconsisted of two parts, the first on thecontents of the GCSE and A LevelJapanese examinations, including detailssuch as the syllabi, criteria and type ofquestions and the second exploringapproaches to teaching listeningcomprehension to learners of Japanese,introducing some recent cognitive-linguistic findings. On July 7, over 20people attended a lecture by ProfessorMachiko Netsu from ICU in Tokyo. Thefocus of the event, jointly organised by

BATJ and the Nihongo Centre, was theStudy Tour and Professor Netsu spoke frompersonal experience, as she is responsiblefor ICU’s one-year Japanese course forexchange students from abroad. Herdetailed presentation covered bothpractical issues such as course content andassessment as well as addressing otheraspects such as pastoral care and how toprepare students before they go to Japan.Among the participants was Dr BarbaraPizziconi, Lecturer in Japanese at SOAS,who found the seminar both stimulatingand entertaining. She particularly valuedthe ‘insider-view’ which Professor Netsuwas able to provide and commented: “Ihave learnt a lot from today’s seminar andI hope this will keep the discussion goingamong us to make our programmes evermore successful and the students’experience ever more significant.”

The University of Durham

AS Japanese DayOn July 2, Queen Mary’s High School hostedan AS Level Japanese Day, a workshopsupported by ALL’s Japanese LanguageCommittee and the Nihongo Centre. It was agreat opportunity to discuss this year’s ASLevel paper in depth and to share approachesto planning, teaching and learning.

The day began with a discussion of the newspecification in practice, looking at theamount of language and knowledge to becovered during the year and the test types.Although inevitably some concerns wereraised, it was clear that in the long-termteachers see the benefits of the new AS Level.

Lydia Morey led a session on bridging thegap from GCSE and developing AS skills,while Kitani sensei yet again demonstratedinnovative and accessible means of helpingstudents get to grips with the 400 setcharacters. Other subjects covered includedteaching language through topics and usinga mixed skill approach.

This workshop was made possible by QueenMary’s Language College status and theschool’s commitment to training. School-based workshops can be arranged relativelyeasily and with small contributions fromparticipants can often be self-financing.

I would encourage anyone thinking ofrunning a similar event to contact the JLCor the Nihongo Centre, or to post a messageon the JLE-UK mailing list.

Jane Rutherford, Queen Mary’s High School,Walsall

Mado welcomes further comments fromschools on this year’s exam papers as well asideas for future workshops.

The Department of EastAsian Studies (DEAS), University of

Durham, first offered Japanese as an option in1981, as a minor in 1989 and as a major in1992. Growth has continued and students nowhave access to fourteen named degrees, twoof which are single honours and the remainderhaving Japanese as a major. The second-yearabroad is a keystone to all language degrees,and the Department has links with eightJapanese universities to which students aresent on the basis of mutual exchange.

DEAS has also expanded the range ofpostgraduate degrees and, in addition to one-year language diplomas and MAs on East

Asian area studies, taught MAs are alsooffered, often incorporating the expertise ofseveral different departments. As part of theMA in Translation, for example, students cantake modules at DEAS in conjunction withtranslation theory or pragmatics at theDepartment of Linguistics. Those studying forthe MA in Teaching Japanese as a SecondLanguage can opt for modules such as generalteaching practice and methodology at theSchool of Education and computer-assistedlearning at the Department of Linguisticsalongside the Japanese-specific contentprovided by DEAS, which includes topics suchas the Foundation of Japanese Linguistics anda project whereby students can create their

ownteaching materials.

DEAS is looking forward to welcomingProfessor Toshiko Ishida as a JapanFoundation-supported Visiting Professor inthe early part of 2002. An internationalexpert on teaching Japanese as a secondlanguage, Professor Ishida will workintensively with students on the MA inTeaching Japanese as a Second Language.

LIBRARY & RESOURCES PAGE 7

Preview of Mirai Stages 3 & 4 Having been asked for many years byteachers of Japanese to recommend atextbook that could be used as a bridgingcourse for secondary students who plan tocontinue their studies in the sixth form,the authors of Mirai decided to produceStages 3 and 4, which we hope will fillthis gap. Due to be published inNovember, the full-colour text is writtento appeal to Key Stage 4 pupils and issuitable for GCSE.

The nine main units of Course Bookcontent are set around the adventures ofa famous teenage band called The Bugs,who spend six months performing andexploring many different places in Japan.Having studied Japanese at school,members of the band are able to enjoytheir experience in Japan to the full.Individual units incorporate a widevariety of genres, including storyboards,letters, faxes, diary extracts, newspaperclippings and magazine interviews. Atenth unit includes two plays, instructionsfor making Japanese crafts and a recipefor a Japanese dish. Each unit contains anillustrated page written in simpleJapanese which explains interestingaspects of Japanese culture. The CourseBook introduces 33 kanji, with 18 moreas an extension in the Activity Book.Plain form is introduced very graduallyand the textbook is written in both masuform and plain form as appropriate. Fullmastery of plain form is not expected.

The Bugs have their own website in thebook which relates their experiences and isillustrated with photographs. This websiteis also a real website where students canfind help with understanding the coursematerial and a host of other information.In addition, there is a linked website(www.longman.com.au/mirai/index/html)where students can find activitiesdesigned to give instant feedback on theirunderstanding of sentence structures andvocabulary.

The Mirai Stage 3 & 4 course includes anActivity Book; CDs and a Teacher’s Book.It will be available in London from earlyNovember.

Miwa Groves-Moriwaki, co-author of MiraiStage 2 and Mirai Stages 3 & 4.

Mirai Review by Roland Polastro.Roland was Head of Japanese at WhitgiftSchool from 1970 to 2001.

No Japanese textbook is perfect and I don’timagine the authors themselves wouldmake such an assertion about Mirai, butthe imminent completion of the entire six-stage course will be warmly welcomed byall teachers of the language.

As is becoming increasingly apparent, theAustralian syllabi are very similar to ourown, making Mirai highly suitable for all ofus teaching to GCSE or even to AS and ALevel. Anyone who had mastered thestructures of the first four parts of thecourse would find themself fully preparedfor the GCSE examination in terms ofgrammar and he or she would have a morethan adequate vocabulary. As for Books 5and 6, there is a great deal that is relevantto the topic areas specified for AS and A –nearly all the grammatical structuresappear and the register of language is justwhat is required to improve pupils’ readingand comprehension skills at this level. Theone major drawback (and this applies to allAustralian textbooks) is an excessive coynessin introducing the kanji. This is not the faultof the authors, mind you, as they are simplyfollowing a prescribed syllabus.

Mirai is a well-constructed piece of work.The pace at which structures are introducedis round about ‘andante ma non troppo’ butif you’ve got very bright pupils, there isnothing to stop you going for ‘allegro conbrio’. The lay-out is clear, varied, and, atleast in Books 1 and 2, attractive andcolourful. The use of romaji under, or nextto, the hiragana text may offend thepurists*, but in the early stages it offers thelearner significant support and makes thetask of mastering an alien script lessdaunting. Grammatical explanation is lucidand sympathetically conveyed; indeed thisaspect I would describe as outstanding. The‘cultural awareness’ sections are admirableand there are plenty of them. The recordingis of a high quality, reasonably well acted,but lacking the zip, high comedy and joie devivre of Kimono Books 1 and 2. There ismore than enough material in the CourseBook itself, but slower learners will benefitfrom the supplementary tasks contained inthe Activity Book and the Teacher’s Book,the latter being helpful without being

patronising and very clearly presented. I have to say I would not wish to start my11-year old pupils on Mirai, despite thepraise above. The make-believe characters alllook at least 16 and certainly sound like iton tape. The whole thing is a bit too adult,or young-adult and for younger pupils couldnever have the appeal of the Kimono course.However I would certainly consider this newbook were I teaching 14 or 15-year oldbeginners. Furthermore, most of us havelong felt that Kimono Book 3 is the leastsuccessful of the three textbooks and I amsorely tempted to replace it with Mirai Books3 and 4, which dovetail pretty well with thefirst two books of Kimono. Others may feelthe same.

My direct experience of this new course hasbeen teaching selected parts of Books 5 and6. The colour has gone and at times it allseems a bit relentless, but there is somehumour, the grammatical explanation is asclear as ever, and the level is just what youwant (apart from the kanji!). Socongratulations to Meg Evans and hercollaborators on producing an intelligent,helpful and professionally producedtextbook. It deserves to succeed andsomething tells me it will.

* Editor’s Note: The text is accompanied bya red-tinted overlay which can be used tohide the romaji when pupils are ready toread without support.

Our resource focus this term is on the Mirai course. Weare delighted to have a preview of Stages 3 & 4written by one of the authors and many thanks to ourreviewer of the existing course, Roland Polastro.

Late night openings of the library will continue inSeptember, but we have not had as much take-up ofthis service as hoped, so do make sure you come inon Thursdays if you’d like late openings tocontinue!

Our web-based catalogue can now be searched byskills, level and type of resources - see insert and

visit the updated Library Page on our website(www.nihongocentre.org.uk) to check it out. Finally,we have produced a new Users’ Guide for the Library.Please let us know if you would like to receive a copy.

For general library enquiries, please contact the Librarian, Françoise Simmons on 020 7838 9955 or send an email tofrancoise@nihongocentre.org.uk.

Library holidays this term are: September 24, October 8, November 23, December 24 to 26 and 31.

Japan 2001 is now wellunder way, having alreadyinspired a huge range ofactivities andinitiatives. Amongthem are somegroundbreakinglanguage-related events, which provide thefocus for this issue of Mado. The BATJSymposium in Cambridge was an undisputedhighlight, bringing together teachers ofJapanese from all over Europe and beyond fora stimulating programme which hadcommunication between sectors as its maintheme. Unveiled for the first time at the eventwas another Japan 2001 project, Class Acts,which the Nihongo Centre has produced todisseminate best practice in Japanese teachingin the UK secondary sector – copies will beavailable very soon. Also high on the agendathis term is Flights of Fancy, the speechcontest for secondary schools organised by JLCwhich, thanks to generous sponsorship fromBritish Airways, could see your pupils wingingtheir way to Japan next year. To give you anextra boost, Kitani sensei introduces someapproaches to preparing speeches on theTeacher’s Pages. Mirai is our resource focus forthe Library Page and we’re delighted to have asneak preview of Stages 3 and 4 from one ofthe authors. Finally, don’t forget that Japan2001 goes on till next March, so there’s stillplenty of time to take part!

PAGE 8 EVENTS & NOTICEBOARD

THE NIHONGO CENTRE NEWSLETTEREditor: Caroline Lewis Design: François Hall

Published byTHE JAPAN FOUNDATION

LONDON LANGUAGE CENTRE27 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7QT

Telephone: 020 7838 9955 Fax: 020 7838 9966Website: www.nihongocentre.org.uk

BEGINNERS’ JAPANESE AT BIRKBECKFrom 2 October

New course established by Birkbeck Collegeand the Alpha Language Institute London.

Contact: The School of Languages,Linguistics & Culture on 020 7631 6117 or

email apli@sllc.bbk.ac.uk.

FLIGHTS OF FANCY 15 October

Deadline for entries to the BA JapaneseSpeech Contest for Secondary Schools,

organised by JLC as part of Japan 2001.Finals Day on Monday December 10includes an exciting programme ofspeaking-related activities. ContactCaroline Lewis on 020 7379 3934 oremail: cml@japanesematters.co.uk.

EDEXCEL AS/A LEVEL TRAINING DAY17 October 9.30 – 4pm

Bookings: Inset dept 020 7758 5620.

CLASS ACTS VIDEO LAUNCH &URAWA SHORT COURSE FEEDBACK

17 October, 5.30pm – 8pmTeachers’ review of the Urawa short courseleading into the launch party for Class Acts

with highlights from the video andrefreshments. Booking essential.

LIFT OFF!20 November

The latest in our series of training days fornative-speaking teachers of Japanese

focusing on ideas for effective pair & groupwork, drilling, visual aids and games.

HEADSTART 2002 Wednesday 23 – Friday 25 January

An intensive introduction to Japanese andthe issues associated with teaching it, forHeads of Modern Foreign Languages and

senior managers.

SCHOOLS’ RESOURCES DAY (WITH JFET AND THE JAPAN FORUM)

28 FebruaryA day of resource ideas including a chanceto explore the latest GCSE materials beingcreated by the Nihongo Centre as well as

ideas for using the Japan Forum’s excitingnew photographic resource, DEAI (free setswill be given to all teachers attanding).

JAPANESE SIXTH FORM WEEKEND 22 – 24 March

The annual residential immersion course inthe New Forest for pupils in Years 11, 12and 13. For further details, contact Lydia

Morey on 029 204 93997.

Unless otherwise stated, all events take place at theNihongo Centre. Please call 020 7838 9955 for

further details.

The new guide on accredited Japanese coursesat tertiary level is progressing well and wewould like to thank all those who have assistedus so far. Carolyn Gallop, who is undertakingthis work on behalf of the Nihongo Centre and

the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, will becontacting everyone again in September toobtain the total number of students enrolled onaccredited Japanese courses in 2001/02 and tofill in any pieces of information that are stillmissing. One extremely important part of the

guide is the section on student statistics, bothpast numbers and future projections to 2006.

We really would appreciate your co-operation onthis. If you have any queries please contactCarolyn Gallop directly on 0208 892 4770 or byemail: kgallop@compuserve.com.

UPDATE OF JAPANESEDEGREE COURSE GUIDE

Schools’ PaintingExchangeThe EEMNS International Peace-

Education Foundation, a Japanesenon-profit organisation, has

launched an initiative whichinvolves the exchange of paintings

by school children aged 6 to 15.The aim of the scheme is to

stimulate interest and enhance

understanding of other cultures in

an accessible way. Up to 4000

paintings by Japanese children are

already available. If you would like

to find out more, contact EEMNSInternational Peace-Education

Foundation; Tel: 81-11-861-0660;

Fax: 81-11-861-2333; email:eemns@rk9.so-net.ne.jp.