A weblog on the academic life of Onigiriman──literally "riceball man"──a pseudonym for a third-generation Japanese American who drifts through life in search of textual meaning and cultural identity.
" The Japanese Language and Culture Institute is an 11-credit program that integrates the study of the Japanese language with culture through film. Students choose between a basic and an intermediate language course, depending on their proficiency, and all students take the same film class, where they watch Japanese movies with English subtitles. "
To read more--and to see a photo of our Aerobics-in-Japanese class (that's Mrs. Onigiriman up front)--click this link to the original article.
Alright... It's the middle of October and I've been gearing up for our Summer Institute already. The proposal is in and I hope the powers that be will accept it. I've made some changes from last year--no more "semi-immersion" approach. It was too difficult to monitor without having to be with students 24/7 and I'm sure they get enough of me in class as it is.
I'm still working out the details, but one thing is for sure: The two regular full-time faculty who will be teaching this summer are also recent award winners for innovative teaching.
Assistant Professor for Teaching, Takae Tsujioka, will be team teaching Intermediate Japanese (JAPN 006) with Rika Seya. Tsujioka sensei is the recipient of the 2010 Bender Teaching Award. I can vouch for her teaching skills. Whenever I go to her class to observe, I always come away in awe, and often end up stealing some of her ideas to incorporate into my own language courses.
The other award winner will be teaching Beginning Japanese (JAPN 005) along with Wakana Kikuchi, and that teacher is......... me. Those who know me, pretty much see me as outgoing and, well, narcissistic. I'm actually quite modest and reserved... but I'll tell ya' anyway: I was fortunate enough to receive the 2010 Robert W. Kenny Award for Innovative Teaching. (Okay, did it sound like I just couldn't wait to tell you?) Unfortunately, I can't vouch for myself, especially since I'm "borrowing" ideas--with permission, of course--from Tsujioka sensei. Then again, the award was for my literature course, Love and Politics: The Tale of Genji.
Anyway, as details are confirmed, I will post information about our Summer Institute for Japanese Language and Culture over the coming months.
On June 10, we went to the Freer Museum on the National Mall for a tour of Japanese Art. Our docent, Jo Kinkaid--in the middle of the right photo--led us through a detailed explanation of the various exhibits.
On the train on the way back from the Museum, I took a head count--1-2-3...8-9... um... Who's not here? I wondered out loud. Sara, Nidhi, er... Abe, Kamilah, uh... Rachel, Debbie went to her internship, Jon said he's stay behind... Alex! Where's Alex? Wasn't he just here?
Well as best as I can remember this is what happened: At the Smithsonian station, we had noticed that a westbound train had just entered the station. We hurried down the escalator to the platform and hopped onto the train. But Alex didn't make it before the door closed. Fortunately, all the students were adults and it wasn't likely that any of them--certainly not the studious Alex who came from Iowa--would get lost. As I waited at the turnstiles at Foggy Bottom, Alex came strolling down the concourse toward the exit turnstile.
"Glad your back," I said in relief.
"I just got on the next train," he said, rather matter-of-factly, seemingly bemused at why anyone would have to worry...
For the Summer Institute for Japanese Language and Culture, we usually ate lunch together everyday. Of course, that depended on the students--some of whom insisted that they wanted to eat on their own. But every Thursday the Institute bought lunch for everyone and nary was there a student who insisted on eating out.
The first pace we ordered from was a fast food place found in 2000 Penn. It was... um... unsatisfying. I don't want to go into details as I am not a professional food critic, but if you want to eat quasi-Asian food, do not buy it in 2000 Penn. You have been warned.
Fortunately, there were better options for us. One place we tried was Kaz's Bistro. It was pretty good. The Thursday bento box special is chicken teriyaki and came with salad and sushi. But except for the specials, Kaz's can be a bit pricey for our budget. So we actually ordered out from a Korean place that serves both Korean and Japanese food. It's called Yee Hwa 李花. The first time, we order Bi bim bap, which is a Korean rice bowl of spicy meat and vegetables. I kind of liked it. Other days we ordered more conventional Japanese food such as teriyaki beef, salmon or chicken. (Okay, before you say anything, I am aware that these are not strictly Japanese, that in fact teriyaki "meats" are mostly an American invention--or more likely the invention of Japanese Americans who adjusted this style of cooking to their American palates and and the availability of certain meats.) In the photos above, we ordered tempura--full disclosure: strictly speaking it was vegetable tempura and shrimp fry; if you want to know the difference, send me an email.
So anyway, during these meals, we attempted to speak Japanese, to foster a Japanese language eating environment, but many students hung out with friends and chatted away in English. I thought about putting a stop to this, but I soon realized that students at different levels of Japanese who didn't know each other before summer session, soon became friends through these joint lunches. So I had to make a choice, divide them by language ability and foster their Japanese skills or to allow them to develop friendships--Japanese courses being the link--and figure out a different venue for language. I decided that it would be easier to create a different language venue than to foster an environment they themselves created to make friends. As far as I can tell, they are becoming very good friends, indeed, and I do not regret my decision.
So we will be eating our way through the summer every Thursday, making friends.
Just got the word recently that out Summer Institute for Japanese Language and Culture is a go. I will be adding information as we go along, but for now we have about 9 or 10 students. Six will be taking Intermediate Japanese with Seya Sensei, the rest will be taking Beginning Japanese with Kikuchi sense and me. All will be enrolled in the Japanese Culture through Film course with Heusch sensei. Students who have elected the residential option will be housed in Ivory Tower, much to the delight of our proctor, Miki Furuya, a rising junior who will be living with the students for tutoring and advice.
If there is anyone who is still interested, deadline for the residential option is Friday, April 30.
I'll keep posting stuff as information becomes available.
Okay, so the title sounds kinda crazy. Karaoke? Haha. I'll do anything to get my students to actually vocalize Japanese--whether they understand it or not.
The action of voicing new and unfamiliar words--its pronunciation, intonations, and rhythms--help a language learner become more familiar and hence more comfortable with speaking Japanese. So if they're going to voice Japanese, why just limit it to the dialogue and exercises in a textbook? Why not sing along with J-pop?
Not that I should be the model of a perfect student (long story), but I sang Japanese songs a lot in my early years of learning Japanese and it helped me a lot.
Anyway, I felt compelled to write this post when I read this article published in the CCAS Newsletter. It's nice to get a write up in the school newsletter, but I'm sure the word karaoke will raise a few eyebrows, so I wanted to elucidate just a bit.
Every summer we want to offer a summer course for Japanese language but for whatever reason, students do not come. I have to believe that there is interest out there, but we can never get enough enrollment. So this year, with a little encouragement from the Dean's office--specifically Assistant Dean Keller--I've cooked up a proposal that I hope will garner interest. Remember, this is a proposal for now. We will see if it flies...
Intended goals of program
Summer courses at most universities—including GW—tend to be individual, unconnected classes offered as a means for students to fulfill GCRs or to graduate on time. The idea of this Taste of Japanese Language and Culture program is to offer an integrated learning experience incorporating language and culture to inspire students about Japan while passing the summer in an educationally productive manner.
Dates of classes & total contact hours
An eight (8) week program from May 17 to July 9 as per GW’s academic calendar 2009-10.
Targeted audience
The primary target audience is GW students who wish to accelerate their Japanese language learning schedule. However, by integrating language and culture together, we also hope to attract non-GW students and the public at large.
Draft syllabus & timeline
Both Intensive Language courses can be held from 10 AM in the morning to 1:50 PM with a 10 minute break and a 40 minute joint lunch with students and instructor daily.
