MAATJ Newsletter January, 2016

MAATJ 2016 1
In this issue:
Message from the MAATJ Co-Presidents
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1.
Japanese Language Education Assistant Program (J-LEAP)
(Deadline: Jan. 19)
2.
Free Webinar for a Japanese Teaching License (Sign-up before: Feb. 1)
3.
The United States-Japan Foundation invites nominations and
applications for the 2016 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award
(Deadline: Feb 2)
4.
CHAPLIN MEMORIAL AWARD for Excellence in Japanese Language
Teaching (Deadline: Feb. 5)
5.
Renew AATJ Membership
6.
National Japanese Exam (Deadline: Feb 19)
7.
ACTFL News: Did you miss ACTFL 2015 in San Diego?
8.
JICC announces winners of the 2016 Nengajo Contest (posted on Jan. 5)
9.
Japan in 2016: A Look At the Year Ahead: A symposium presented by the
Japan-America Society of Washington DC (held on February 21)
10. Princeton in Ishikawa in summer of 2016 (by Yukari Tokumatsu sensei)
11. The 2016 UNO-Japan: A 6-week summer at Doshisha University Program
12. Japan-America Student Conference (JASC) (Deadline extended to March
1)
13. Teaching Resources by Other Organizations
14.
REPORTS
1.
Kakizome 2016 (Otani-sensei, Thomas Jefferson High School)
Please visit MAATJ website: http://maha-iatj.weebly.com/newsletter
Mid-Atlantic Association of Teachers of Japanese - Newsletter
maatj.weebly.com
Dear MAATJ members, Hope you all had a fruitful but relaxing summer, and great
start of the new year! This September newsletter contains the following
announcements.

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Dear MAATJ Members,


Hope everybody welcomed the year of monkey with Genki energy! We hope to hear
lots of exciting news from you. As we announced at the membership meeting at the
past FLAVA conference, we have some changes on MAATJ officer positions this year.
Thank Tomoko Geiser sensei as the Treasurer for five long years! She also helped
MAATJ getting a NPO position. We also thank Tomomi Sato sensei as the Secretary
for taking care of our monthly newsletter providing resourceful information for the
members. And please welcome our new officers, Kyoko Vaughan sensei of Hayfield
SS (Treasurer) and Manako Fujiwara sensei of George Mason Univ. (Secretary).
Vaughan sensei will also continue to work for the Haiku Contest as well.
The second half of the school year will be busy for the Japanese classrooms. There
will be the annual Haiku Contest, Japanese National Exam, Japan Bowl, and National
Cherry Blossom Festival. Some schools will welcome the visit from Japanese schools
and some will take trips to Japan during their spring break. We wish a great year for
all the member teachers, families, and their students!
Thank you,
Koji Otani and Aiko Kitamura
Co-Presidents, MAATJ

ANNOUNCEMENTS
1.

Japanese Language Education Assistant Program (J-LEAP)

Applications due January 19
The application to be a host school for the Japanese Language Education Assistant
Program (J-LEAP) is now available online. This program seeks K-12 Japanese
language teachers to apply to become Lead Teachers to young, native Japanese
assistant teachers who have majored or minored in Japanese language pedagogy.
The deadline is January 19, 2016 (note that there is a video component - therefore
advance application preparation is highly recommended.)
Benefits:
In addition to team teach with an assistant teacher for two years, selected lead
teachers will be given professional development to enhance their Japanese
pedagogical skills and learn team teaching skills (training, travel, lodging, meals
covered by J-LEAP). Accepted schools will be provided with a $1,000 stipend to
purchase teaching materials for the Japanese language classroom. There are no
financial responsibilities on the part of the host site.
**Please note that our assistant teachers cannot serve as independent teachers in
the classroom. They are not certified and need to be supervised by a certified
teacher.
For further information, please visit the J-LEAP
Website at http://www.laurasian.org/jleap/hostsites.html
Should you have questions, please feel free to contact Mari Maruyama via email
at mmaruyama@laurasian.org or telephone 206-367-2152 PST.

2.

Free Webinar for a Japanese Teaching License

A FREE webinar course will be held by LangCred.org, and supported by the Japan
Foundation, Los Angeles. The course is designed specifically for Japanese teachers
who are interested in pursuing a Japanese language teaching credential in the
United States, and it will demonstrate concrete steps to get started.
Discovering Pathways to Japanese Language Credentialing will be an interactive
online course with self-paced activities available from February 1 - 19. There will
also be one hour-long online webinar on Tuesday, February 16 where you can ask
live questions to credentialing experts. The online discussion will explore current
challenges to obtaining a credential, explore the online resources for teachers at
LangCred, and show exactly how a Japanese teacher can use the site to find out
information about credentialing. There will be a Japanese language support person
at the Q&A to help with any language barrier issues.
Pre-register for this free course at this link: http://langcred.org/training/
Sign up before February 1 to get the full interactive experience!
3.

The United States-Japan Foundation invites nominations and

applications for the 2016 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award
Know an amazing educator who has dedicated his or her life to educating young
Americans about Japan? Nominate this teacher today!! See details at http://usjf.org/programs/elgin-heinz-teacher-awards/
2016 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award
The Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award recognizes exceptional teachers who
further mutual understanding between Americans and Japanese. The award is
presented annually to two pre-college teachers in two categories, humanities and
Japanese language, and consists of a certificate of recognition, a $2,500 monetary
award, and $5,000 in project funds. It is named in honor 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.
Eligibility Requirements
The award is open to current full-time K-12 classroom teachers of any relevant
subject in the United States. There are two award categories, one in the humanities
and one in Japanese language.
Previous award recipients often have over 10 years of teaching experience and have
been engaged in teaching their students about Japan for a substantial period of
time. Candidates must demonstrate sustained commitment to improving mutual
understanding between Americans and Japanese, and must have made a significant
contribution to enhancing students knowledge of Japan.
Applicants for the Japanese language category must have excellent command of the
Japanese language and may be contacted by members of the selection committee
to verify this.
4.
CHAPLIN MEMORIAL AWARD for Excellence in Japanese Language
Teaching
The Hamako Ito Chaplin Memorial Award will again be conferred in 2016,

administered through the Association for Asian Studies. In accordance with the
wishes of the Chaplin family, each year a prize of $1000 will be awarded to either a
current graduate student or a full-time instructor of Japanese for excellence in
Japanese language teaching. A full-time instructor who has completed graduate
study within the last 3 years in an area that directly involves Japanese language
teaching is eligible. Possible academic fields of specialization are Japanese
language pedagogy, linguistics, anthropology, or literature. Current graduate
students must demonstrate their intention to enter the teaching field in a North
American university.
Completed applications must be received by February 5, 2016 at the following
address: Dr. Priya Ananth, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures,
MTSU, P.O. Box 79, 1301 East Main Street, Murfreesboro, TN 37132, USA
The award will be announced in the AAS E-Newsletter. Persons interested in
contributing to the award fund should send their contributions to: The Hamako Ito
Chaplin Memorial Award, c/o Association for Asian Studies, 825 Victors Way, Suite
310, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108
5.

Renew AATJ Membership

Please remember to update your membership for AATJ and MAATJ at www.aatj.org It
is important if you class is participating the National Japanese Exam and MAATJ
Haiku Contest in March.

6.

National Japanese Exam

The registration for the National Japanese Exam is open till 2/19. Although the test
will not be till March, please start advertising and collect money from your students
this month. The cost of the exam is $9 for the AATJ members (Nonmember fee is
$17).

7.

ACTFL News
Did you miss ACTFL 2015 in San Diego?
Don't worry -- you can still check out video highlights from ACTFL's most recent
Annual Convention, including Rick Steves' keynote address, the 2016 National
Language Teacher of the Year presentation, and the innovative TOY Talks.
Watch: http://www.actfl.org/conventions/2015-annual-convention-and-worldlanguages-expo

8.

JICC announces winners of the 2016 Nengajo Contest

Adult division: Madonna W., Concord, NC
Youth division: Jenny P., Torrance, CA
Junior division: Mahoko, O., Charlottesville, VA
For more information please visit: http://www.us.embjapan.go.jp/jicc/nengajo-2016-winners.html

9.

Japan in 2016: A Look At the Year Ahead: A symposium presented by the

Japan-America Society of Washington DC in Cooperation with the Carnegie

Endowment for International Peace and with Support from the Sasakawa Peace
Foundation and the National Association of Japan-America Societies
Program Location: The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 1779
Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Elihu Root Room Thursday, January 21, 2016
The program is free; however, if you would like to join the lunch, an obento can be
purchased in advance
for $15 each.
10.

Princeton in Ishikawa in summer of 2016

1)
The Princeton in Ishikawa program is an eight-week intensive Japanese
language program, offering 2nd-, and 3rd-year Japanese courses in
Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture.
2)
Students who successfully complete the program receive credit for two
courses, the equivalent of one year of Japanese language study, from
Princeton University.
3)
Students live with local families while in the program.
4)
Students who complete the language program successfully may be
eligible to return to Ishikawa the following summer to work in a paid
internship position.
For questions, please contact pii@princeton.edu.

11. The 2016 UNO-Japan: Study at Doshisha University Program is a 6-week

(online intro week plus 5 weeks in Japan) summer program designed for participants
to learn about Japanese Culture, Cinema, History, and Language while living in
Kyoto, an ancient capital of Japan.
Course offerings: Students choose two courses from the following:
* Basic Japanese II (second semester Japanese language)
* Intermediate Japanese I (third semester Japanese language)
* A Cultural History of Modern Japan (History/Anthropology/Sociology)
* Samurai Traditions (History)
* Love in the Japanese Cinema (Film)
Dates: May 29-July 2, 2016 (online intro week is May 22 to 28th)
Cost: $4,995.00
For more information, please visit: http://inst.uno.edu/Japan/, or e-mail
at: UNOJapan@uno.edu.
12.

Japan-America Student Conference (JASC)

JASC competitively selects 72 delegates from Japan and the U.S. to explore U.S.Japan issues.
68th JASC will take place from August 1-24, 2016 in cities throughout the United
States. Students from all fields of study are welcome to apply. No Japanese
language or Asian studies background is required. The final application deadline is
March 1. Please see http://iscdc.org/jasc/2016/ for details.

13. Teaching Resources by Other Organizations

Japanese collection of resources,
* Foreign Service Institute Japanese - Web site<http://fsilanguages.yojik.eu/languages/japanese.html>
* Student guide, textbook, glossary, flashcards (PDF) and nine audio lessons (MP3).
* JapanesePod101.com - iTunes
Free<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?
id=109573938> - Feed<http://www.japanesepod101.com/feed/>
* Over 100 quality lessons aimed at the beginner. Users give it high marks.
* Kanji Characters - iTunes Free<https://itunes.apple.com/us/itunes-u/japanese-kanjicharacters/id422848246?mt=10>
* Learn the proper form and stroke for several important Kanji characters. From
Emory University<http://www.emory.edu/home/index.html>.
* Learn Japanese Symbols - iTunes
Free<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?
id=185539275> - Feed<http://learn-japanese.podomatic.com/rss2.xml> - Web
Site<http://learn-japanese.podomatic.com/>
* These lessons teach students how to work with Japanese symbols, such as Kanji,
Hiragana, and Katakana.
* Let's Speak Japanese Basic - YouTube<http://www.youtube.com/playlist?
list=PLB3F2C5D8B5F81F34>
* 26 video lessons produced by the Japan Foundation.
* Let's Learn Japanese Basic II - YouTube<http://www.youtube.com/playlist?
list=PLAEBCBE42876C028A>
* 25 video lessons produced by the Japan Foundation.
* Survival Phrases iTunes
Free<http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?
id=257185301> Feed<http://survivalphrases.com/japanese/feed/>
* Learn the must-know phrases for traveling in Japan.
Bookmark our free Japanese
lessons<http://www.openculture.com/free_japanese_lessons> section.
--Posted by: JFLAs Amanda Rollins amanda_rollins@jflalc.org

1.

REPORTS
Kakizome 2016 (Otani-sensei, Thomas Jefferson High School)
My students did kakizome last week. After showing pictures and video of the
kakizome() event from the Japanese schools, they are given various
words and 4 kanji compound () to work on their favorite ones. To my
surprise, many of the Japanese 1 students did very well although the only
kanji they know is 1-10! At first, the most students started with small and
skinny writings, but the writing became larger and fatter as they were
encouraged to showin their writing