We were delighted that the first course atour new premises in Russell Square alsoproved to be the largest to date, as a recordnumber of teachers participated in thisyear’s Summer Refresher Course, held at theJapan Foundation London Language Centre(JFLLC) from July 21 to 25.

This popular course, which provides intensivelanguage training tailor-made for non-nativespeaking teachers of Japanese, is designedto increase fluency in all four skills in asupportive environment. We were verypleased to welcome back three teachers whohad participated in our Head Start course inJanuary.

After a welcome from Centre Director ManaTakatori and Senior Programme OfficerKornelia Achrafie, teachers were given aguided tour of the new library by FrançoiseSimmons. Then the immersion started asChief Advisor Tatsuya Nakagome, supportedby a team of five teachers, delivered acourse which focused on the themes ofcontemporary Japan and current affairs.

Divided into four groups according to languageability, participants were taught entirely inJapanese. By the end of the week, theirsmiling faces reflected a renewed confidence,clearly demonstrated in the last session, whichprovided a chance to talk to native Japanesespeakers on a one–to–one basis, thanks tovolunteers from the Japan in your Classroomscheme, organised by Japan 21 Education.

Most teachers commented on the rareopportunity the course afforded them to useJapanese in a real context, since exposure tothe language is difficult to come by,especially for those living out of London. HaiYing Gosnall from Summerhill School saidthat the intensive five-day immersion had

been a great confidence booster, and thatshe hoped to return next year. Meanwhile,Helen Langsam, from Hendon School, saidshe had started to dream in Japanese!

As you know, we recently sent out surveys tofind out how much demand there was forRefresher Courses to be held outside London.Feedback was very positive and as a result,we will be launching our first ever RegionalRefresher Course this autumn. We hope tohold courses on a termly basis, to giveteachers the opportunity to immersethemselves in Japanese closer to where theylive. Look out for further details of dates andvenues.

Nakagome sensei puts teachers through their paces at the Refresher Course

INSIDE... LINKS WITH JAPAN • READY STEADY NIHONGO!

MADOVOLUME 17 • SEPTEMBER 2003

THE JAPAN FOUNDATIONLONDON LANGUAGE CENTRE NEWSLETTER

Refreshing start at the new Centre

New contact detailsThe Japan Foundation London LanguageCentre (since the move it has been decidedto refer to the Nihongo Centre by its formalname in line with other Japan FoundationLanguage Centres around the world) is nowat 6th Floor, Russell Square House, 10 -12 Russell Square, London WC1B 5EH tel: 020 7436 6698; fax: 020 7323 4888web: www.jpf.org.ukemail: info.language@jpf.org.uk.

It is time forme to saygoodbyeand thankyou toeveryone

after threeyears at the

Centre. Working here was awonderful experience and itwas great to see so manyteachers of Japanese onvarious occasions. I hope thatwe can meet again in thefuture. Naruki Enomoto

Konnichiwa! I amthe new AssistantAdvisor at theCentre. I amvery impressedby the number

of people who areenthusiastic about

learning Japanese in this country. Ihave taught in China and have alsocarried out development work in Tokyoand Burma. London is a big changebut I hope we can work together tomake the teaching of Japanese bothfun and rewarding! Kumiko Kaitani

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As part of Ready Steady NihonGO, theprimary Japanese project which we arecarrying out in partnership with Japan 21Education (formerly JFET) and the Schoolof Education, Nottingham University, withthe support of the Japan Society, ouradvisors have been busy visiting schoolsteaching primary Japanese.

Since April, six visits have been made aspart of the JFLLC research brief, to carryout an audit of the state of Japaneselanguage teaching at primary level in theUK and to gain an in-depth overview ofcurrent curricular models.

In May, advisors observed classes at StMary’s CE Primary School in Sheffield, oneof King Edward VII’s local feederprimaries, and also paid a visit to West

Hill Primary and WilmingtonPrimary, both feeder schoolsfor Dartford Grammar. In June,advisors had a chance to seeKatharine Lady Berkeley’s primary outreachwork at The British School in Wotton-under-Edge at first hand, while in July theyvisited Anson Primary School in London,where ex-JET Joher Anjari has introduced alunchtime Japanese club on his owninitiative. Centre staff also participated in aJapanese Week at Our Lady of Victories RCPrimary School in Yorkshire. Many thanks toall those involved for your warm welcome!

Ready Steady NihonGO is supported byPrimary Japanese Pioneers UK, an emaildiscussion group which brings togetherteachers with relevant experience. If youteach Japanese at primary level and wouldlike to share your expertise, pleasecontact Kornelia Achrafie at:kornelia.achrafie@jpf.org.uk.

A one-day conference on Primary Japanese,at which initial research findings will bepresented, is scheduled to take place at theCentre on November 18. For further details,see the Noticeboard on page 8.

I am very happy tobe the newAssistant Managerat the Centre.Before coming tothe UK, I worked

for severalcompanies in Tokyo

and at the Japanese Embassy in Hungary,after a year on an exchange programmein Australia. London life has been veryinteresting so far. I am in charge ofaccounting and Annual Programmes and Ilook forward to receiving lots ofapplications from you. Mariko Shirakawa

I am delighted tobe the newProgrammeOfficer at theJFLLC. I joinedthe Centre after

two years on theJET Programme in

Saga Prefecture, having graduated inJapanese and French from LiverpoolJohn Moores University in 2000. I’mreally looking forward to meetingeveryone on the ‘Japanese’ scene, andworking with you all. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. Nimali De Silva

PAGE 2 CENTRE NEWS

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STEPPING OUT (AND IN!)Though involvement in several large-scaleprojects as part of Japan 2001 meant thatStepping Out, our programme of schoolvisits, was temporarily put on hold, ouradvisors have now started to step out again!Originally designed to provide on-the-spotsupport to teachers in the classroom, wehave now expanded the scope of theprogramme to include requests from schoolswho are interested in trying out Japanese.

In May, Miwa Moriwaki visited Wycombe HighSchool in Buckinghamshire to participate in aLinguistic and Cultural Day, run by Head ofMFL, Jane Edmunds. Miwa-san delivered‘taster’ lessons combining language withcultural information to two Year 7 classes,who responded with great enthusiasm andinterest.

In July, Miwa-san and Kumiko Kaitani tookpart in a Japanese and European Day atDereham Sixth Form College in Norfolk,together with staff from the JapaneseEmbassy’s Club Taishikan. The day wasorganised by Jeremy Moyle, Language

College Director at Dereham Neatherd

High School, who was inspired to focus onJapanese after attending our Head Startcourse in January. In separate sessions,Miwa-san introduced as many as 100 sixth-formers to some basic Japanese.

Our advisors are also on hand for teacherswho would like to step in to the Centre! Justmake an appointment to see us – whateveryour enquiry, we will do our best to give yousupport and advice.

To request a Stepping Out visit or to make anappointment to see our Teaching Advisors atthe Centre, call Kornelia Achrafie on 020 7436 6698.

Ready Steady NihonGO!URAWANIKKI After three weekson the IntensiveCourse in Urawa,

I return to the UK,bags brimming with

resources, mindbuzzing with ideas, and

bursting with enthusiasm to get back intothe classroom and put it all into practice –not something you can usually say at theend of a school year.

The language component of the course wastopic-based, and every day a new grammarpoint was introduced. The lessons werepitched at just the right level and theteachers were motivated and creative.

The cultural side of the course, too, wascomprehensive, including demonstrations ofthe traditional arts, a weekend trip toNagano, and a quick skip through all that’strendy in Japan at the moment.

For me, though, the highlight has to be thesheer volume and range of resources I wasable to collect. From websites and videos tomenus, posters and pamphlets, not tomention a truckload of games, goodies andprizes from the hundred yen shop, it will allbe put to good use in bringing the languageto life in the classroom.

So, to the London Language Centre, UrawaInstitute, JAL and the Great BritainSasakawa Foundation, many thanks from oneof the enriched, energised and enthusedparticipants of this year’s course.

Claire Morley, Whitgift School (below left with Jayne Maidment)

If you are interested in applying for nextyear’s Urawa Summer Course, designed fornon-native speaking secondary-level teachersof Japanese, contact Mariko Shirakawa on020 7436 6698 or by email: mariko.shirakawa@jpf.org.uk. For details on the programme ordeadline please go to www.jpf.go.jp/e/about/program/j_inst.html.

School linking study visitsTeaching staff from the UK can apply forfinancial support to visit their link school inJapan, in order to develop plans for futurecollaborative curriculum work. Examples ofsuccessful visits and help with finding apartner school can be found on the BritishCouncil’s Windows on the World websitewww.wotw.org.uk. A grant of up to £1200per participant is available.

E-link projectThis programme aims to bring Japanesestudents into direct contact with their peersin the UK, providing insights into aspects ofBritain as it is today, challenging stereotypesand creating lasting partnerships. Grants ofup to £1500 per link are available to helpoffset direct costs involved.

Language immersion - for teachersand studentsFunding is also available to enable pupils andteachers to attend an immersion course inJapan that combines intensive Japanesestudies with an active programme of culturalactivity. Grants of up to £600 per participantare available to cover tuition, meals andaccommodation, although participants areexpected to cover the cost of travel to thecourse. In July 2003, the British Council sentparticipants from four schools in England toan immersion course at Kyoto University.

Headteacher Study VisitsThis programme enables headteachersand/or deputy heads to join a delegation ofup to ten to visit schools in Japan with the

aim of identifying and establishing potentialschool links as well as to share and learnfrom best practice in a particular educationalarea. Activities include three days in localschools sharing experiences with Japaneseheadteachers and workshops on a specifictopic area. The grant covers the costs offlights, accommodation, subsistence and in-country support. One delegation per year isplanned, to take place in May.

School Based ProjectsGrants are available for schools to undertakeJoint Curriculum Projects or Special InterestProjects in subject areas such as arts, drama,music and sport. These projects can takedifferent forms and may require the mobilityof teaching staff, involve large numbers ofstudents over an extended period, or adopt across curricular approach.

For further information on these programmesand to download application forms andguidelines, visit www.britishcouncil.org/education/schools or call James Rowe at the British Council in London on 020 7389 4595 or send an email to world.links@britishcouncil.org.

ANNUAL SUPPORTPROGRAMMES

Making the Link!Setting up a link with a school or other organisation in Japan can bring the teaching ofJapanese to life, creating long-term friendships which help to inspire and encourage yourpupils as well as giving them a meaningful context for language learning. With theadvance of ICT, the possibilities for establishing links with Japan have increasedenormously. Here are just some of the resources available to schools interested in settingup a link, partnership or exchange with Japan.

Japan 21 Education

British Council Education and TrainingFollowing Japan 2001, there has been an increase in interest in studying Japanese culture andlanguage in the UK. As a result, the British Council, with funding from the DfES, has recentlyextended its Japan-related activities. The following grants are available to schools and collegesin England that already have, or are interested in establishing, links or partnerships withschools and colleges in Japan.

SPECIAL FEATURE ON LINKS & EXCHANGES PAGE 3

Application forms are now available forthe Japan Foundation Annual SupportProgrammes and we have outlined themain language-related ones below. Forinformation on deadines and to downloadapplication forms, visit the JapanFoundation’s Tokyo website at www.jpf.go.jp/e/about/program/index.html. All non-language programmes are handledby the Japan Foundation London Office, tel: 020 7436 6695; email: info@jpf.org.uk.

Training Programmes in Japan forTeachers of JapaneseA unique opportunity to improve your Japaneselanguage skills and teaching methodology atthe Japan Foundation’s Japanese LanguageInstitute in Urawa. There are three programmesfor non-native speaking teachers – 6-monthcourses (once a year); 2-month courses (threetimes a year), and a three-week summer course.There is also a one-month course for native-speaking teachers.

Materials Donation Programme This scheme enables educational institutionsteaching Japanese to apply for a wide varietyof teaching resources including textbooks,dictionaries, cassettes and flashcards.

Salary Assistance ProgrammeDesigned to help create new full-time teachingpositions at universities and other HigherEducation institutions teaching the Japaneselanguage, this programme provides salaryassistance for up to three years.

Japanese Language EducationFellowship Programme Open to educational institutions and publisherswho wish to develop Japanese languagematerials, this scheme enables one author tostay at Urawa for up to 8 months, or a team oftwo writers to stay for up to 3 months. Roundtrip airfare and monthly stipend included.

Assistance Programme for JapaneseLanguage Teaching Materials Open to publishers and educational institutions,this programme supports the production ofresource materials in various media by coveringup to a quarter of the total publishing costs.Materials must already be written at the time ofapplication.

Japanese Speech Contest SupportProgrammeLocal non-profit groups can apply for grants tocover part of the cost of hall rental and prizes(not cash) for Japanese language speechcontests.

Support Programme for DevelopingNetworks of Japanese LanguageTeachers and InstitutionsProvides partial aid for seminars, workshops,training courses, and academic meetingsrelating to Japanese language education carriedout by overseas teachers’ associations,academic societies, and higher educational andresearch institutions, for the purpose ofdeveloping networks of Japanese languageteachers and institutions outside Japan.

Japan 21 Education (formerly the JapanFestival Education Trust) can help schools inthe UK to find partner schools in Japan andalso provides information and advice on theprocess involved in setting up a link.

If you are interested in applying for a linkfor your school or would like to discuss thepossibilities further, contact Katherine Donaghyat Japan 21 Education on 020 7630 8696 orby email at katherine@japan21.org.uk.Alternatively, you can fill in the onlineapplication form in the school links sectionof the website (www.japan21.org.uk), whichalso contains a wealth of useful informationon setting up a link, including a pdf versionof Japan 21’s School Linking Guidelines.

Japan 21 has also set up a web-basedexchange forum called Japan UK LIVE!,through which pupils in the UK and Japancan communicate, with messages beingtranslated from one language to another.Japan UK LIVE! uses a series of talkboardson a range of set themes. The site alsoincludes an area set aside for collaborativeproject work and there are downloadableworksheets to enhance pupils’ learningexperience.

For further information about Japan UK LIVE!or to request a password, contact HeidiPotter at Japan 21 on 020 7630 8696 orsend an email to: heidi@japan21.org.uk.

Damian Heywood from Ringwood School withstudents from Sue Senior High School in Fukuoka

PAGE 4 TEACHER’S PAGE

PLAN YOUR DREAM TRIP TO JAPAN WITHDRAGONS, SNAKES AND LADDERS!

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You may well have started yourfirst Japanese class of the newschool year by talking to yourpupils about their summerholidays. To continue theholiday theme, I have designeda ‘Dragon and Ladders’(sugoroku) game to help yourpupils plan an imaginary tripto Japan. The game on page 5contains typical experiencesthat pupils might come acrossduring a homestay and relatesto several GCSE topics,including travel, holidays,tourist information andentertainment. There is also alist of websites withinformation on Japanese youthculture to use in the extensionactivities. So, let’s throw thedice!

AimsTo help pupils learn/revise vocabulary andcultural knowledge relating to the GCSEtopics mentioned on the left.

To practise and reinforce speaking andwriting skills.

To encourage the use of ICT to find out moreabout Japanese youth culture and travellingin Japan.

LevelKey Stage 3 to Adult.

ProcedureDivide the class into groups of four or moreand distribute a photocopy of the game onpage 5 to each group. Assign a kanjicharacter to each pupil and ask them tomake a counter to represent their positionon the board.

The game itself is played like Snakes andLadders, with each pupil throwing the diceand moving their counter accordingly.

If they land on a square with text, theyshould read the Japanese aloud to the groupand respond to it. I have included somesimple questions to stimulate pupils’imagination.

Extension 1Using the game as a starting point, askpupils to write a short piece about theimaginary trip they have made to Japan.Since each person will have reached the‘goal’ by a different route, their accountsshould also vary. See below for one example:

Extension 2This activity can also be used as a stimulusfor further discussion on travelling in Japanand the particular aspects of Japaneseculture which pupils would like to explore.Ask pupils to browse through the websitesbelow in order to plan a dream trip toJapan. They can present their findings tothe whole class.

http://www.akiba.or.jp/english/index.html

http://www.tourism.city.osaka.jp/en/index.htm

http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/kp/english/index.html

http://www.tokyodisneyresort.co.jp/tdr/index_e.html

http://www.usj.co.jp/e_top.html

http://www.jr-central.co.jp/service.nsf/frame/shinkansen_menu

http://www.shonenjump.com/

http://jump.shueisha.co.jp/index2.html

http://www.sumo.or.jp/eng/index.php

http://village.infoweb.ne.jp/~tako/index.htm

TEACHER’S PAGE PAGE 5

PAGE 6 NEWS UPDATE

Dartford Grammar SchoolDartford Grammar School first introducedJapanese with the Cambridge Certificate in1997. Since then, the boys’ school (whichadmits girls in the sixth form) hasintroduced GCSE, Standard LevelInternational Baccalaureate and, for the firsttime this September, AS Level Japanese.

Jayne Maidment, Head of Modern Languagesat Dartford, is delighted by the rapiddevelopment of the subject: “We now havestudents who begin Japanese as their firstforeign language in Year 7 and this year wehave over 250 students studying Japanesefrom Years 7 to 13. It has been extremelyencouraging to see the growth in thenumber of pupils choosing to study Japaneseeach year.”

Much of the outreach work that DartfordGrammar carries out as a language college

involves Japanese. The school offersJapanese lessons every week to three localprimary schools and this interaction hasyielded very good results in terms ofencouraging younger pupils to develop aninterest in both the language and culture.

Links with Japan have also had a positiveimpact on pupils’ motivation. High schoolstudents from Ibaraki Prefecture visitDartford Grammar each year and the schoolalso has an email link for Year 10 pupilswith another high school in Yokohama. InSeptember, pen pal links were set up for KS3students with a junior high school in ChibaPrefecture where Jayne Maidment previouslyworked as a JET. The school hopes thatpupils will be able to visit their pen palpartners within the next few years.

This summer, while Jayne was in Urawa forthe intensive summer course, one of her Year11 students, Joe England, was in Kansaitaking part in the Japan Foundation summercourse for high school students. Both foundtheir experiences in Japan inspiring andrewarding.

The last fewmonths have

seen a lot ofmovement inthe Japaneseteaching world.With Ben

Stainer headingoff to Japan to take

up the position of Head of Japanese atthe British School in Tokyo, Sally Bensonwill take over as Head of Japanese at TileHill Wood. Meanwhile, Ken Iwata will startat Impington Village School as MisaNakano moves to Walkden High School,where Gillian Hall rejoins the Japanesedepartment after a year’s maternity leave.Helen Gilhooly also returned to Aldercarin May.

In other moves, James Laming will bejoining Michelle Tate and Victoria Folkard,Head of Oriental Languages, as a teacher ofFrench and Japanese at Katharine LadyBerkeley’s while Yuka Yokozawa takes up anew position at Haberdashers’ Aske’sSchool for Girls, where she will help to setup an exciting new project teachingJapanese as the first language to all pupilsfrom the age of four.

Our congratulations to Helen Bagley fromWolverhampton Girls’ High School, whohas become the second teacher ofJapanese in the UK to be promoted toAdvanced Skills Teacher (AST). As part ofher brief, Helen will be working withWolverhampton Local Education Authorityto assist schools with the implementationof the National Languages Strategy.

Anupameya Jain has also been promotedto Curriculum Leader, Modern &Community Languages, at the Capital CityAcademy, Willesden Green, and CrispinChambers takes over as Head of Japaneseat Tavistock this term, along with his ASTresponsibilities. As a result of his workwith Mary Tavy & CommunityPrimary School, Japanese ICTteaching was rated ‘excellent’ in the latest OFSTED report.

County Upper Schoolheld a JapaneseDay as part of itsGifted andSpecial SummerSchool this year.Staff from ClubTaishikan, theJapanese Embassy’sschool visitprogramme, helped tomake this a very special day.

Sadly, the University of Durham hasannounced that its Department of EastAsian Studies (Chinese, Japanese andKorean) is to close, with the last intake ofstudents in October 2003. Further detailscan be found at www.btinternet.com/~deas.support/new.htm.

On a more positive note, EducationMinister Catherine Ashton announced inJune that Dr Lid King was to be appointedas National Director of Languages, aposition created on the recommendation ofthe Nuffield Languages Inquiry. As Directorof CILT, Lid King has been a strongsupporter of our work atthe Centre andwe wish himall the bestin his newrole.

BATJ UpdateThe British Association for TeachingJapanese as a Foreign Language (BATJ)continues its efforts to encourage andpromote Japanese language education in theUK, with a particular focus on the HigherEducation sector.

One of BATJ’s major contributions is thehosting of an annual conference at whichacademics from the UK and Japan gather topresent and exchange ideas on a range oftopical issues relating to Japanese languageteaching. The sixth annual conference washeld on September 5 and 6 at the School ofOriental and African Studies (SOAS) at theUniversity of London. In her keynote speechon Grammar Acquisition by Learners ofJapanese, Professor Kumiko Sakota fromHiroshima University focused in particular onthe acquisition of Japanese demonstratives,ko, so and a. Professor Sakota demonstratedthat the analysis of common errors bylearners could provide insights into Japanesegrammar not found in data from nativespeech, arguing that these insights shouldbe used to inform and improve the teachingof Japanese.

The other major event to be held in the lastfew months was a weekend workshop onJapanese Phonetics and the Teaching ofJapanese held at Royal Holloway, Universityof London, on May 17 and 18. Presentationswere given by Professor Haruo Kubozono(Kobe University) on Word Formation andPhonological Structure; by Professor YasuhikoSukegawa (Tohoku University) on Syllabusand Techniques of Japanese PronunciationTeaching and by Dr Shin’ichi Tanaka (KobeJogakuin University) on the Teaching ofSentence Patterns and Intonation.

To find out more about BATJ’s activitiesplease visit www.batj.org.uk or contact theChair: Kazuko Sorensen, Japanese Studies,Language Centre, Royal Holloway, Universityof London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX; tel: 01784-443812; fax: 01784 477640; email: K.Sorensen@rhul.ac.uk.

Jayne Maidment, Dartford's Head of ModernLanguages, enjoying the summer course in Urawa

LIBRARY PAGE PAGE 7

The library has now re-opened at our new premisesand all our activities, including the Loan by Postservice, are up and running again. We would begrateful if existing library members could contactthe Librarian to re-register, so that we can keepour records up to date. For this issue of Mado, our advisory team has reviewed some of the

latest additions to the library, which we hope youwill find useful in your teaching. One exciting

new feature in the library is a DVD player, which

can be used on site to view Japanese films. If youwould like to browse through our extensive collection ofresources, log on to the Language Centre website atwww.jpf.org.uk. You can even order materials by email –if available, they will be posted out to you on the nextworking day. This term, the library will be closed onNovember 3, December 23 and between December 25

and January 2. For general library enquiries,contact Françoise Simmons on 020 7436 6698or by email: francoise.simmons@jpf.org.uk.

DVDSThe Centre has purchaseda new DVD player for thelibrary. This can be usedon site to watch Japanese

films with English subtitlesand DVDs can also be taken

out on loan. We are still in theprocess of building up our collection of DVDsbut we already have Japanese versions ofHayao Miyazaki’s popular animation moviesincluding Tonari no Totoro (My NeighbourTotoro) and Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi(Spirited Away).

VIDEOSThere are several new additions to our videocollection. We have reviewed those that wethink will be most useful for you and yourpupils:

Gun Gun Pera Pera Publisher: Television Oceania (1998)If you are looking for some good languagelearning videos for KS3 and 4, Gun Gun PeraPera may be just what you need. Made inAustralia and designed for pupils at this level,each of the ten 30-minute videos contains areview section, a short scene introducingnew words and structures, and explanationsby two ‘guides’ as well as a practice activity.Topics covered include Introductions, Familyand Shopping and Likes/Dislikes, and theseries is accompanied by a Teacher’s Book.

Sumo do, Sumo don’tPublisher: Ronin Films (1992)Director: Masayuki SuoThis amusing film is suitable for all levels. Itexplores the world of sumo wrestling byuniversity Sumo Club students, illustrating amixture of traditional and modern Japaneseculture. It also gives you an opportunity tolisten to real Japanese. Rated PG, the video isin Japanese with English subtitles.

PUZZLE BOOKSTwo new puzzle books have been acquiredfor the library:

Learning Japanese with PuzzlesPublisher: Blue Chip Computing Pty Ltd (1996)This series contains simple but absorbinglanguage puzzles focusing mainly on words.Students up to KS4 will enjoy using them toexpand their vocabulary as well as toimprove their hiragana reading skills. Thereare 22 booklets covering a variety of topics,which makes it easy for you to find onerelated to the GCSE topic you are teaching.The six booklets currently available in thelibrary are My Hobbies, Environment, Food,My Body, Shopping and Clothes.

Nihongo Photocopiable PuzzlesAuthor: Tracey Hender et alPublisher: Insomnia (1994)This photocopiable puzzle book has twoeditions – primary and secondary - and theprimary edition is available in our library. Itcontains 50 puzzles including crosswords,unjumbles and word sleuths with answers.Scripts used include romaji, hiragana andkatakana. Suitable for KS2 and KS3.

A LEVELThe following books have just arrived:

Getting There in JapaneseAuthor: Debbie Corder et alPublisher: Heinemann Education (1995)ISBN: 0 86863 0950This series of eight volumes is published inNew Zealand and widely used in the Oceanicregion. Topics covered are Family Life, LeisureActivities, Japanese School System, Eating &Drinking, Japan at Work, Communication &Media, Travel & Tourism and Land & People.Each chapter contains kanji, grammar andvocabulary lists as well as practice activitiesfor all four skills. Cassettes are also available.

Kookoo Seikatsu, books 1 & 2Japanese for Secondary StudentsAuthor: Keiko AitchisonPublisher: Macmillan (2000-2001)ISBN: (1) 0 7329 6567 5 (2) 0 7329 6569 1

This set of books is published in Australia forsecondary level pupils and is suitable for KS4 and AS/A2 level in the UK. Although thesituations are set in Japan and Australia, thebooks provide several grammar exercises withreading materials as well as culturalinformation pages written in both Japaneseand English. This series would be useful forintroducing and revising grammar structures.The books are accompanied by cassette tapesand a kanji workbook.

ADVANCED LEVELTopic ni yoru Nihongo Sogo Enshu -Temasagashi kara Happyo e – JokyuAuthor: S. Ando et alPublisher: 3A Corporation (2001)ISBN: 4-88319-213-X C0081This resource is designed for teachingadvanced level students. Although thecontent is fairly challenging, the presentationand structure of the material could beadapted for use with other levels and teacherscould also use the book as a resource forlesson planning. Each chapter containsvarious activities based on a topic such asFood Culture, Labour Issues, Customs, Recyclingand Gender. The book guides and encourageslearners to participate in the whole processfrom choosing a topic, to researching andpresenting it. There is a separate volume ofsupplementary material (Jokyu yo shiryoshu)which contains graphs and authentic readingmaterials.

As you can see fromPage 1, the first courseheld at our new homeproved to be verypopular, and welook forward towelcoming manymore of you to Russell Square House in thecoming months. All our services are nowback to normal so we hope you will makethe most of our extensive collection ofteaching resources – see page 7 for detailsof some of the latest additions to thelibrary. This term promises to be a busy onefor the London Language Centre, with thePrimary Conference and the launch ofRegional Refresher courses, as well as ourongoing programme of Stepping Out visits.We are also helping to co-ordinate a surveyof Japanese language teaching worldwide,which The Japan Foundation’s JapaneseLanguage Institute in Urawa carries outperiodically, and a questionnaire has beensent to every institution teaching Japanesein the UK. Please make sure to fill in andreturn the survey to Urawa – we very muchappreciate your help!

MADOEditor: Caroline Lewis • Design: François Hall

Published byTHE JAPAN FOUNDATION

LONDON LANGUAGE CENTRERussell Square House

10-12 Russell Square, London WC1B 5EHTelephone: 020 7436 6698

Fax: 020 7323 4888Website: www.jpf.org.uk

Ready Steady NihonGO!

The first Primary Japanese Conference to

be held at the JFLLC, Ready Steady

NihonGO (RSN) on November 18 will

provide an opportunity for initial findings

from the RSN project to be presented as

well as acting as a stepping stone for

further developments. Among the issues

on the agenda will be links between the

secondary and primary sector,

disseminating good practice and

successful primary models of Japanese

from overseas. Professionals from key

organisations have been invited to share

their expertise with Primary Japanese

Pioneers and other participants.

For further information, call

Kornelia Achrafie on 020 7436 6698.

EDEXCEL A LEVEL DAYWednesday, 15 October

For bookings and further informationplease contact Edexcel on 08702409800 or visit the website at

www.edexcel.org.uk.

REGIONAL REFRESHER COURSEEarly November

Following the format of the annualRefresher Course, this is the first in aseries of intensive Regional RefresherCourses to be held outside of London.

Venue and date to be confirmed.

EDEXCEL GCSE INSET DAYMonday, 10 November

For bookings and further informationplease contact Edexcel on 08702409800 or visit the website at

www.edexcel.org.uk.

READY STEADY NIHONGO! Tuesday, 18 November

A conference on Primary SectorJapanese. See Noticeboard for details.

ANNUAL SUPPORT PROGRAMMES Early December

See Page 3 for further details.

STRETCHING OUTThursday, 4 December

A day of practical guidance andworkshops for native speaking teachers,from ICT use to drawing up schemes of

work.

HEAD START Wednesday 21 – Friday 23

January 2004An intensive introduction to Japanese

and the issues associated with teachingit for Heads of MFL and senior managersin secondary schools, and language co-

ordinators at primary level.

ALL LANGUAGE WORLD 2004REACHING OUT

Friday 2 - Sunday 4 April ALL’s annual conference, to be

held at the University of Oxford.Contact ALL on 01788 546443.

Unless otherwise stated, all events take place at the Japan FoundationLondon Language Centre in RussellSquare House. Please call us on 020

7436 6698 for further details.

PAGE 8 EVENTS & NOTICEBOARD

TEST YOUR PROFICIENCY

The Japan Foundation’s Japanese

Language Proficiency Test will be held

this year at SOAS, on Sunday,

December 7. The deadline for completed

application forms is Friday, September

26. Requests for application forms should

be made in writing or by email to:

Language Centre, SOAS,

University of London, Thornhaugh Street,

Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG;

email: jlpt@soas.ac.uk;

fax: 020 7898 4889.

For further details, visit the website at

www.soas.ac.uk/languagecentre/

japanese/jlpt/home.html.

Dear ReadersI wanted to let you know about the new Post

A level Japanese course that the University of

Birmingham has just introduced. Previously,

the four-year degree courses, Commerce,

Economics or Asian Studies with Japanese

started from beginner’s level. From thisSeptember, we are extending these courses to

cater for students with existing knowledge of

Japanese. Teaching is delivered in small groups

and students will spend their third year at a

Japanese university. For more details,including the entrance requirements for each

course, please contact me. We hope towelcome many enthusiastic students from

your schools!Miyoko Yamashita, Head of Japanese, Centre for Modern Languages, University

of Birmingham; tel: 0121 414 3306; email: M.Yamashita@bham.ac.uk.