Menus and titles (screenshots) of the Chapters on all 3 of the DVD disks
Earlier this summer I previewed the 3-dvd set of videos centering on the town of Mizusawa in N.E. Japan. It is the research location for the long career of ethnographer Dr. Keith Brown. The DVDs tell all sides of this long engagement with local people for many decades. The project introduces his research subjects, but also reveals important points about how outsiders relate to the townspeople and develop friendships. One DVD focuses on the personal story that unfolds across the decades. Another DVD has the several topics separated into short 12-15 minute stories. The third DVD will interest students and teachers of Japanese because it takes several episodes of unscripted, “live” dialog between native and non-native (Dr. Brown) speakers of Japanese.
In August the teacher guides to each DVD were released at the website, http://cantgonative.com/
http://cantgonative.com/Can't_Go_Native_Teachers_Guide.zip
http://cantgonative.com/More_About_Mizusawa_TeachersGuide.doc
http://cantgonative.com/Conversations_in_Mizusawa_TeachersGuide.doc
As for the title, “Can’t Go Native?,” perhaps it has three meanings:
a) Foreigners should not let go of their home country roots and “go native,” and/or
b) Foreigners should not fool themselves into believing they can be fully Japanese
c) Foreigners can indeed become part of the local ecosystem of the society.
There are several audiences for the language-centered DVD, "Conversations in Mizusawa":
--exchange students (both those to Japan and those from Japan) from high school to college:
predeparture - while in country - upon return, should see the main movie and other segments.
--high beginner and Intermediate students would enjoy the live conversations, as well.
--all those Japanese teens and college students who are studying English might enjoy the DVDs, either to consume in pleasure, to work on for language learning, or to scrutinize within a critical and historicized frame to see how the gaze and organic relationships of scholar and local community affect each other and have contributed to the published materials.
In August the teacher guides to each DVD were released at the website, http://cantgonative.com/
http://cantgonative.com/Can't_Go_Native_Teachers_Guide.zip
http://cantgonative.com/More_About_Mizusawa_TeachersGuide.doc
http://cantgonative.com/Conversations_in_Mizusawa_TeachersGuide.doc
As for the title, “Can’t Go Native?,” perhaps it has three meanings:
a) Foreigners should not let go of their home country roots and “go native,” and/or
b) Foreigners should not fool themselves into believing they can be fully Japanese
c) Foreigners can indeed become part of the local ecosystem of the society.
There are several audiences for the language-centered DVD, "Conversations in Mizusawa":
--exchange students (both those to Japan and those from Japan) from high school to college:
predeparture - while in country - upon return, should see the main movie and other segments.
--high beginner and Intermediate students would enjoy the live conversations, as well.
--all those Japanese teens and college students who are studying English might enjoy the DVDs, either to consume in pleasure, to work on for language learning, or to scrutinize within a critical and historicized frame to see how the gaze and organic relationships of scholar and local community affect each other and have contributed to the published materials.
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