illustrated children's books - ehon

online children's books http://www.arakawa-shizue.jp/web-ehon/index.html#

Revising the list of kanji

[Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008 - Japan Times]
 http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20081116a2.html

      A panel of the Council for Cultural Affairs is working to revise the 
official list of Chinese characters in common use (joyo kanji). The 
final proposal is expected in February. The revision should draw the 
attention of not only Japanese but also foreigners interested in 
Japanese culture.
       The current joyo kanji list contains 1,945 characters. The kanji 
panel plans to add 186 characters, including "kan" of 
"kankoku" (Korea) and "satsu" of "kosatsu" (ancient temple).

videos on High School memories; health care options

Each is about 10 minutes or less (in English).

About Japanese health care, http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6446526054197373344

Japanese high school memories, http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7986423489127429101

online reading of Kanji

http://www.readthekanji.com/

new release of "kanji alive" online

After much work and many delays we've finally released an updated
version of "Kanji alive" that is both much faster than the previous
version and compatible with current versions of Windows and OS X.

You can access it via http://kanjialive.uchicago.edu

katakana intro, roots, links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katakana
gives a good overview with visual illustrations.

project on classical language of Japanese

-from Paul Baptist:
http://www.lingwiki.com

http://lingwiki.com/index.php?title=Hyakunin_Isshu

http://www.sengokudaimyo.com/bungo/bungo.html

rich site reopened - Minna no kyozai

http://minnanokyozai.jp/
 　…………………………………………………………………………………………
 　■The number of resources has been expanded!

 　　★Kisetsu no Katsudo
 　　　There are 109 classroom activities that facilitate study of
 　　　Japan's seasons and annual events. Various types of classroom
 　　　activities are available for beginning to advanced proficiency
 　　　levels.

 　　★Elementary Vocabulary Pictures
 　　　This contains 308 black-and-white pictures for basic verbs.

 　■Finding resources has become easier!

 　　★Classroom Activities and Pictures are organized by series (base
 　　　material), enabling a search by series as well as cross search.
 　　　There is also a list of material titles.

 　　★Search of Grammar items had previously been available only
 　　　according to the 50 kana order index, and some users expressed
 　　　difficulty using the search function. On the new site, Grammar
 　　　items can be searched by keyword as well as by two types of lists ("50 kana order list" and "list by proficiency level").

visual approach to understanding life in Japan

http://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/

what do Japanese eat day-to-day?

Here is what people in Japan eat daily, http://tmap.yomiuri.co.jp/

M. W.Isoyama, JFLA.org

video - Obon in Kyoto (1 minute 28 seconds)

via the LonelyPlanet travel guide (newsletter, "Comet")
http://enewsletters.lonelyplanet.com.au/ch/14dwhq0/532146/ce6d81755m.html

Japanese by distance learning [accredited programs]

via Susan Schmidt, Alliance of Associations of Teachers of Japanese
 
**************************************
1. Online Center for Japanese Studies - The Yamasa Institute,
Okazaki, Japan - http://www.yamasa.org/ocjs/english/index.html
 
2. Virginia Satellite Educational Network (VSEN)
www.vsenvirginia.org.htm
 
3. World Wide Learn Language Learning Center (several programs)
http://www.worldwidelearn.com/language-courses/learn-japanese.htm
 
4. Nihongo Web from Univ Alabama (online tutoring)
for high school or college credit - http://www.ccet.ua.edu/nihongoweb/
 
5. Mesa Community College, AZ offers JPN101, 102, 201 and 202 online
using Yookoso.
 
6. Irasshai at Georgia Tech has distance learning courses -
http://www.imtc.gatech.edu/projects/culture/i-irasshai.html
or http://www.gpb.org/irasshai   Irasshai hotline 800-883-7444
 
7. Japanese 1 & 2 (at least) taught online through the Indiana
Academy at Ball State:
Cathy D. Whaley, Ast Dir of Outreach
Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities
Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana 47306     765-285-3248 (fax)
765-285-6004 (phone); 800-316-3163 ext. 22 (toll-free phone)
 
8. Brigham Young Univ high-school Japanese 1 and 2 online, http://tinyurl.com/cmwdr
 
9. More options for self-study: www.umich.edu/~iinet/cjs/japanese/selfstudy.html

started in Japan - now known worldwide: The Algorithm March

Algorithm March
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=0FgtEwZ2pw4&feature=related

Algorithm Exercise - Pitagora Suicchi
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=bh7SARvxs6E&feature=related

3D Algorithm March
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=YZP1ZHAqeHo&feature=related

see also
Kanashii toki (By Itsumokokokara) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPlfIju9sPk&feature=related
Kanashii toki Exercise: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E02bKwYrm4
The comedians should do more voice training Here is a great model: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9B6qQ52jfc


____________________________________
And now world-wide
Algorithm March and WuTang
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=bdU-DQxgGJs&feature=related

Algorithm March Stockholm
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=-rRx1--T-_o&feature=related

films depicting High School in Japan (or suitable for teens)

Water Boys (high school clubs and school festivals)
Swing Girls
gakkou (学校) series by Youji Yamada... depicts non-traditional students who go to a night school in Tokyo. http://item.rakuten.co.jp/book/5660131/

Kinpachi-sensei (TV series), http://www.tbs.co.jp/kinpachi/
http://ishop.tbs.co.jp/tbs/special/kinpachi/index.html

Nobody Knows if you would like to show a side of Tokyo that is not typical, successful students. It is one of the saddest movies I have ever seen ...four siblings that are abandoned by their mother and have to fend for themselves in Tokyo.

Kamikaze Girls is also good for capturing pop culture.

Koko Yakyu --tells about a private HS (?Wakayama-ken) and public HS (Osaka) preparing for the national HS tournament at Koshien. There is a lot of "live" (?nama kaiwa) dialog, lots of emotional intensity, and some useful impressions of HS life.

And I like the materials at Deai, www.tjf.or.jp/deai

Erin ga chosen is pretty good, I think. It is not documentary, but has a script. Still it gives some images of life for teens these days.

=-=-=-=-=-= possibly to show in class, as well
Sen to Chihiro
Ping Pong
Hula girls
Adrenalin Drive
Kikujiro

=-=-=-=-=-= more titles, (* popularity by students)
*Totoro
Mimi wo sumaseba
Omoide boro boro
*Mononoke Hime (Princess Mononoke)
*Sen to Chihiro (Spirited Away)
*Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies)
*The Cat Returns
Tonari no Yamada-kun
*Howl's Moving Castle
Minwa (Kaguyahime, Tsuruno Ongaeshi)
Ohayou (Good Morning)
After Life
*Kikujiro
*Shall will Dance
*Tampopo (with some discretions)
*Daremo shiranai (Nobody Knows)
*Water Boys
Maboroshi
*Densha Otoko
*ShogunZatouichi
*Kakushi toride (Hidden Fortress)
*Kumonosujyou ( MacBeth in Japanese version by Kurosawa)
*Kwaidan ( by Masaki Kobayashi)
Miminashi Houichi and other stories
*Rashoumon

Samurai (Historical documentary from BBC)
Families of Japan (documentary)
Nihon-Sono sugata to kokoro (Japanese family life) -Documentary
Living Arts (Culture in modern Kyoto) and Friends.....Documentary
Animated Classics of Japanese Literature (12 part series)

=-=-=-=-=-= undergraduates at college
NHK documentary series, Working Poor (as well as the books the accompany them). The sections on the young working poor in Japan have resonated deeply with my [undergraduate] students.

short-stories of Japanese literature (in English)

Offered by J-Lit (Literature of Japan)
 
free PDF files of translations of Japanese contemporary short stories
(http://www.jlpp.jp/story/index.html)

music resources linked from Japan Society site

Bibliography of Resources about Music in Japan
<http://aboutjapan.japansociety.org/content.cfm/bibliography_of_resources_about_music_in_japan>
E. Taylor Atkins of Northern Illinois University composed a bibliography of some print, on-line, and multimedia resources that might be valuable to the K-12 (as well as college) educator.

classroom routines

sensei online Digest Number 2716+
  ...I have been using the toban/ aisatsu system but with a few additions.
  Namely, toban also checks the homework (they seem to enjoy the responsibility and they get to pick what stamp to use for the day!) She or he also collects the diaries of students who have not done the homework.
  Other toban jobs include starting tha ball rolling for answers/ activities, giving out handouts etc, setting up the DVD/ data projector, wiping the board, running errands to the office e.g. to get another box of tisssues. THis way i avoid always asking a few trusted students to do those types of things.
  The toban also gets to be the MC/ games master which includes using the blow up microphone for quick fire question time/ interviews etc and other fun jobs like picking out the bingo cards etc
  The students take the toban role seriously, to the point where if a student is away or skipped they come up to me at the end of class to ensure i reschedule their turn!
  Having the toban really helps me out with everyday systems, but also keeps everything fair because each student knows they will get their turn.
  I am interested to hear of other ways teachers make toban an enjoyable and special job.
==follow-up to listreader's query:
  yes, the toban changes every day. I do it in alphabetical order so the students know when their turn is coming. I also try to remind the next student that it will be their turn the following lesson.
  The toban marks the roll with a 'T' when it is their turn so i can see who did it on what dates and correct any skipped students.
  If the student is late, they miss their turn and have to catch up later.
  With my older students i normally do something with technology e.g. Youtube/ music at the start (that is before the lesson offically begins) so that the late students miss the fun, but not the greetings and intro part of the lesson. I have invited students to make requests as a way of getting them to explore Japanese language and culture in their own time by surfing the net. I am always amazed what kind of Japanese things they find. Often the students are so much more on the pulse with what is 'in' than me because they have special interests that they like to pursue in their free time. e.g. Gazette etc!

==as well as,
  ...my former school required me to put the following information on the board for each class:
Do now:
  Today:
    Homework:
Learning outcome:
  The L.O.T.E. department translated these and made funky board signs with magnets on the back.
  The students seems to work well with knowing what to do when they came in and what the rest of the lesson would include.
=-=-=-=
...I guess the most important thing is to simple have routines and structure. I don't think that it matters what the routine is.  My class has a "Kanji Corner" with 2 sentences full of Kanji compounds that have to be copied and translated in the first 5 minutes.
Next, we look at a paragraph with the new vocabulary and grammar point for the day.
Then we practice using those in conversation.
Finally, they write using the new learnt information. (these are used in the next visit's warm up sentence and kanji practice). Next we do activities and play with the new information is there is time. I always end with a quick moment for culture stuff!
=-=-=-=
-We have a "nicchoku"sign by the door with vinyl pockets to insert the student's name and the "weather" card/s of the day. 4x6 Cards are in a basket with all student names for each class, and another basket has 4x6 cards w/ weather pictures and the word in Japanese (kumori, hare, yuki, etc.)
-I am "nicchoku/toban" the first 6 wks of JPN1, then they take over. They LOVE it and look forward to their turn, checking the sign as they come in and reading the name (in katakana) to see who gets to do the job that day.
- The student leads the "kiritsu-kiwotsuke-rei-yoroshiku onegaishimasu-chakuseki", then answers my Q: kyou "no tenki wa dou desuka?" and puts the appropriate weather card in the vinyl pocket.
*Starting with JPN2, they also fill in the day and date on the board, and read the date to the class.
=-=-=-=
Survey on what you say in class, http://www.research.nttnavi.co.jp/305clr/clr_078_01.html
 
Pr. Shigenobu Ujiie's Lecture Notes (Tohokugakuin U)
http://www.izcc.tohoku-gakuin.ac.jp/liberal/Sujiie/doutoku15.htm
(Prof. Ujiie's Website: http://www.izcc.tohoku-gakuin.ac.jp/liberal/Sujiie/)
 
Japan Academy for Municipal Personnel's Professional Development Workshop
Protocols, http://www.jamp.gr.jp/information/point.htm

Japan through folk and children's songs

information on folk and traditional songs of Japan...
"Social and Cultural History of Japan Though Music Education," at
http://bulldog2.redlands.edu/dept/AsianStudiesDeptmusic_ed/

...song files and cultural information about fifteen or twenty songs

filmography -anime for k12 classroom

from http://aboutjapan.japansociety.org
 

Resource: Anime - An Annotated Filmography for Use in the Classroom

by Toni Levi, April 30, 2008
In this filmography, Japanese historian and anime and manga expert Antonia Levi recommends anime movies to use in the grade K-12 classroom. For each movie, she gives a synopsis, suggests age appropriateness, and offers points of discussion.

films showing language/culture

[cross-posting from H-Japan] ...the Itami Juzo film "Minbo" for its depiction of sarariman.
His "Tampopo" is good for images of small business and of food culture. It also has great use of language, from that used by a pedantic academic (is there any other sort?) to the rich, women, blue-collar workers and so on. Students who are told to listen for it can pick out some of the variation, even if they have never studied Japanese. Both films have enough slapstick and other visuals to
do a reasonable job of holding the attention of students who find subtitles tedious.

video, "Election, Japanese-style"

http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2008/campaign/
Discover Democracy "Japanese-Style"

This is democracy – Japanese style. Campaign on P.O.V. provides a startling insider's view of Japanese electoral politics in this portrait of a man plucked from obscurity by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to run for a critical seat on a suburban city council.

Kazuhiko "Yama-san" Yamauchi's LDP handlers are unconcerned that he has zero political experience, no charisma, no supporters and no time to prepare.

What he does have is the institutional power of Japan's modern version of Tammany Hall pushing him forward. Yama-san allows his life to be turned upside down as he pursues the rituals of Japanese electioneering – with both tragic and comic results.

full film online at http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2008/campaign/fullfilm.html

J-Pop with on-screen lyrics

Soul-ja: His song with Thelma Aoyama is nice. Several of my students bought the album this summer
   www.jpopasia.com/play/4153/soulja/kokoni-iruyo-feat-thelma-aoyama.html
see also the J-Pop homepages, http://www.jpopasia.com

audio slideshow (contest)

13 July 2008. [senseionline] Digest Number 2685
 
Kwassui Women's College announces a worldwide video slideshow contest
reserved to students who are learning Japanese as a foreign language
in high school; original announcement at
http://www.kwassui.ac.jp/college/news_topics/news_82/news_82.html
For further inquiries, please email videocontest@kwassui.ac.jp
 
The purpose of this contest is to encourage high school Japanese
language teachers to enhance their classes with video production
projects. Kwassui has long been active in forming teachers of both
English and Japanese. The college is now experimenting with new
technologies and promoting their use in language teaching. It has
become evident to us that many language teachers would like to use
video production in their classes but are hindered by time constraints
and limited access to technology. The experience matured by our
English department has shown us that this kind of obstacles can be
overcome by letting students work on video slideshows rather than
moving image videos.
 
A video slideshow is a succession of still images, be they
photographs, drawings, charts, or computer-generated pictures,
accompanied by narration and/or music and recorded in video format. It
can be created with minimal equipment: a computer, a digital still
camera or camera phone, and a microphone. The editing can be done with
simple software such as Windows Movie Maker (free on all Windows XP
and Vista machines) or iMovie (free on all new Macs).
 
A site with extensive technical information on video slideshows,
including step-by-step tutorials can be found at
http://www.deepmoat.com/moodle/
 
Theme of the Contest: School Life
This theme should be interpreted as including topics such as school
clubs, school festivals, school friendships, etc. Entries may be
authored by a single student or by groups of up to four students. Only
one submission per student or group will be accepted.
 
Basic Requirements: All authors must be high school students. None of them must have lived
in Japan for more than a year. Teachers can advise students but cannot
be authors. All videos must be composed of still images accompanied by Japanese
narration. They must be suitable for all audiences. Opening and end
titles are required and must also be in Japanese (romaji is
permissible). Transitions, the Ken Burns effect, and other special
effects are permitted. On the videos, students' must be identified
only by their first names. Family names, addresses, and other
sensitive personal data must NOT be included. The script and all
images must be original and created by the entrants themselves. Music
is optional. If included, it must be legal and properly credited.
"Legal" music means a piece that is either out of copyright,
copyright friendly (such as Creative Commons licensed pieces from jamendo.com or
podsafeaudio.com), or composed and played by the students who make the
video.
 
Video format: wmv or mov. Videos submitted in formats other than wmv
or mov will not be considered. Those who are creating in other formats
are welcome to use online converters such as media-convert.com or
zamzar.com to get their piece into one of those two formats.
Length of entries: minimum 2 minutes 30 seconds; maximum 3 minutes 30
seconds. Files should not exceed 30 MB.
 
Deadline for submissions: 11:00 p.m., Japanese Time, on November 30,
2008. No entries can be accepted before 8:00 a.m., Japanese Time, on
October 1, 2008. To find out the corresponding time in your time zone,
you may wish to use the converter at
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html.
 
How to submit: All videos must be submitted by teachers. To submit,
please use a free file delivery service such as YouSendIt.com. In the
"To" box, please type the following address: videocontest@kwassui.ac.jp
Do not send videos as email attachments.
 
Teachers will also need to send a separate confirmation email to videocontest@kwassui.ac.jp
containing the following information: teacher's name and contact email, school's name and address, title of the video, full name and grade of each student who authored the video.
[see full announcement for detailed judging criteria]

pbs-Japan: Military Academy (July 8), Campaign for local elections (July 29)

intro blurb, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/japans-about-face/introduction/746/
In the aftermath of World War II, Japan's new American-authored constitution renounced the right to wage war and maintain military forces.
 
In recent years, though, the line between defense and offense has blurred. In 2004, Japan sent its Ground Self-Defense Forces to Iraq — the first deployment of Japanese soldiers in an active combat zone in 60 years.
 
With China's economy and military expanding and North Korea test-launching ballistic missiles into the Japan Sea, Japan has started reconsidering its regional strategy.
Today, Japan has a $40 billion military budget, the fifth largest in the world.

About the Film:
Japan's About-Face is a remarkable window into the shifting role of the military in post-war Japanese society.
WIDE ANGLE has acquired rare access to the National Defense Academy, Japan's "West Point." We follow Defense Academy cadets preparing for a future that may involve overseas deployment, and meet with a group of peace activists — some of them atom bomb survivors — on a grueling two month, 750-mile protest march from Hiroshima to Tokyo. We also witness joint maneuvers with the U.S. Marine Corps, surveillance flights over the Sea of Japan, and the DDH Hyuga — the first Japanese aircraft carrier built since WWII.
Japan's About-Face offers unprecedented insight into the future of Asian geopolitics.
 
VIDEO PREVIEW, http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/japans-about-face/preview/1272/
 
 
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
 

Campaign
by Kazuhiro Soda Broadcast Date: July 29, 2008 at 10 PM (1 hour) Check local listings
This is democracy — Japanese style. "Campaign" provides a startling insider's view of Japanese electoral politics in this portrait of a man plucked from obscurity by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to run for a critical seat on a suburban city council. Kazuhiko "Yama-san" Yamauchi's LDP handlers are unconcerned that he has zero political experience, no charisma, no supporters and no time to prepare. What he does have is the institutional power of Japan's modern version of Tammany Hall pushing him forward. Yama-san allows his life to be turned upside down as he pursues the rituals of Japanese electioneering — with both tragic and comic results. A co-presentation with the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM).

 
FILM PREVIEW, http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2008/campaign/index.html

abduction - Megumi Yokota story (PBS)

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/abduction/

Japan stories from the Web (starting with NPR)

With the encouragement of NPR following the weekly Thursday 11 a.m. tour of their studios in Washington, DC, I collected links for many of their features of the last few years. It's mostly in English (apart from some interview/lyrics). Several are musician related. For cultural background, they all make for good listening.
_______________________
Japan stories from the Web (links to stories for KR and CN, too)
http://interccc.googlepages.com/jpweb 

sample photo groups of Flickr.com (Japan)

I've skipped over duplicates, inappropriate or very narrowly focused topics.
 
Selected from the first 40 pages (600 entries) of 4,500+ FLICKR photo groups on 6/21/2008
http://www.flickr.com/search/groups/?q=japanese
___________________________________
http://www.flickr.com/groups/jlandscape/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/japanese-food/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/harajuku/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/japanichi/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/663284@N20/ =advertising
http://www.flickr.com/groups/japanesedesign/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/vintagejapaneseadvertising/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/japanese_style/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/japanesesigns/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/351960@N21/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/323055@N24/ =panoramas
http://www.flickr.com/groups/37996572902@N01/ =flickr-japan
http://www.flickr.com/groups/phonecam/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/64605954@N00/=kanji

worksheets source

Added to our bank of resources:
-a very young learner-friendly explanation worksheet for ichi-dan, go-dan
and irregular verbs and constructing their negative form,
-a verb conjugation puzzle,
-and an exercise worksheet to complement and assess this new knowledge.

http://www.languageteachers.net/sharing_ttoz.html next to the 'tense' heading.

language in time of war

interesting radio profile of Guy Gabaldon, who saved many lives in World War II with his knowledge of Japanese.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89917992

radio stories, Hello Kitty Gets ...

2008, Hello Kitty Gets a New Look in Japanese Vogue
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89803701&sc=emaf

2004, Hello Kitty: A Marketing Sensation Grows Up
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4135154&sc=emaf

countering the wartime de-humanizing process

Today on the radio this piece was broadcast; perhaps some US listeners to National Public Radio heard the visits to U.S. high school classrooms by former members of the WW II corps of kamikaze pilots (in conjuction with the documentary film's producer). The recorded segment can be heard online and may be of interest in a variety of classrooms or lecture topics, so I pass it along here.
--Guven Witteveen
 
Wings of Defeat: Kamikaze Stories, Told in Person
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89622063&sc=emaf

---

Make i'm yours. Create a custom banner to support your cause.

blog of Old Japan photos (commercial catalogue, though)

Multilingual Photoblog of Old Photographs of Japan. Daily uploads of rare photographs and postcards of Japan between 1860 and the 1930's. ...displays photos from a private collection of many thousands of rare photographs and maps
http://www.oldphotosjapan.com

short videos - Japanese language and culture

http://www.j-plusonline.jp/

The videos are presented mainly in English and also they include some interviews in Japanese with English subtitle. Conveniently, they are stored in the temporary file on your computer while downloading them, so you can move them to wherever you like for your later use.

video titles:

- Toward a Peaceful and Prosperous World
- An Invitation to Noh
- Monozukuri - The Japanese Art of Making Things
- Multiculturalism
- Mottainai
- Japan Fashion
- A stroll through Old Asakusa

Junko Fujimoto, fujimoto@colorado.
East Asian Languages and Civilizations, UC-Boulder

students videos from Nagasaki

cross-posting from ED-TECH electronic list.
...slideshow videos done by students at Kwassui Women's College in Nagasaki
http://www.nextvista.org/collection/global-views/asia/

origami master links list

Spotted on EDTECH (www.h-net.org)
Copied for easy reference to http://japanlore.googlepages.com/origami
 

street fashion in Tokyo (book, blog, slideshow)

as seen on http://anthropologistabouttown.blogspot.com
 
...website run by an anthropology PhD student in London, Philomena Keet, http://tokyolookbook.com. Her research examines street fashion in Tokyo, and she has just published a book on the subject which is informed by some of her anthropological thinkings - 'The Tokyo Look Book'. Also on the website is a blog [http://web.mac.com/philomena/iWeb/TokyoLookBook%20/Blog/Blog.html] about her research and related events - sometimes there are late notice seminars she will be talking at for those of you who are interested in the subject. Another interview with Philomena is available online here, http://writerinterviews.blogspot.com/2007/12/philomena-keet.html

teen perspective on going to Japan

cross-posting from H-Japan by U.Mass East Asia librarian
=-=-=-=-=-=-=
...One of my non-Japan friends brought me a book that she enjoyed called _Japan Ai:
A Tall Girl's Adventures In Japan / by Aimee Major Steinberger. Go!Comi, 2007.
ISBN: 1933617837

Aimee is a manga artist and cosplay fanatic. She and her friends go to Japan so
that she can visit the VOLKS doll company. Aimee experiences most things that
young people experience when they go to Japan: maid cafes, Akihabara, cosplay,
internet cafes, Takarazuka ... The great thing is that she illustrates each
scene with short comments, so it really brings the experience to life.

advocating Japanese lessons

...Japan has the second largest economy in the world, Japan is a vital ally to America in the Pacific, Japan is the largest foreign influence on American youth culture right now. Remind parents that Japanese is an academic subject like algebra and when was the last time their kids begged and pleaded to be allowed to take algebra? Finally, remember that you will lose at least as many battles as you win, don't lose heart, just learn from the experience.
----- J. Guthrie on 2008-02-13 senseionline

Podcast Itunes: searching for 'Gwyn' and 'Japanese'

gmcclell@xavier.vic. (edu DotAU), Gwyn McClelland
 
Please consider contributing, or sending any topics to cover.
 
Seeking people for online interviews (through Skype), too:
--experiences they have had in Japan, or simply
--about their hometowns

examples of articles, Japanfocus.org

hotlinks to 3-5 page essays in English from http://japanfocus.org may be of use to students (assignments; reactions or presentations) and teachers (background material & illustrations) of Japanese.
 
Wada Haruki, The Comfort Women Issue, the Asian Women's Fund and the Digital Museum

Heonik Kwon, The Ghosts of the American War in Vietnam

Nakazawa Keiji, Barefoot Gen, the Atomic Bomb and I: The Hiroshima Legacy

Mel Gurtov, Reconciling Japan and China

children's favorites (cross-culturally)

...great survey data that could be easily incorporated into language lessons, such as Japanese children's favorite subjects, relationships with friends, even "the effects of bullying." 
http://www.childresearch.net/RESEARCH/DATA_JCHILD/index.html
[Jessica H]

early ages - classroom culture in Japan

Child's Play: Japan's Groundbreaking Child-Development Web Site: When the conformist Land of the Rising Sun forges ahead in education innovation, we'd better pay attention. [from http://www.edutopia.org/global-education-2008]

textbooks page online

The Japanese Textbook Information Board is online at
http://www.japaneseteaching.org/projects/textbook/

We invite all teachers to explore the site and send updated information as well as feedback on the textbooks that are listed there. Publishers are also welcome to send information on new textbooks that are not yet included on the site.

Susan Schmidt, Executive Director
Alliance of Associations of Teachers of Japanese
Phone: 303-492-5487, Fax: 303-492-5856
http://www.colorado.edu/ealld/atj

kana stroke order - on screen, iphone or ipod-touch

stroke order online thanks to s. shinagawa: http://iphone.marinebat.com/
see also original site for web-browser use: http://gahoh.marinebat.com/

top 10 words in Japanese 2007

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/ek20080115a1.html
Kyushu dialect, golf prince top 2007 buzzwords
By MARK SCHREIBER, Special to The Japan Times Jan. 15, 2008

[excerpt]...other buzzwords that finished the top 10 included kieta nenkin (vanished pension funds), a phrase muttered by Health, Labour and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe to describe the mismanagement of pension payment records by the Social Insurance Agency (3rd place) and shokuhin giso (false labeling of foods), following a year of successive stories revealing manufacturers' mislabeling the contents of food products, disregard for the freshness dates of ingredients or use of slipshod sanitation methods (7th place).

"king of Sushi" on CBS news investigation show, "60 minutes"

on 60 Minutes! The segment is "The King of Sushi," about the journey of Atlantic bluefin tuna. It will be broadcast Sunday, January 13th, 2008, at 7pm ET in the United States. After it airs on the West Coast, it will become available on the CBS News website. Click on this link http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml

and there will be a list of stories from this broadcast. [cross-posting from EASIANTH e-list for East Asia Anthropology]
=-=-= GP Witteveen, sjmi AThotmail DOTcom

images & articles (cabinet, JP)

http://www.gov-online.go.jp/eng/publicity/book/hlj/

using Web 2.0 for Japanese learners

14 useful online applications for educators. Several of these would be excellent for Japan (society/culture) and Japanese (language) uses:
adding audio comments or "post-it notes" to webpages, narrating a set of images, mapping of events & historical persons, and so on.
 
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2007/12/21/the-best-web-20-applications-for-education-2007/

online vocab builder

http://iteslj.org/v/jre/common_b.html
1554 Commonly-used Japanese Words
  Lower-level students can choose the 4-choice option, to also get Romaji.
[thanks to Charles Kelly in Nagoya]

bestsellers in Japan written on cell phones

via EDTECH e-list, 11 Dec 2007
[in the Sydney Morning Herald] http://tinyurl.com/26yvtg
blogged here, too, http://openacademic.org/news/yeah-ban-cell-phones-really

http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~edweb

Kanji and Kana (roots & mnemonics)

pp 18-19, Kanji & Kana. A Handbook of the Japanese Writing System, Hadmintzky and Spahn, Tuttle, 1981. See also, wikipedia, kanji-hiragana connection

Remembering 'kana, courtesy of Steven Heron (10/2008):
"Learn the Kana," http://learnthekana.com/

News of the Day

News of the Day, http://jplenews.blogspot.com

funny viewing

These are hilarious [M.W. Isoyama, JFLALC]

1. Perfect gift to bribe someone: http://www.yamabukiiro.com

2. Sweets for apology: http://www.shinshodoh.co.jp
(Article: http://www.asahi.com/komimi/TKY200711210219.html)

washoku - food of Japan (blog)

neat descriptions and good photos of various kinds of Japanese food
http://www.noodlesandrice.com/

student movie, "culture shock" 2008

"Culture Shock: Japan Discovery Challenge," a 10-episode Internet-tv series about Japanese and American high school students teaming-up and competing to produce short films about Japan:
from over 20 locations, including Hiroshima Peace Memorial, Toshodaiji, Chiba Lotte Marine stadium, will be released with each weekly episode.

series trailer at www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpXE8tVqQYU;
[ search: cultureshock2007 ]
-- or -- www.e-bukatsu.com/index_e.html to view "Intro Videos" and meet the 16
Jp and US high school students...

Episode Two of "Culture Shock," plus 4 team short films:
"Tokyo Earthquake Safety,"
"Akihabara, Digital Hollywood University,"
"Tokyo Fashion Adventure," and
"Yoyogi Park" http://www.kyoeiexchange.com/jdc2007/ep02_e.shtml


=> December 16: Global broadcast of "Culture Shock: Episode 1"
at www.youtube.com, search: cultureshock2007
(view episodes and "Tokyo Food Day" at www.e-bukatsu.com)

=> December 23 to February 17: Culture Shock, Episodes 2 to 10
at www.youtube.com, search: cultureshock2007
(view series and teams' 24 culture films at www.e-bukatsu.com)

=> February 17 to March 1: view, vote, and determine the winner

use iPod as an Audiobook

http://podtext.marinebat.com

iPod has a built-in function, which lets you use an iPod like an
audio-book. [S. Shinagawa] step-by-step online workshop showing how to make PodText. ...you can access 24/7.

manga & market forces

2007 article on the manga market in Japan, exploring the fan
conventions, *dojinshi*, and the *anmoku no ryokai* agreement between the
manga publishers and the fan writers.

...sidebar tells how manga came to be the phenomenon they are today in
the American market, [told] in graphic novel format
...mature high-school students and college students would enjoy these...

main article:
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/magazine/15-11/ff_manga?currentPage=5

graphic novel supplement (in pdf):
http://www.wired.com/special_multimedia/2007/1511_ff_manga

honorifics

Unit 56 (and Unit 19), http://www.gwu.edu/~eall/vjg/vjghomepage/vjghome.htm
[by: "Shoko Hamano" hamano@gwu.ed ]

Nintendo DS game, Utsukushii_Nihongo_no_Kakikata_Hanashikata
[by: "Wes Branchflower" wbranchf@bigpond.net. au]

mnemonics - hiragana

Posted by: "Fumiko Tachibana" natto_hime@yahoo

http://www.genkienglish.net/genkijapan/hiraganasong.htm
http://www.genkienglish.net/genkijapan/whenwherewhowhat.htm
... also, The Japan Times has updated their official site,
http://faculty.palomar.edu/ftachibana/japanese_learning_tools.htm

resources from British Columbia teacher group

skoki12@gmail Dotcom

Nihongo BC: The British Columbia Teachers of Japanese association invites everyone to take advantage of our website http://nihongobc.com/ Registration is free.
At this site BC teachers have uploaded a number of their resources for all members to share.

jfl reading texts online - A.L.C. online

thomas_lin@jflalc Dotorg replied

http://www.alc.co.jp/nj/ ...some interesting content [furigana] and they also include the
english translation as well so if your students find the link, it could potentially cause some problems, but this also makes grading much easier.

Japanese song-making webpage

You type the lyrics while the selected song plays.
Genres include: rock, gospel, Enka.
Songs have subtitle and backgrounds like karaoke.
http://www.jt-roots.com/utae/index.html
Most instruction is Japanese (icons, too).

The example that I made with "Family words"
http://www.jt-roots.com/utae/listen.html?id=MDAwMDA2MTMzNA
This is a part of a promotion for a coffee in a can called "Roots".
-- crossposting from [Nihongo-Victoria] Hatsu Watanabe

aizuchi online

(video and text of script)
www.sal.tohoku.ac.jp/nik/aizuchi/

Links for Japanese Learning -- Web Resources

--- In senseionline@yahoogroups.com, Jouji MIWA <miwa@...> wrote:
http://www.sp.cis.iwate-u.ac.jp/icampus/u/linksj.jsp

sites of Newspapers in Japanese,
http://www.sp.cis.iwate-u.ac.jp/icampus/u/linksj.jsp?
category=Newspaper&language=Japanese

high school kisoku

[Google Japan] www.google.co.jp advanced search on SEITO TECHOO
in both web and image searches

youth fashions in Tokyo - new book

Philomena Keet... is researching Tokyo street fashion

'The Tokyo Look Book' (2007, Kodansha Int'l)

... for a general audience and features photos on every page

...the text gives background and cultural insights to the fashions and the people who wear them

 

www.tokyolookbook.com has sample pictures and a Tokyo fashions blog

Copyright-free Audio-Visual Resource Center (since 1998)

...digitized videos and (680) still pictures ...for class use and developing your own teaching materials

E.Asian Languages & Literatures of Washington and Lee Univ.

http://home.wlu.edu/~ujiek/slide.html or contact Ken Ujie, ujiek@wluDOT edu

Videos currently online:

A: For teaching grammar: Home-made movies

1. Basic Verbs (15')

2. X (place) ni Y (thing/person) ga arimasu/imasu (15')

3. Time ni X (action) o shimasu (15')

4. Permissive Causative (10')

5. Expression of Time (Tokoro)(10')

B: For teaching grammar:Video Clips from Tokyo Shoseki's

"Video-Cued Structural Drills:" No.8-No.12) (30')

C: For practicing Katakana reading (1 hour)

D: For teaching Japanese culture:Video Clips from Tokyo Shoseki's "Safe and Sound in Japan" (Lessons 1 & 9) both in Japanese and English (30')

E: Verbs for "Nakama" (20 minutes)

Buddhist temples today; in the past, ALSO about "7-5-3"

All about "shichi go san" (November holiday),  www.nihongomemo.com/nenchugyoji/753.htm
 
 
Fumiko Tachibana natto_hime@yahoo dotcom[Dec 16, 2006]
...many of them working very actively for the people. For instance, at Hasedera Temple Nara which we visited in June (http://www.hasedera.or.jp/),  the priests were actually having a meeting in the omido not minding visitors and tourists. I thought it was very healthy and great.
...Japanese Buddhist temple called Chofukuji in Nagano... seems a good example of living temple.
  www.chofukuji.or.jp/bbs/monzen.htm,  www.chofukuji.or.jp/bbs/dendou_down.htm
great for the introduction of Japanese culture [Buddhist quotes]
 
 
www.umich.edu/~wittevee/draft/mandala is a set of freeze frames taken (with permission for educational use) from the recently released DVD-rom, "Preaching from Pictures." The 48 images are given as a Web Album with captions. The same images & captions are also linked as a Quicktime slideshow (movie) so you can present it to students.

audio postcards (1-minute, in English) ALSO restaurant names

9000 Japanese restaurants in the U.S. in 2005.
"Tokyo" is the most common Japanese restaurant name, and the list continues in the following order (top 28 names):
Shogun; Sakura; Ichiban; Kyoto; Fuji; Edo; Osaka; Benihana; Sakkio Japan; Kobe; Little Tokyo; Hana; Hibachi; Fujiyama; Kanpai; Samurai; Sarku Japan; Ginza; Sapporo; Yoshi; Yokohama; Kabuki; Miyako; Mikado; Arigato; Asahi; and Midori.
--"Masato Yabe" masyabe@hotmail [Nov 25, 2006]
 
one-minute audio postcards from (East) Asia, produced at U.Kansas' Center for East Asia Studies
www.ceas.ku.edu/audio.shtml
JAPAN TOPICS [as of  12/2006]
1    The Ginza
4    Hip-Hop Music
6    The Japanese Culture of Rain
7    The Ramen Noodle Museum
12    The GPS Backpack
17    Smell-o-Vision in Japanese Cinemas
22    Whaling
32    Tojo's Granddaughter
33    Company Songs Make a Comeback
39    National Language on TV
40    Gateball
42    High-Tech Hammocks
44    Potty Training and WWII
52    Isshinji Temple
54    Pregnant Women Commuters
50    J-Pop vs. K-Pop

teaching Japanese to youngest learners

when I teach kids grade 3 -6
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/say.html  (Nihongo)
http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/culture.html (bunka)

Nipponia [magazine], http://web-japan.org/nipponia/archives/en/
Japan Video Topics, http://web-japan.org/jvt/
Japan Links, http://web-japan.org/links/

Nickelodeon Japan, http://www.nickjapan.com
for vocabulary and reading-comprehension skills

Japanese language and life in film & TV News online

...buying E. Asia films (English subtitles): www.yesasia.com
... another is www.ebay.com
a DVD from Japan may have Region 2 coding, while those from Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan may have Region 3
cf. Region 1 (N. America), no region coding (Region 0)
VLC works around region codes, www.videolan.org/vlc/

films with lots of interpersonal engagements and dialogue:
<> Hesokuri shacho (1956-), www.imdb.com/title/tt0298363/
comedy series about a company president.
<> Tsuri baka nisshi (1988-), www.imdb.com/title/tt0203174/
comedy series about a salaryman who loves to go fishing.
<> "The Milkwoman" was also pretty good. Sort of a love story set in a suburban city between a woman who delivers milk and works at a supermarket, and a man who works in the city hall.

"Ushida Eiko" eikoushida@hotmail [Sep 19, 2007]
...watching Japanese news ...News-TBS is best because they can watch the news while reading the article at the same time: http://news.tbs.co.jp/
see also: Fuji Network News: fnn news briefs at www.fnn-news.com

teaching intonation and (pitch) accent

Summary http://japanlore.googlepages.com/accent

society & culture, including school uniforms

wiki-books for language/society of Japan

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Japanese_History

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Living_in_Japan

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Japanese

Drag and drop the prefectures in Japan, www.mapmsg.com/games/statetris/japan/

School uniforms [sent by Rie Tsuboi]

...these sites are fun and useful when you talk about school uniforms in Japan.

Recent history, http://ozaki.jp/archives/wear.html?r=l

and http://www.tombow.gr.jp/school/05_knowledge/01_style.html

Articles, http://www.excite.co.jp/News/bit/00091138470971.html

and http://www.sankei.co.jp/seikatsu/seikatsu/070207/skt070207000.htm

as well as http://event.kids.yahoo.co.jp/fashion2007/game/index.html

Students can learn colors, body parts, clothes items, etc.

[sent by Fumiko Tachibana]

video clip for "kemari" at http://takraw.hp.infoseek.co.jp/kemari/kemari.MPG

[from Shunko Muroya]

selected news items

[12/2006 selected news items, Maki Watanabe Isoyama, The Japan Foundation L. A.]

 

Statistics (1) - Life of elementary & middle school teachers in Japan

Article: http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/topics/news/20061124-OHT1T00181.htm  (Sports Hochi)

 

Statistics (2) - Life of business men in Japan

Article: http://www.nikkansports.com/general/f-gn-tp0-20061126-122153.html (Nikkan Sports)

           http://www.zakzak.co.jp/top/2006_11/t2006112735.html (Zak Zak)

 

Statistics (3) - We are all tired...

Article: http://www.zakzak.co.jp/top/2006_11/t2006112428.html (ZakZak)

 

Top 10 products of the year

Article:  http://www.nikkansports.com/general/f-gn-tp0-20061128-123034.html (Nikkan Sports)

Website: http://www.dentsu.co.jp/news/release/2006/pdf/2006088-1128.pdf (Dentsu)

 

Adult privilege

Article:  http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/komachi/life/pop/20061124ok04.htm?from=yoltop
(Yomiuri) I once bought a huge Christmas cake just for myself a couple of years ago.

 

Another place to visit in Japan

Article:  http://www.zakzak.co.jp/gei/2006_11/g2006112413.html (Zak Zak)

Website: http://www.kyotomm.com/

cultural awareness (homestay, Sumo); also, Webpage contest

Virtual Sumo - Cultural Awareness, www.thelearningfederation.edu.au/tlf2/showLO.asp?loID=1244

 

Homestay in Japan (tutorial includes inner vs. outer group), http://athome.nealrc.org/

 

2007 Japanese Web Page Contest Galleries, www.japanesewebpagecontest.com

animated grammar and writing; also all about Counters

Counters (group naming), English examples: www.dnr.state.mn.us/young_naturalists/namegame

Chinese is even more 'complicated' ('specific') with about 15-20 "whatchamacallits"
in Japanese vs about 100 frequently used counters common in Chinese.
Total: 500 possible and about 200 in frequent/common use.

see also for Japanese, www.sf.airnet.ne.jp/ts/language/number/ancient_japanesej.html

as well, http://www.trussel.com/jcount.htm

 

Animations that show stroke order: http://members.aol.com/writejapan/hiragana/writutor.htm

others: www.sabotenweb.com/bookmarks/language.html#kanji

 

Japanese grammar, shown in 66 flash animations at www.gwu.edu/~eall/vjg/vjghomepage/vjghome.htm

about kanji in the digital age

article about a survey conducted by Bunka-cho (Cultural Affairs Agency) about how Japanese people are coping with
kanji in the age of digital information.

Sankei, http://www.sankei.co.jp/kyouiku/kyouiku/070908/kik070908000.htm
Asahi, http://www.asahi.com/culture/update/0907/TKY200709070315.html

Japanese computing tips

via: "Shunko Muroya" shunko.muroya@gov.ab DOT ca

 

for the Japanese IME in Windows VISTA you don’t have to download anything.
It’s already there within your Vista: http://www.declan-software.com/japanese_ime/

 

see also “using Japanese on English computer” info and resources on the
“PC Tips” pages of “Nihongo Memo” website: http://www.nihongomemo.com/pctips.htm

Japanese language IME for Office 2007

Instructions: Office 2007 Japanese Language Pack
--assuming that you have Office 2007 installed already, go ahead and install the Japanese Language
Pack which is useful for its dictionary and grammar checking tool...

IME 2007 =Control Panel -> Regional and Language -> Languages tab -> Details -> Add button ->
Input Language: Japanese -> Keyboard layout/IME: Microsoft Office IME 2007

Install East Asian fonts if you haven't already from the Languages tab.
Hold Alt + Shift to swap between English and Japanese input mode.

100 common words in Japanese; Japan course materials (undergrads)

---most common words in Japanese?
http://mcgrawhill.ca/highereducation/php/bookinfo.php?isbn=0844223964&pNumber=399073&course=Japanese#JaneWightwick
Your First 100 Words in Japanese
Author: Jane Wightwick; McGraw-Hill Professional ISBN : 0844223964
1999 | 1st Edition | 80 pages , Softcover

Columbia University's Expanding East Asian Studies (ExEAS) website has
materials for teaching about East Asia at the undergraduate level.
http://www.exeas.org, Materials include suggested readings, classroom
activities, and resources for incorporating East Asia into courses in all
subjects in the humanities and social sciences, including world history,
world literature, politics, contemporary society, and philosophy.
There are also Teaching units, Sample syllabi, and Links to other
resources for teaching about East Asia.

state of Michigan's Department of Education, documents for Foreign Language Learning

From www.miwla.org for  your reference --- GPWitteveen (release date 1 September 2007)

The Michigan Department of Education has released two documents of interest to Michigan world language instructors: World Languages Standards and Benchmarks  , World Languages Credit/Experience Guidelines

 

4 character compounds, yoji jukugo

charles__kelly@hotmail. [com] May 18, 2007 Kanji Haitani has
given me permission to use his material in this quiz.

 

http://www.manythings.org/japanese/vocabulary/kh-yojijukugo1.html

Quiz on Four-Character Idiomatic Compounds #1 (四字熟語)

 

Multiple-choice, Matching and Flashcards.
This includes the 400 that he has marked as "most commonly used."

video episodes, HS challenge

review JDC2007 Media NOW at www.e-bukatsu.com. Four JDC teams - 16 Japanese & American (1 Canadian) HS students - competed to produce 24 videos, summaries, and vocabulary while visiting some of Japan's most interesting locations (qv. below).
Apply for access at www.kyoex.com. Or write to wyatt@kyoexDOT com with questions.
...December 2007 we begin web-casting a 13-episode "JDC2007 Reality Series." 
The show is all about the 16 Japanese & American HS students overcoming language, cultural, and personality barriers to become good friends during JDC2007.

JDC2007 Activity Locations
----Kanto
- Rakugo Kyokai 
- Digital Hollywood University
- Waste Management Council of Tokyo 23 Cities, Tokyo-to Department
   the Environment
- Toei Animation Studios
- Kasukabe City Big Kite Association
- Shogakukan Publishing
- Tokyo Fashion Adventure
- Honjo Life Safety Learning Center
- Chiba Lotte Marines
- Katakana English
- Tezuka Productions
- Yoyogi Park Exploration

----Kansai
- National High School Baseball Tourney
- Heian Jingu Shrine
- Toshodaiji Temple
- Kyoto Clear Water: Kibune Shrine and Fujino Toufu
- Entrepreneurial Museum: Momofuku Ando & Nissin Cup Noodles
- Toei Uzumasa Eigamura
- Shigureden Hyakuninisshu Museum
- Bunraku Kyokai

*Special Activities (All four teams participate)
- Sushizanmai Kiyomura Challenge
- Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

putting Japanese on Windows-based computers

site for simple step-by-step instructions to install Japanese facilities on all versions of Windows.
http://www.nihongo-ok.com/OldArticles.aspx

"Creative Japan": A New Web Pamphlet on Contemporary Culture

 ... created by the Embassy of Japan in the U.K... (courtesy of  MOFA)...contemporary culture such as fashion, anime and manga, architecture, design and technology.

http://www.creativejapan.net/ or http://www.uk.emb-japan.go.jp/en/creativejapan/creativejapan_PDF.pdf

 

"All over the world, people are focusing their attention on contemporary Japanese culture. From the 1990s onwards, in manga, anime, gaming, art, architecture, design, literature, food and fashion there was a burst of cultural energy among the population at large. This has now blossomed into contemporary Japanese popular culture whose influence is reverberating around the globe and continuing to fascinate many people, mostly the young generation."

online Japanese links

well-done site uncluttered by advertising, http://japanese-phrases.sakura.ne.jp/
includes (pro/actress) audio, romaji and Japanese in GIF images.

you can sign up for "you've got mail" audio files by the same voice actor
http://voice-drop.chu.jp/sozai_old.html  (e.g. 4 versions of "Ame ga furisou yo, ....)

flash animations for grammar

66 flash animations of Japanese grammar,

http://www.gwu.edu/~eall/vjg/vjghomepage/vjghome.htm

blogged "news of the day" Japan

maki_watanabe@jflalc DOTorg

http://jflanews.blogspot.com/
Maki Watanabe Isoyama, The Japan Foundation, Los Angeles

using furigana in Excel

Satoru Shinagawa sends reference, http://katori.adam.ne.jp/studyetc/excel/onepoint/firigana1.htm

summer reading (online text & narration)

http://www.voiceblog.jp/nippon/  is something I chanced upon this morning.
The screenful of text is accompanied by a native-speaker's reading.
One can listen online while reading along, or download the mp3 to a portable device.
__________________________________
Guven Peter Witteveen, wittevee@umich DOT edu

beginner Japanese online (audio)

helpful since it comes with an audio file, http://www.languageguide.org/nihongo/
http://www.languageguide.org/ (for other languages)

mouse-over Japanese pop-ups

[Charles Kelly] ...Using Firefox, install 2 add-ons, Rikaichan and Backword, to get automatic "mouse over" definitions from English to Japanese, then back to Japanese again.

2007 Japanese Web Page Contest Galleries

http://www.japanesewebpagecontest.com/

audio - A-bomb survivor stories

[senseionline #2358] Research on atomic bomb dropping in Japan
Posted by: "Moorman, Yukiyo"

Google "Hiroshima Heiwa Kinenkan" ...they have audio tapes
They also have a list of 20 survivors who have been giving
lecture/presentation at the site for the groups of visitors...

online encyclopedia of Shinto launched

cross-posting from H-Japan (full description of the project in the

www.h-net.msu.edu archives for H-Japan dated 30 May 2007)

online Encyclopedia of Shinto: http://eos.kokugakuin.ac.jp/
Questions should be directed to Inoue Nobutaka, Kokugakuin University
Telephone: +81 (0)3-5466-0205 n-inoue@kt.rim.or .jp

--Guven Witteveen

worker categories, four words

[from May 28, 2007 pp.40-41 Business Week] -- clipping sent by Guven Witteveen

With the national economy looking better, companies are seeking fresh college graduates and by-passing the 1993-2003 generation, known as the "lost" or "suffering" generation. So the gov't is offering special incentives to employers who hire 25-34 year olds away from the poor work, below.

_____________________________

sidebar, "Parsing the New Underclass"

 

HAKENSHA-IN

employment agency "temporary workers"

Since 2002 their number has tripled to 1.3m

 

KEIYAKUSHA-IN

contractors have grown by 20% over the past five years

(like temps, they get fewer benefits than full-timers)

 

FREETers

estimated at 1.9m with the national govt trying to draw the 25-34 year olds into full-time, permanent jobs

 

NEETs

Not in Employment, Education or Training (a term coined in Britain)

600,000 aged under 35

Flash animations of Japanese grammar; curriculum guide; homestay guide

http://www.gwu.edu/~eall/vjg/vjghomepage/vjghome.htm
links to about 25 Flash animations of various grammatical structures and
12 downloadable PowerPoint appendices.
Before the end of summer, there will be 66 animations and 12
appendices covering major grammatical concepts in beginning Japanese.
...send feedback using the "Comments and suggestions" in the page. If you
["Shoko Hamano" hamano@gwu.ed]

"At Home in Japan" homestay guide is online at  http://athome.nealrc.org/

 

New Zeeland national curriculum guidelines for Japanese are at
http://www.tki.org.nz/r/language/curriculum/japanese/index_e.php

 

poetic names for plants & animals

How about "oiran bana (Cleome, Spider flower),
not a hanging spider plant, though.
Another is tsukimi-soo... It's bloom is yellow and it opens
around the time the moon rises (the pedals are closed in morning).
This is not as same as the white moon flower commonly found here.

 

The word for tadpoles (but also ladles and musical notes, I think.)

 

Tsukimi-so's common name is also called Yoimachigusa and there
was an old song for it.  The title of the song is Tsukimisou no Uta...
In English they call it Evening Primrose.  In the Kantou area of Japan
they recognize as yellow but obviously there is white as well. 

 

According to Koujien, the tsukimoso bloom at after sunset and time for moon to rise.
Or waiting the evening to come ("Yoimachigusa". 
It is a very romantic flower waiting her lover (the moon) to visit her.
 
Another flower is ????(???????)=???, a flower bloom in heaven
according to Sunsklist and bloom around Higan or early fall. 
This flower has many other names such as

 

Kamisorinaba, sutego-bana or tengai-bana.
 
Kappa or "Namazu ga okotta" for earthquake. 

Japanese Podcasts [c/o Charles Kelly]

A list of directories with podcasts in Japanese - Perhaps good to find conversational listening practice.

• www.voiceblog.jp
• blog.seesaa.jp/contents/genre/0271/0001.html
• pod.ladio.livedoor.com
• dedio.jp

Japanese Language Study Links : Podcasts
Blog 表現よみ作品集 - Stories (Audio Book Style)

podcast.yomiuri.co.jp - Daily News

JSL Podcasts - For Intermediate to Advanced Students

• voiceblog.jp/amane あまね☆ごえ
  Female Voice: Not aimed at JSL students, but she has a beautiful voice and these are high quality short recordings. Good for repeated listenings.
• Nippon VoiceBlog
  Apparently aimed at non-Japanese. Tanscriptions of the show are on the web site. (Not recently updated.)
• voiceblog.jp/reiki 櫻　怜祈（サクラ　レイキ）
  Female Voice: Not aimed at JSL students, but high quality recordings without background music, so good for language study. Sort of an audio diary. (Last updated on December 14, 2006)
• voiceblog.jp/taa 題名未定キャスト
  Male Voice: Not aimed at JSL students, but includes a transcription. (Last updated: July 16, 2006, 7:00 pm)
• Japanese Classical Literature at Bedtime
  RSS = http://feeds.feedburner.com/JapaneseClassicalLiteratureAtBedtime
• Kimama ni Nihongo 気ままに、日本語。
  Female Voice: Words (and sometimes sentences) are read for pronunciation practice. Good quality recordings.
  Some podcasts include French, which can be ignored if you don't understand French.  RSS = http://feeds.feedburner.com/nihongo

 

JSL Podcasts - For Intermediate to Beginning Students

• www. JapanesePod101.com - Daily
  High quality recording. Dialog, then very slowly for practice, then English (Warning/Comment: One non-native Japanese speaker, wth near native pronunciaton also speaks Japanese.　This probably is not a problem, since all the "listen and repeat" sections have you repeating after the native speakers.)
  RSS = http://www.japanesepod101.com/feed/rss/
  
  

• Japanese.libsyn.com
  For beginners. He uses native Japanese speakers for the sample dialogues, etc.

• Nakama Vocabulary Video Podcast (Satoru Shinagawa)
  See the English, then hear the Japanese.
  Even for those without a "pod" capable of playing video .mp4 files, these are useful if viewed online

• Talk Sushi - Learn Japanese　(Nick Kemp)
  He has a native Japanese speaker on each show. Somewhat commercial, promoting services he sells.
  RSS = http://talksushi.libsyn.com/rss

   

Not really a podcast, but downloadable MP3 files, The Bible in Living Sound