Learn and Teach Japanese

2012-10-08

games for hiragana; katakana

games, activity ideas for teaching hiragana, katakana

Sun Oct 7, 2012 1:11 pm (PDT) . Posted by: "J M"

Each student has a different color dry erase marker. In each group, student one must have the same color. Each student 2 the same color and so on.

You give 2-3 hiragana and each student makes just one stroke before passing the board.

It's a race. You can also do this on paper with colored pencils. It's even more fun with kanji.

The next person cannot fix the stroke of the previous student, but they may erase the stroke and hand the board back for that student to try again.

2012-08-11

scenes from west Japan & far west China

Students of Japanese may be curious to see how far their knowledge of kanji goes when it comes to Simplified Chinese in the slideshows gathered together about Chinese language (below). And they may like to see the photo sets from Japan, too:

a) Posted signboards all around the International Youth Hostel near KIX

b) Other examples of Japanese "in the wild" that I viewed around Sakai-city and also Fukui-ken

Here are the photos overall, http://bit.ly/echizen2012

Photos by theme/topic are grouped at http://www.slideshare.net/anthroview/presentations

The China photos (mostly around Urumqi, but also some from the silk road town of Turpan; also from up north: Altay prefecture)

are online at http://bit.ly/altay2012xuar

And the photos by theme/topic are also at http://www.slideshare.net/anthroview/slideshelf

2012-07-29

Five short summer videos - Fukui-ken

Five short video segments of the land, language and look of things middle July in Fukui-ken.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anthroview/7661305558/in/photostreamJuly 2012 at Kono-mura on the Fukui-ken coast of the Japan sea. This was Wednesday, but the summer weekends are flooded with people on beaches, roads and water. The two women searching the rocks (speaking something other than Japanese) appear to be poaching 'sazae' -not good for the ecosystem.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anthroview/7658524106/in/photostreamValleypanorama of Japan's main island west coast, Fukui-ken (July 15). Note the land use patterns: neat rice paddy irrigation system, electrical power cables, Hino River levy, homes concentrated to maximize productive spaces.

Buddhist temple bell ringing, http://youtu.be/MVS4JFWXtzUThe 7 a.m. bell at Daihou-ji, a Jodo (Pure Land) Buddhist temple, in Echizen-city, Fukui-ken in July 2012. In Japanese: includes lesson on how to achieve maximum sound when striking the bronze bell. Since nearly all such metals were melted for the Pacific War effort, this present bell dates to post-1945. Note the deep reverberation that follows the ringing.

1 minute 38 seconds

Buddhist temple interior, Jodo sect, http://youtu.be/Vi3d60gMuUYTour of hondo (main hall, 1858) of Daihou-ji in Echizen-city, Fukui-ken in July 2012. Mostly in Japanese.

6 minutes 09 seconds

Train line to Kyoto from 25 km north, http://youtu.be/hagj3YgCfREShort train window video segments on the JR West line into Kyoto from the north, along the west shore of Lake Biwa in Shiga prefecture in middle July 2012.

2 minutes 38 seconds

2012-07-28

video segments - July in Fukui prefecture

Five short video segments of the land, language and look of things middle July in Fukui-ken.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anthroview/7661305558/in/photostream

July 2012 at Kono-mura on the Fukui-ken coast of the Japan sea. This was Wednesday, but the summer weekends are flooded with people on beaches, roads and water. The two women searching the rocks (speaking something other than Japanese) appear to be poaching 'sazae' -not good for the ecosystem.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anthroview/7658524106/in/photostream

Valley panorama of Japan's main island west coast, Fukui-ken (July 15). Note the land use patterns: neat rice paddy irrigation system, electrical power cables, Hino River levy, homes concentrated to maximize productive spaces.

Buddhist temple bell ringing, http://youtu.be/MVS4JFWXtzU

The 7 a.m. bell at Daihou-ji, a Jodo (Pure Land) Buddhist temple, in Echizen-city, Fukui-ken in July 2012. In Japanese: includes lesson on how to achieve maximum sound when striking the bronze bell. Since nearly all such metals were melted for the Pacific War effort, this present bell dates to post-1945. Note the deep reverberation that follows the ringing.

1 minutes 38 seconds

Buddhist temple interior, Jodo sect, http://youtu.be/Vi3d60gMuUY

Tour of hondo (main hall, 1858) of Daihou-ji in Echizen-city, Fukui-ken in July 2012. Mostly in Japanese.

6 minutes 09 seconds

train line to Kyoto from 25 km north, http://youtu.be/hagj3YgCfRE

Short train window video segments on the JR West line into Kyoto from the north, along the west shore of Lake Biwa in Shiga prefecture in middle July 2012.

2 minutes 38 seconds

2012-06-08

online WAKA scroll

At Seattle Art Museum. Here is a shortcut to the full URL,
http://tinyurl.com/deerwaka
Most of it won't be readable by beginner or intermediate students, but it does illustrate the idea of illustrated waka and the vast length of the scroll genre.

-Guven Witteveen, sjmi@hotmail dotcom
Fulbright Specialist 2012
Xinjiang Normal University June & July

2012-06-04

resource files from Sensei-Online yahooGroup

Lots of resources, including movie study guides to Japanese greats for language teaching, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/senseionline/files/
You probably need to login to the yahoo group first to get to this page.

2012-05-30

young people in Japan 2012

cross-posting from Japan Foundation newsletter:

LIGHT UP NIPPON: Introducing Young People's Challenge to Energize the

Devastated Areas in Tohoku Region through Fireworks

The Japan Foundation produced a documentary film that featured challenges by the
young Japanese people supporting Tohoku's recovery for the purpose of presenting
a vivid image of today's young generation in Japan.

http://www.jpf.go.jp/e/culture/commonness/lightup-nippon/index.html

2012-05-27

conversion from Chinese characters to several E.Asian readings

http://www.cojak.org/ gives the Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Japanese, both onyomi and kunyumi, for nearly all characters according to today's electronic list for Korean Studies

2012-05-03

Peace Park in Nagasaki (text)

There is a nice description of the statue at the Peace Park in the May edition of Anthropology News, online public access during this month.

NAGASAKI PEACE PARK mentioned in the article URL for the whole article with photo and the following long caption:
http://www.anthropology-news.org/index.php/2012/04/26/on-happiness/

Japanese youth visiting the Nagasaki Peace Park a short distance from ground zero. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and its horrible consequences are part of the Japanese national education curriculum, including field trips to those cities' peace parks. In the background is Seibo Kitamura's ten-meter bronze "The Peace Statue," which was erected in August of 1955 by the citizens of Nagasaki "as an appeal for lasting world peace and a prayer that such tragedy would never be repeated." According to the interpretive plaque, "The elevated right hand points to the threat of nuclear weapons, while the outstretched left hand symbolizes tranquility and world peace. Divine omnipotence and love are embodied in the sturdy physique and gentle countenance of the statue, and a prayer for the repose of all the souls of all war victims is expressed in the closed eyes. Furthermore, the folded right leg symbolizes quiet meditation while the left leg is poised for action in assisting humanity." Photo courtesy Barbara Rose Johnston
photo alone, http://www.anthropology-news.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/anw-Johnston-apr121.jpg

2012-04-27

fastfood images, prices, words

http://www.burgerkingjapan.co.jp/campaign/index.html

Each of the links on that page accesses a bold, high-resolution flier from
one of their recent "campaigns." The fliers include big, easy-to-read
text, prices, katakana, and other potentially valuable materials.

2012-04-03

exhibit 2012 on Sakura theme, Washington, D.C.

Sakura: Cherry Blossoms as Living Symbols of Friendship

March 20–September 15, 2012

In a century-old act of friendship that forever enriched the nation's capital withsakura (cherry blossoms), the city of Tokyo gave 3,000 cherry trees to Washington, D.C., in 1912. Springtime viewing of the blooming trees that ring the Tidal Basin quickly became a cherished tradition and a signature cultural event in the United States capital. Today, the National Cherry Blossom Festival draws more than one million visitors annually from the United States and abroad... [excerpt from http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/cherry-blossoms/Pages/default.aspx]

Photo (screenshot) source, http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/cherry-blossoms/Pages/SlObjectList.aspx

2012-03-01

documentary, "Sushi - The Global Catch"

cross-posting from the e-list for East Asia Anthropology, EASIANTH

In this meticulously researched documentary, filmmaker Mark Hall traces the origins of sushi in Japan to its status today as a cuisine that has spawned a lucrative worldwide industry. This explosion in demand for sushi over the past 30 years has brought with it problems of its own, as fish stocks have steadily depleted, threatening the balance of the ocean's ecosystems.

Through extensive interviews with prominent industry representatives and environmental activists, Hall carefully presents the various solutions being proposed to the vexing issue of overfishing. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2011 Seattle International Film Festival, Sushi: The
Global Catch raises some pressing questions that all sushi lovers should seek to address.

See the trailer at http://vimeo.com/23332161 or learn more at http://kinolorberedu.com/film.php?id=1244

cf. investigative journalism TV at 60 Minutes (12 minute segment) on the Japanese blue fin tuna market & sushi ("The King of Sushi in Trouble"):

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4423723n&tag=contentBody;storyMediaBox

2012-02-12

latest textbooks, Beginning & Intermediate Japanese

The full announcement by Tuttle Publishing links to related media (workbook and so forth). Here you have the two textbooks.

The tables of Goals include chapter by chapter targets for kanji, culture, grammar and so on.

Tuttle is pleased to announce the availability of Intermediate Japanese: Your Pathway to Dynamic Language Acquisition. In this second book of a 3-volume series, authors Michael Kluemper and Lisa Berkson continue to teach Japanese through an engaging storyline that emphasizes real-life situations in contemporary Japanese culture and authentic written, visual and oral materials. By the end of this second book, students will have mastered a cumulative total of 300 kanji, well on the way to AP- and IB-level proficiency.

...To download the introduction to either textbook immediately, just click here for Beginning Japanese or here for Intermediate Japanese.

database of lesson plans, culture notes, etc

University of Pittsburgh announces a Teacher Portal. Search the Teaching Materials Database to download the lesson plans and culture notes, read the study tour blogs, and view and/or download photos in the Photo Gallery.

http://noborders.ucis.pitt.edu/nctalib/

2012-02-09

USA HighSchool Students - JET Memorial Invitation Program

Opportunity for US students in grade 11 or 12 who now study Japanese.
[forwarded from EASC at Indiana University]

JET Memorial Invitation Program (JET MIP) for High School Students

The JET MIP program provides 32 high school students with the opportunity to go to Japan for two weeks as a group to meet Japanese students, experience Japanese culture, and study the language. It was created in 2011 in memory of the two beloved American teachers of English who lost their lives in the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011: Taylor Anderson(Ishinomaki, Miyagi) and Montgomery Dickson (Rikuzen-Takata, Iwate). The program is open to 11^th and 12^th graders who are currently learning Japanese, and it seeks to honor the principles which Taylor and Monty valued during their lives. For more information, please visit http://www.jflalc.org/jle-12-jet-mip.html.

2011-12-08

haiku traffic signs (New York City)

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/03/143053082/haiku-traffic-signs-bring-poetry-to-nyc-streets?ft=3&f=111787346&sc=nl&cc=es-20111204

2011-11-08

sample news stories (English) from Asahi News - including the Fukushima disaster(s)

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/asia/china/AJ2011110716782

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ2011103116205

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ2011102415638

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201108055290

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ2011102515713

2011-10-17

"Memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Messages from _Hibakusha_"

Cross-posting from H-Japan at the www.h-net.org service.

This looks worth reading by students of selected entries (depending on age level): English for those unable to read the original, phrases and short segments for intermediate students, original text for those able to read the Japanese (with the assistance from the translations provided).

> Please let me call your attention to the Asahi Shimbun's new on-line
> English-language source for _hibakusha_ testimonies:
> http://www.asahi.com/hibakusha/english/ Here is a snippet of the official
> press release from Asahi, in both English and Japanese.
>
> Hiraku Shimoda, History Department, Vassar College
>
> The _Asahi Shimbun_ has launched the English version of its website
> "Memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Messages from _Hibakusha_." This
> website currently contains first-hand accounts and messages from 200 A-bomb
> survivors as collected by the _Asahi Shimbun_. It will eventually contain a
> total of 370 testimonies. Over 350 volunteers worldwide have helped
> translate the testimonies into English.
>
> We launched the Japanese version of this website in November 2010 in order
> to let the world know the reality of A-bomb radiation exposure and the
> survivors' earnest hope for peace. The Japanese-language website contains
> accounts and messages from 1,651 A-bomb survivors. The contents are drawn
> from a survey of _hibakusha_ conducted by the _Asahi Shimbun_ in 2005 in
> cooperation with the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers
> Organizations and Hiroshima and Nagasaki Universities.
>
> 被爆証言サイト「広島・長崎の記憶」英語サイト開設　朝日新聞社
>
> 朝日新聞社は９月２１日正午、被爆者のメッセージ（手記）を集めたウェブサイト
> 「広島・長崎の記憶〜被爆者からのメッセージ」の英語ページを開設した。同社が集
> めた２００人の手記などを英語で収録している。今後追加していき、３７０人分の収
> 録を目指す。英訳には多くのボランティアが協力した。同時に日本語ページも、被爆
> 者の動画を収録するなどリニューアルしている。
>
> 　サイトは昨年１１月に日本語で開設した。朝日新聞社の総合情報サイト「アサヒ・
> コム」の中にある。日本語の手記はこれまで１６５１人分を掲載。朝日新聞社が日本
> 原水爆被害者団体協議会や広島・長崎両大学の協力で２００５年に実施した「被爆６
> ０年アンケート」で、メッセージ欄に書かれたものが主で、サイト掲載への同意を求
> める中で、新しいメッセージも多数寄せられ、それらも収録した。
>
> 　朝日新聞社は被爆体験を世界に発信するため、当初から英語ページの開設を目指し
> ていた。サイト開設後、被爆者改めて英語での掲載への同意を求める一方、広く英訳
> 作業への協力を募った。世界中で３５０人以上が参加し、英訳や英文チェックに携
> わった。
>
> 　構成は日本語ページに準じている。広島、長崎ごとに、直接の被爆か後に爆心地近
> くに入った入市被爆かなど被爆状況で分け、わかる場合は当時の年齢や爆心地からの
> 距離も示した。朝日新聞社は「被爆の実相や被爆者の平和への思いを伝えることで、
> 核兵器廃絶の国際世論の喚起に資することができれば」としている。
>
> ********************************************************

2011-10-10

migrating print magazine NIPPON online

http://nippon.com/ has articles, images, and videos by journalists and experts in various fields.
The website is available in different languages, and would be of interest to a wide range of viewers.
I like the fact that the articles are from the perspectives of people on the scene, rather than polished governmental accounts of events.
I think the Japanese title, 「知らざれる日本の姿を世界へ」, is quite fitting

2011-09-23

resources September 2011

via U.Colorado-Boulder newsletter:

Blogger in Japan. National Geographic's Digital Nomad touched down in Japan. Andrew Evans, the National Geographic Traveler's Contributing Editor and blogger who covers every corner of the world, landed in Japan for his three-week travel through the country. To follow his travel blogs, tweets, and videos, visit http://japantravelinfo.com/andrew/index.html.

"Japan" – includes a Google Earth tour

tourism - critical views

teenage students of Japanese language offer their views on the video pitch at http://www.jnto.go.jp/

Students did a Think-Pair-Share and had a short class discussion on the positive and negative aspects of the video because
Here are some of their comments.

Pros
-introduced different places in Japan and was overall set a happy tone
-people will see what Japan is like
-famous (good-looking) people showed the places (pop culture)
-the video gets attention
-a theme (maneki neko) ran through the whole ad
-good for tourism; people will want to visit Japan
-the places shown targeted older people by showing historical tourist places while the actual navigators appeal to a younger audience (wide age range in audience)
-it showed that Japan wasn't all affected by the earthquake
-it showed that the country is doing okay after the disaster
-it was funny
-it showed cultural things such as celebrations, traditions, and food

Cons
-targeted demographic too narrow in using pop idols (appeal only to young girls)
-high cost of money to make and showcase video
-glossed over situation and didn't touch on the nuclear problem, which is what tourists would be worried about
-it was cute but did not seem like a tourism video
-there were too many cats
-it was weird
-unnatural at times as the famous people were paid to look like they were having fun
-seemed a bit too desperate to get the tourists

Suggestions
The classes also discussed ways in improving the video. They talked about having other famous people like professional athletes and female idol groups, but had difficulty in coming up with Japanese people who would be recognizable and liked by everyone. They also felt that as it is a promotion for foreigners, it was strange for a Japanese group to be going on domestic travel. Rather, it made more sense for famous Japanese people to be showing around a world-famous person such as a Hollywood actor whose works had been translated into numerous languages.

Also, students criticized the manner of delivery, in that it was a video being shown only at central locations such as London Station and New York Times Square. The target audience would then be limited to people who accessed areas of high traffic in central cities. Also, the actual website viewers are referred to had no mention of the CM video itself. I checked again today and alas it is there now!! http://visitjapan.jp/eng/top.html
http://www.jnto.go.jp/message_from_japan/
The students thought it would be much more useful if the video was on internet sites such as Youtube that would be spread by word of mouth by social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter where they could track the number of hits. Other suggestions were to buy ad space time on major TV networks (which would then incur additional costs).

2011-09-13

kana practice, learning of Go game, self-study advice

for players of Go, see www.Go-Nation.Org (online Go Tutorials, Go Teaching Aids, and Go Promotional Aids)

for memorizing kana, see the Kana Match card game - www.KanaMatch.com

for self-study of Japanese (of oral/aural, at least):
I once tutored a high school student who started with me already speaking Japanese quite well. When I asked him how he learned Japanese, he told me it was all Pimsleur. If speaking and listening is sufficient, I think Pimsleur is very good.

2011-09-05

streaming radio from NHK

New service to keep up with current events. Teachers and students can improve their listenting practice daily:

streaming radio on NHK called 'rajiru-rajiru,' http://www3.nhk.or.jp/netradio/

* due to the international copyright law the streams appear not to be available outside Japan

** workaround: picture is small - like a keyhole, but if you want to listen to Japanese radio live this is a great service. It is free and has several stations on it. http://www.v2p.jp/video/english/

2011-09-02

3 dvd set from Mizusawa (Tohoku region)

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.

2011-08-06

picture books with narration online

New e-hon animated written by Poet Shuntaro Tanikawa, illustrated by Yasushi Tsukamoto, and some more youtube videos to introduce the children of the world
who need attention: http://bit.ly/n9okuC

2011-07-16

visual context - glimpses on the ground

Try the old standbys of our Internet age, the map browsing at http://flickr.com and the satellite views of maps.yahoo.com or maps.yahoo.co.jp or the google variety.

The flickr map in particular is handy when going to a new place: all images that have been tagged to a location will show up on the map. Not many are award-winning photos, but they do give you some visual context of places around Japan rural and urban; or worldwide for that matter. Try your own backyard, as well, for comparison.

2011-06-28

about the 3.11 Tohoku Disaster - Teaching Materials

http://teach311.wordpress.com/ (announced by) Yuki Ishimatsu, C. V. Starr East Asian Library, Univ. of California at Berkeley

2011-06-24

Asahi Shimbun's -- new English website

[English language] ...the March 11 special disaster section of Asahi Japan Watch 's new website. (http://ajw.asahi.com/)

...sophisticated site [includes] interactive maps and graphics.
Every aspect of the Great East Japan Earthquake and its aftermath are covered in depth in six subsections:

---Fukushima nuclear crisis

---Quake and Tsunami

---Life and Death

---Analysis

---Recovery and Opinion

2011-06-13

watching Kanji stroke order

...six sample video clips on You-tube (http://www.youtube.com) by searching "kanji bushu," or "visualnihongo"
The bushu flashcard PDF will be uploaded within a few days. --- N. Williams, American University 6.2011

2011-06-06

obtaining or viewing NHK documentaries

http://www.nhk.or.jp/archives/kawaguchi

2011-05-27

dancer + projected image in sychrony

This TV show is called Showtime, http://www.ntv.co.jp/showtime/
The performers show their talents and the audience decides on the amount of money they will be paid based on their performance.The 3rd and latest version aired in April of 2011.

Here is a dancer who moves in synchrony against the projected images to create some amazing effects.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24qzCHZyt8g

This version has the intro to the duo, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ec0sAcM7D4
See also this funny series of commercials for the drink called Fanta, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W_t92q5eoc
or with subtitles, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncrbByjJe-w&feature=related

2011-05-22

linguistic family - Japanese & Korean

Galloping along with the Horseriders: Looking for the Founders of JapanAuthor(s): Gari LedyardSource: Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Spring, 1975), pp.217-254.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/132125
---This is an early statement of the inter-relationships.

A 2011 piece appeared in the NYTimes. Learning a little about problem solving like this by linguists could be a helpful part of students experience of Japanese.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/04/world/asia/04language.html?_r=4

The theory about agricultural societies prevailing over hunter/gatherers is described in detail for the passage of rice growing society reaching the Japanese islands by way of the Korean peninsula about 2400 years ago, according to this May 4, 2011 article in the NYTimes.
Key dates: 30,000 years ago (earliest hunter-gather evidence in Japan); 10,000 years ago (Jomon era begins); wet-rice cultivation suitable to cooler climates of Korea (and Japan) about 2400 years ago.

2011-05-13

traditional Japanese dolls

good site of Japanese traditional dolls.

久月人形 http://www.kyugetsu.com/dolls/gallery.html

2011-04-22

Teaching ideas for elementary school children


many of the most fun activities can be found in materials made for Japanese children (rather than textbooks or educational websites).

Two old videos: "Doraemon no Tanoshii Te Asobi Uta" and "Doraemon no
Tanoshii Ekakiuta" are among my favorites.
Also, the book "Asobi Zukan" is great.
Some favorites that my kids love:
Daruma san, daruma san niramekko shimashou... (stare down your
opponent, first one to laugh loses)
Otera no Oshousan and Chatsubo (hand clapping games)
Yuubin'ya-san, otoshimono... (jumprope)

I also love traditional games like "Kagome" "Hiraita Hiraita"
"Touryanse" and action songs like "Musunde, Hiraite" and "Te o Tatakimashou."
...many of these on YouTube

2011-04-16

fund raiser, "stories from the Earthquake"

Sold as eBook (readable on computer or iPod, Android and so on, as well) at Amazon,
http://www.amazon.com/Aftershocks-Stories-Japan-Earthquake-ebook/dp/B004VP3KHK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302544589&sr=8-1
Proceeds to the Japan Red Cross.

2011-04-13

famous Japanese artists for Disaster Relief: sukiyaki song - Ue wo Muite...

There was a nice segment earlier this week on National Public Radio about suntory's TV ad remake of the 1961 hit "ue wo muite arukou..." (later put in English in the 1970s as The Sukiyaki Song). http://www.npr.org/2011/04/12/135338626/the-last-word-in-business [summary: TV commercials in Japan were pulled right after last month's earthquake and tsunami because they seemed inappropriate. Advertisers are still being careful. Some are opting for uplifting messages.] Here is the CM itself, http://youtu.be/a5YwM0pEgIY The ACTFL guidelines speak of the 5 C's. And when learning Cultural Literacy, it is important to know all the Proper Nouns: Persons, Places, Things/events. Since this TV ad features many famous names/faces, all the non-native speakers of Japanese would do well to recognize who these are. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Main participants are famous singers & actors Wada Akiko, Kondo Masahiko, Takeuchi Yuko, Fuji Sumiko, Dan Rei, Motoki Masahiro , Oguri Shun, Becky, Sakai Masaaki, Miyazawa Rie, Okada Masaki and Matsuda Seiko. http://www.suntory.co.jp/enjoy/movie/d_s/880953901001.html 30 different versions with 71 different people :::UPDATE April 16 - the Chinese artists create a tribute (sung here in Japanese) ...famous Chinese singers/musicians and actors (including Jackie Chan) singing for Japan. ...there's a Chinese language version, too... 香港演艺协会基本全部到位~为日本欺负作品無懼風雨雨ニモマケズ Ame ni mo Makezu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jlfSv44qQE&feature=related [background to lyrics] Ame ni mo makezu (雨ニモマケズ) roughly translated as "Be not defeated by the rain" is the most well known poem of Kenji Miyazawa (�m�g �t治) , a poet and author of children's literature of the early Showa period (1926-1989). Born at a wealthy family, he abandoned the lifestyleof his family when he was exposed to the life difficulties of the impoverished farmers of his area and dedicated his life in helping people in need. He passed away still young, at age 37, on the 21st of September 1933. His life path and beliefs are reflected on his work as it is evident from "Ameni mo makezu". The poem was found after his death in a small black notebook in one of the poet's trunks.

2011-04-05

Disaster Details using panorama 360 photos

http://www.360cities.net/image/damage-in-rikuzen-takada-iwate-pref-17-japan?utm_campaign=clickback&utm_medium=embedded_hotspot#644.67,6.51,70.0

This website 360cities.net has many interesting images, including this one from the daily blog, www.boingboing.net
You can rotate to see all the destruction and follow arrow-links to additional panorama spots inside the image.

2011-03-24

video: Second Harvest Japan responds to earthquake

Second Harvest is the biggest foodbank in Japan. The executive director, Charles E. McJilton, has a very good homepage in both Japanese and English that gives some useful ideas of how you can help, http://www.2hj.org/

Here is a video specifically about their relief efforts:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP_owjk_yCE [about 1.5 minutes playing time]

summer & pop culture

Washington University in St. Louis will host a first-of-its-kind summer institute on Japanese Popular Culture for high school students. This
three-week, non-credit institute will allow students to explore topics they enjoy (manga, anime, cosplay, etc) and to develop these interests
in a more academic direction, all while experiencing college life. The dates of the institute are July 5 -- 26. For more information on our
academic missions, instructors, and a sample day, please see http://summerexperiences.wustl.edu/j-pop-institute

NOTE that some scholarship funding is offered.
Contact Becki Zurovec, *Coordinator of Summer Programs* zurovec@artsci.wustl dot Edu
or call: (314)935-4807

2011-02-15

amusing food related websites

You can make sushi, pizza and cake out of gummy candy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr-qewC-4gY

There are CM and instruction videos about the candy products.
http://nerune.jp/popin/

These are not edible...
http://girls.channel.or.jp/konapun/index.html

Toys for making nagashi somen, maki sushi with cute designs, sandwiches, etc.
http://girls.channel.or.jp/cookjoy/index.html

And if you like Character Bentos (the image give instructions to make them.)
http://charaben.jp/

2011-01-17

Teaching Japan with Children’s Literature

This may be of use when adapted for young people learning Japanese language, although it is intended for English language readers.
However, with the "5 C's" it is possible to engage with Culture in many modes (audio visual, classroom visitor, photo essays, and even Children's Stories that are not in the target language).

The Program for Teaching East Asia at the University of Colorado announces new online curriculum free to educators.

The Texts and Contexts: Teaching Japan through Children's Literature online curriculum is a collection of teacher-developed, standards-based, cross-curricular K-6 lessons. Each lesson features an authentic children's literature book on an aspect of Japanese culture and includes all required handouts and visuals (including PowerPoints and/or video).

All lessons are aligned with National Standards for Reading and Writing, Civics, Geography, History, and/or Visual Arts.

The lessons are available at: www.colorado.edu/cas/tea/curriculum/texts-and-contexts/

2010-12-14

textbook picks

middle December thread from senseionline@yahoogroups [four separate experienced]:

...43 high schools worldwide. We all use Adventures in Japanese.

...the NYC teachers that I know use Adventures in Japanese too.

Adventures in Japanese was created by US based authors and targeted for American students

...I just started to use AIJ this year after using Kimono and Ima. The best part is the clear grammar explanations and I like the cd rom program. I am excited that many other teachers use it and I hope to share lessons. There are two websites to share curriculum for AIJ that I have found.The first one is new and has few postings yet.The second is on the website of the authors.
http://my.cheng-tsui.com/node/261 AND http://www.punahou.edu/page.cfm?p=1528

---F Bressman, Bloomington, MN

...the Kimono series was also created in Australia and was used by many, many schools in Oregon and around the U.S. I used it for years, and enjoyed it...however it became dated, and we decided to use AiJ.

....At my high school, we use Japanese For Young People for J1.

We use AIJ for J2~J5. In J2, we only complete the first 9 chapters in AIJ2.

In J3 and J4, we complete the entire book each year (J3 finishes AIJ3 and J4 finishes AIJ4).

The J5 class uses AIJ4 along with supplemental material.

...about Japanese for Young People:

author: 公益社団法人(Public Interest Incorporated Associations)

国際日本語普及協会(AJALT, www.ajalt.org ), the same author of Busy People.

Japanese for Young People

http://www.ajalt.org/e/publications/textbooks1.html#jbp3

http://www.ajalt.org/kyozai/kyozai.html

Their chimatano nihongo is very popular, http://www.ajalt.org/rwj/

2010-12-08

old photos - postcards of Colonial Days

http://digital.lafayette.edu/collections/eastasia has about a dozen sets of images, many from Colonial Taiwan, 1895-1945. Most are collected picture postcards, but there are a few photographic slides and negatives, as well.

2010-11-21

movie title, The Uchoten Hotel

as recommended and suitable for teen viewing, The Uchoten Hotel
Details at the IMDB site, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0498587/
Viewer summary & review [excerpted from full text],
The Uchouten Hotel, is, like the name suggests ("uchouten" means something like "to be beside oneself with joy") an extremely fast-paced, incredibly hysterical comedy by Koki Mitani (who also wrote and directed "Warai no Daigaku") about a very busy New Year's Eve in the five star Avanti hotel.
The comedy varies from situational comedy to elements of typical Japanese slapstick and spiced up with unexpected turnouts and embarrassing cock-ups for the main characters.

... AND a great film to go with this would be Cape No. 7. It is a movie about one of the many teachers who left Taiwan at the end of the war and left a girl behind and how they made a connections many years later and the relationship between the two countries. Languages used are Taiwanese, Chinese and Japanese.

all about Okinawan Studies

International Institute for Okinawan Studies (IIOS) at
University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa, Japan.

"A hub research institution in the Asia-Pacific region beyond boundaries: Looking at the global from Okinawa's local perspectives.
IIOS is an interdisciplinary institution that integrated research centers at UR, aiming to develop multifaceted and international research projects on Okinawa and related areas."

includes:
* Contemporary Okinawan Studies [incl. contents of the launched in 2010
Japanese language 'International Journal of Okinawan Studies' (IJOS)
http://www.iios.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/IJOS_pub/

*A bi-lingual (JP,EN) site. In Nov 2010 the English language section
of the site was under construction at http://www.iios.u-ryukyu.ac.jp/en/

2010-11-07

a couple of dictionary recommendations

...The Sanseido Daily Concise Dictionary comes in Japanese-English (entries are in kana--not roman letters), English-Japanese, or both in one volume, and all entries show kanji. The single-direction dictionaries fit easily in a pocket. They are about half an inch thick and contain tens of thousands of entries. The English-Japanese Sanseido goes into kanji without furigana, though, so it is of limited use to beginners. But I have found that English-Japanese dictionaries tend to be of far less use than Japanese to English. Students seldom find the right word in Japanese by looking it up in a Wa-Ei. They so often end up with the wrong sense of the word.

For kanji, at the beginning of the second semester of first-year Japanese I teach students to use Nelson's Japanese-English Character Dictionary (the original "classic" version with the red cover--not the newer blue-cover edition out of the University of Hawaii that mangled Nelson's work).

2010-10-20

fonts for PC and MAC (kyoka shotai)

free kyokashotai font online for download:

kyokashotai 教科書体 (Windows & Mac)
http://ja.cooltext.com/Download-Font-%E6%95%99%E7%A7%91%E6%9B%B8%E4%BD%93

seikaishotai 正楷書体 (Windows & Mac)
http://ja.cooltext.com/Download-Font-%E6%AD%A3%E6%A5%B7%E6%9B%B8%E4%BD%93

These sets not only have all joyo kanji（常用漢字）but also have many kanji that are not included in joyo kanji.

2010-10-18

how to write Japanese essays in Japanese style

"Jouzu na kansou-bun no kaki-kata," https://www.msu.edu/course/asn/491/

It's written for advanced level college students, but Japanese college students might benefit, too.
For high school students, you'd probably have to modify a bit. [M. Endo]

Bibliography

Thomas McAuley, 2010. Why Can't Japanese Writers Stick to the Point?
http://www.wreac.org/japanportal/thoughts-on-japan/367-why-cant-japanese-writers-stick-to-the-point

Thomas McAuley, 2010. Japanese Writers Do Stick to the Point!
http://www.wreac.org/japanportal/thoughts-on-japan/368-japanese-writers-do-stick-to-the-point

Thomas McAuley, 2010. How Japanese Writers Make the Point
http://www.wreac.org/japanportal/thoughts-on-japan/369-how-japanese-writers-make-the-point

author's blog, http://www.wreac.org/japanportal/thoughts-on-japan

Additional material

Akiko Takagi, 2001. The Need for Change in English Writing Instruction in Japan
http://www.jalt-publications.org/tlt/articles/2001/07/takagi

Bern Mulvey, 1997. Japanese and English Rhetorical Strategies: A Contrastive Analysis
http://www2.aasa.ac.jp/~dcdycus/LAC97/rhetoric.htm

Tad Matsunaga, 1999. Contrastive Rhetoric and Japanese English Students' Expository Writing Style. ERIC, (ED436102)
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/recordDetail?accno=ED436102

2010-10-16

what it means to be Ainu now

One craftsman's perspective comes from 2/13/2010 interview (about 25 minutes & 4 minutes of Host commentary as introduction):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrNkZHyGx9I&feature=player_embedded

2010-10-04

video - "o miai" in 6 minutes

6-min clip on Omiai by two popular comedians Jichoo Kachoo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeAE1R4SBMg

The Omiai scene is funny but the setting is very traditional.

2010-09-30

names into Katakana (online utilities)

Katakana names: http://japanesetranslator.co.uk/your-name-in-japanese

or http://name.reader.bz/
The advantage here: you can copy and paste the results (not in image form).

2010-09-28

photo lives in Japan, the DeAi project 10th anniversary

Nearly ten years have passed since the Japan Forum published
"Deai: The Lives of Seven Japanese High School Students"
(www.tjf.or.jp/deai), introducing real-life portraits of seven

Japanese high school students through photos, stories, and videos.

For Takarabako No. 25 we returned to three of these students
and asked them to give us the sequel to their high school story,
sharing their thoughts and experiences as they charted their way
in life. http://www.tjf.or.jp/takarabako

For junior high and high school students, these stories offer useful
hints as they consider how to continue their education and choose
their careers, and what kind of lives they want to lead.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Their additional stories, photos and movies can be viewed at the "Click Japan" website
in Japanese, English and Chinese.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
We uploaded their stories, photos and movies including the contents that we couldn't put in Takarabako at
"Click Japan" website. You can read them in Japanese, English and Chinese at the site.
http://www.tjf.or.jp/clicknippon/en/jcn (See "Resource No.25")

2010-09-16

reading help (fluent speaking, but weak readers)

...for students who are fairly fluent speakers, but not so good at reading.
http://www.manythings.org/japanese/reading/Japanese
Reading Practice with nearly 148,000 sentences... sorted by the kanji frequency order found in Jim Breen's kanjidic

日一国会人年大十二本中長出三同時政事自行社見月分議後前民生連五発間 (More ...).

2010-09-06

poetry in audio format

Tanikawa Shuntaro himself reads one of his most most popular poems, http://www.chocolatmag.com/voice/

others? Perhaps there are also stories in audio format (such as those read by volunteers who record requested titles for visually impaired people)?

movies & TV favorites for H.S. students of Japanese

Movies: the various Ghibli (Miyazaki Hayao) anime, Ping Pong, Kokoyakyu (spelling of English title), Train Man, The Prince of Tennis, Hula Girls, Swing Girls.
Also the documentary, Japanland (Karin Muller).

TV series (as of 9/2010), as found on Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_9_8?url=search-alias%3Ddvd&field-keywords=japanese+tv+series&sprefix=japanese

2010-09-04

culture textbook for elementary school students

from SENSEIONLINE, Fri Sep 3, 2010

culture books on Asia for kids
<> Floating lanterns & Golden Shrines
<> 40 activites to learn about Japan (or something like that).
<> an Iowa book called "Sweet Corn and Sushi". It's a children's story book written in English and Japanese (but the reading level for both languages is upper elementary). It's the story about an American soldier who had been stationed in Japan right after WWII, but then went back to Iowa to become a farmer. When a disaster hit Yamanashi prefecture in Japan, he rounded up his farmer friends and sent the Japanese people some help. Years later when the floods of '93 hit Iowa, the Japanese people of Yamanashi sent help to the people of Iowa. It's a beautiful book about the ties between two countries.

<> "My Japan" by Etsuko Watanabe, and "I live in Tokyo" by Mari Takabayashi, http://www.amazon.com/My-Japan-Etsuko-Watanabe/dp/1933605995
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6226681-my-japan

http://www.amazon.com/I-Live-Tokyo-Mari-Takabayashi/dp/0618077022 and http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/921351.I_Live_in_Tokyo

<> "Hashi No Mochikata" by Michiko Konagai, http://www.ehonnavi.net/ehon00.asp?NVKB=E00&no=16236
<> "Asobi No Osama Zukan7: Tabemono", http://www.ehonnavi.net/ehon00.asp?no=9074
<> "Lovely Hekimen 12kagetsu", http://www.natsume.co.jp/book/index.php?action=show&code=004836
<> "Pocket Monster Origami Collection" by Kanata Miru, http://bookweb.kinokuniya.co.jp/htm/4091016154.html

<>Yoko, http://www.amazon.com/Yoko-Rosemary-Wells/dp/0786803959
is about a Japanese-American cat that goes to school and always brings lunches that her mom packs for her. The other kids (animals?) tease her about her red bean ice cream and sushi and she's always embarrassed. Later in the school year, the class has an international food day and everyone has to bring a food that represents their culture. The book is more about tolerance of other cultures, but it's about a Japanese main character.

<> Allen Say's autobiographical picture books:
Grandfather's Journey (coordinate with US History, Japanese immigration, etc.)
A Tree of Cranes (read at Christmas time)
Tea with Milk (cultural comparisons)
The Bracelet (about WWII Japanese internment camps but not too harsh for elementary students)

<> Akiko Hayashi books, http://www.amazon.com/Childrens-Picture-Books-Japan/lm/3MK7OPYENYTH1

<> The story of Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes is used in talking about Hiroshima. There is even a video to go along with this book, too.

<> "How My Parents Learned to Eat" is about introducing Japanese food and chopsticks.

<> To show Japanese culture: the Shiba Inu books and the illustrator Akiko Hayashi's "Kon to Aki", which is now available in English! Many of her very cute books have beentranslated into English.

<> "Baseball Saved Us" is another excellent book about the Internment camps.
<> For high school, "Snow Falling on Cedars" is both a good book and an excellent film on the subject of the J-A experience during and after the war.

------SEE ALSO, lending library in USA: http://www.jflalc.org/?act=tpt&id=292

2010-08-23

the story of 'gunkan shima' (Nagasaki-ken)

Hashima Island (also known as 'battleship island' for it's size, shape and cement sea walls): From 1905 until the coal mining ended in 1974 it was a unique community; quoting http://www.jamaipanese.com/hashima-island-documentary/

Except for the former resident who guides the movie crew, most of the 15 minute documentary is narrated in perhaps Swedish (subtitles in English).

In 1916 the largest concrete structures in all of Japan were built on Hashima Island to help protect it's inhabitants from typhoons and at it's peak in 1959 the population was over 5000 or 1,391 people per 10,000 square metres the highest population density ever recorded in the world. Please take the time to have a look at an awesome documentary video I have embedded below that tells the history of Gunkanjima from someone who grew up there as a child.

[vimeo URL, http://vimeo.com/2044441]

A trip to this island would make an amazing out of the box location to visit if/when I eventually make it to Japan, I wonder if I'd survive the trip by boast to get there though. Would you want to visit Battleship Island?
Official Website (Japanese); Hashima Island on Wikipedia

2010-08-22

Peace Declarations - Hiroshima & Nagasaki ceremonies

---surely is one more element in learning the languge & society of Japan.

=-=-= Hiroshima Peace Declaration
6 August 1945, the fist atomic bombs dropped in Hiroshima, Japan. 65years later, today the Mayer of Hiroshima declared the Peace Declarationat the Peace Ceremony. Here is the full text of Declaration, and you canget PDF at http://www.city.hiroshima.lg.jp/www/contents/0000000000000/1110537278566/index.html

The direct link to the pdf in English is http://www.city.hiroshima.lg.jp/www/contents/0000000000000/1110537278566/files/Peace_Declaration_2010.pdf
[excerpt]
PEACE DECLARATION August 6, 2010
In the company of hibakusha who, on this day 65 years ago, were hurled,without understanding why, into a beyond ...

=-=-= Nagasaki Peace Declaration from August 9, 2010, delievered by Mayor Taue Tomihisa.
http://www1.city.nagasaki.nagasaki.jp/peace/english/appeal/

[excerpt]
This year Nagasaki's peace ceremony has commenced with a song by hibakusha,survivors of the atomic bombing. The song was full of the strong hope that that fateful day must never berepeated. On August 9, 1945 at 11:02 a.m., a single atomic bomb dropped by a UnitedStates military aircraft devastated Nagasaki instantly. The intense heatrays, blast winds, radiation, and ceaseless fires.... They claimed theprecious lives of 74,000 people, while inflicting deep physical and mentalwounds on those who narrowly escaped death...

2010-08-06

becoming a Japanese citizen these days

This hotlink comes from the newsletter of Sapporo's Arudou Debito
This may perhaps be of interest to students of Japanese language & society!

===================================
http://www.turning-japanese.info/

...blog with details about taking Japanese citizenship, in English, written by other fellow naturalized Japanese

Late last June a naturalized Japanese friend of mine set up a website devoted solely to offering information to people interested in taking out Japanese citizenship (or of course for those who just have a curiosity about what's involved). Written by people who have actually gone through the process...

===================================
Topics thus far covered there:

High-fidelity MS Word and OpenDocument Japan naturalization forms
FAQ: Which is more difficult: permanent residency or naturalization
Comparison: The U.S. Citizenship Test on Video
Misinformation: justlanded.ru: Japanese citizenship
The three types of naturalization
Misinformation: eHow: How to become a Japanese Citizen
FAQ: Do you have to speak perfect Japanese to naturalize?
FAQ: How much paperwork is involved?
FAQ: Can I have an official Japanese name even if I don't naturalize?
What the Ministry of Justice website says about naturalization
Analyzing the Application Procedures
FAQ: Do you have to be a permanent resident or special permanent resident to naturalize?
Your newly acquired right to vote: Using the web to know your candidates
FAQ: Do you have to take a Japanese name if you naturalize?
FAQ: How much does it cost to naturalize?
Becoming Japanese is becoming more expensive for Americans
Japanese "Naturalization Permission Application Guidance" booklet
Renouncing Former Nationalities
My first visit to the Nationality Section

2010-07-14

resource, Daily Living in Japanese (80 pages)

S. Wakabayashi and S. Renovich produced "Daily Living in Japanese" through Japan Foundation's Fellowship program.
It is a collection of activities for beginner students, http://sites.google.com/site/nihongobc/:

Daily Schedule
My Week
Invitation
Planning An Event, and
Creative Works

Find the file at the Nihongo BC website in the Japanese 11 resources.
Some of the activities are suitable for lower levels. It's about 80 pages long.

2010-07-03

summer lion dance, shishimai

Friends in Fukui-ken created a YouTube channel recently. They've started with two movies, about 10 minutes each (YouTube limit on ordinary accounts):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTIFjCIAllc [troupe based in Mie, but traveling their annual circuit of blessing]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GikgN-nSus [lots of commentary in the ?Mie-ken dialect; juggling at 6'45"]

2010-06-25

newspapers IN the Japanese language

http://faculty.palomar.edu/ftachibana/newspaper.htm

eBook reader - putting Japan's literature on Kindle

from February Senseionline, ...a site about "青空文庫 to Kindle" that explains how to convert horizontal pdf ZIP file to vertical pdf file.,
http://ascii.jp/elem/000/000/494/494847/ ... 「Amazon Kindle 2」を日本語化.

2010-06-24

online Japanese from JPN Foundation

At the site http://nihongo-e-na.com you can find websites and online tools to suit your own needs by using search categories such as 'Reading,' 'Grammar' or 'Dictionary/Translation.'

2010-06-18

online Japanese language learning; Katakana idea

via Senseionline 18 June 2010:
...for people who would like to learn Japanese and aren't conveniently located by an institution or
a friend that will teach it to them, this might be just the information they were looking for:

*UAB NihongoCast,* http://www.uab.edu/foreignlang/nihongocast/, the online version of Japanese 101 at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a joint production of the UAB Departments of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Communication Studies, and Theatre, taught by Tim Cook of Georgia Public Broadcasting's *Irasshai.*

=-=-= earlier in 2010 via Charles Kelly [authentic Katakana practice],
...read titles of English programs in the TV guide... These movie titles have dropped the "the" and "a" in the katakana. http://www.manythings.org/flvb/movies1.html

On the other hand, these movie titles have katakana is almost exactly the same as in English. http://www.manythings.org/flvb/movies2.html

2010-05-12

Internment 1941, FW: NPR story

From the national public radio show Wednesday afternoon,

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126557553

[opening text of the story]

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S. government took action at home. People of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast were forcibly removed from their homes and taken to desolate inland areas of the U.S. Some 120,000 men, women and children were placed in internment camps for the duration of World War II.

[---another facet of Japanese language, culture, diaspora]

grammar shown in video segments of "mame shiba"

The Mameshiba videos, http://dogatch.jp/anime_kids/mameshiba/top.html

This list shows chapters and grammar patterns to which they
apply. Many of them work as examples of ウn desuイ as well.

Chpt 15 edamame ュ relative clauses
Chpt 16 Mameshiba theme song ュ te-kureru, toki, vocabulary
Chpt 17 ュ Green peas - tte for reporting speech
Chpt 18 ュ cashew nuts - te-shimau
- coffee bean ュ transitive/intransitive verbs
- peanut ュ to conditional
Chpt 20 ュ boiled beans ュ honorifics / humble speech
Chpt 22 ュ tiger bean ュ vocabulary

We also used the ウKotoba no ojisanイ videos, although they are longer and a
bit harder to understand. For Genki, I found they worked well in the following chapters.

Chpt 13 ュ potentialsュ ra nuki, /www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO6bqBxs0oQ

Chpt 14 ュ counters, www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6FZGX-Lsk8&NR=1

Chpt 20 honorifics, www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-mV-YrgrX0&feature=related

2010-05-01

English support for ERIN GA CHOSEN (exchange stu. in JP)

the English website for "Erin's Challenge! I Can Speak Japanese" is now available.
http://erin.ne.jp/ or http://www.jpf.go.jp/e/urawa/e_j_rsorcs/erin

- 228 video clips will show natural Japanese conversation and contemporary Japanese culture
- Many new contents including original 41 video clips of "Learning Onomatopoeia via Manga" and 633 pictures of "Let's see", a section to introduce Japanese culture.
- Exercises with 2,161 questions will fully support Japanese-language learning.
- Users will be certified as Grand Master with 30 consecutive correct answers to Culture Quiz and can virtually experience Japanese culture in "Let's try" simulation games for 25 lessons
- When users register as members, they can record their study development,

2010-04-04

sakura 2010

at the temple of Daihou-ji in Echizen-city (Fukui-ken; about 35 degrees north latitude)

2010-03-21

good reading - to teach Japanese language

--see also the back issues!
Breeze #40, http://www.jflalc.org/index.php?act=tpt&id=87

translation to English of Tohsaku-sensei article (appearedin Breeze #37)
http://www.jflalc.org/index.php?act=tpt&id=453

2010-03-04

popular TV commercial in Japan, early 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtr1k4E-dVY

2010-02-26

online --Ainu Komonjo

The Ainu Komonjo (18th & 19th century records) -- Ohnuki Collection can be freely viewed at:
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/EastAsian.JapanRice

The UWDC has scanned Professor Emiko Ohunki-Tierney's collection of books on the Ainu by the Japanese. The books focus on the Sakhalin Ainu, since the books were acquired by Ohnuki-Tierney at the time she was studying them. The books are extremely rare and are either hand-written, with illustrations hand-drawn, or are wood block prints. Many of these early documents were authored by explorers and scholars at the order of the Bakufu or the Matsumae clan...these documents often include a number of detailed maps, including the topography and Ainu place names.

2010-02-13

Valentine's Day in Japan 2010

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=123635365
Chocolate-giving is a ritual among everyone in Japan from schoolchildren to senior citizens. But the country has developed its own way of celebrating the erstwhile day of romance, and the custom is still evolving.
[www.npr.org on Friday, Feb. 12, 2010]

2010-02-06

online Japanese in Manga & Anime

The Japan Foundation, Japanese-Language Institute, Kansai is pleased to
announce that they have launched a new website
"Japanese in Anime & Manga," http://anime-manga.jp.

-update April 2010:
The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute of Kansai opens "Nihongo-e-na", a new portal for learning Japanese：http://nihongo-e-na.com/

2010-02-05

online reading Japanese texts

websites for reading practice, or folktale (translation/creation) purposes.

http://www.e-hon.jp/index.htm デジタル絵本サイト

http://www.alps.or.jp/match/shibai/bknumber.html　紙芝居の部屋

http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/　SurLaLune Fairy Tales (in English, but useful for folktale translation)

http://www.americanfolklore.net/ American Folklore (in English)

http://www.aozora.gr.jp/index.html　青空文庫 (offers "old" books/stories that have passed "copyright protection" period)