The Third Contest on Ideas and Examples of How to Teach Culture in Japanese-language Class Sponsored by the Japan Forum in 1999
General Information (finished)
Purpose
The Japan Forum (TJF) conducts a variety of activities to promote cultural understanding through language education. One such activity, our Third Contest on Ideas and Examples of How to Teach Culture in Japanese-language Class, is now officially underway. TJF is sponsoring this event as a way of getting teachers in elementary and secondary schools outside Japan to offer practical ways to promote cultural understanding in the Japanese-language classroom. The aim of the contest is to gather these suggestions, submitted in the form of tested lesson plans, and share them with other teachers around the world. The best lesson plans submitted will be featured in TJF publications and posted on the TJF Web site. We hope that this contest will provide an opportunity to reconsider the relationship between language education and cultural understanding, and we also seek to promote Japanese-language education in a manner that advances both cultural understanding and international awareness.
Who Is Eligible to Enter
The contest is open to current and former teachers of Japanese employed by elementary or secondary schools outside Japan. We welcome ideas from groups of teachers, but should such an entry win a prize, only one prize can be awarded.
What Kind of Ideas to Submit
● Ideas submitted must be suitable for use in elementary-level or secondary-level Japanese-language classes.
● Each entry should be submitted in the form of a lesson plan that can be executed during a single class period; it may be one part of a series or stand alone. If the lesson plan pertains to specific goals within an established curriculum covering a given term of instruction, the contestant may submit a copy or description of the curriculum and explain how the lesson plan fits into the overall scheme.
●As befits a lesson plan for a Japanese-language class, each entry should address specific aspects of the Japanese language.
● Each entry should present a lesson that will help students acquire a better understanding of culture.
Some Possible Approaches:
- Lessons that promote a deeper understanding of or create an intensified interest in Japanese language and culture.
- Lessons that lead students to think about foreign languages or other cultures in general or to reconsider their own native languages or cultures by learning something about Japanese language and culture.
- Lessons that inspire students to reflect not only on the differences between their own native languages or cultures and Japanese language or culture but also on the similarities, and that foster a sense of affinity with other cultures.
- Lessons that foster respectful attitudes toward other cultures.
- Lessons that break down rigid stereotypes about culture or call attention to the diversity of cultures and how they vary with respect to such elements as locality, gender, age, and social environment, and how they change over time.
- Lessons that enable students to transcend cultural differences and attain a deeper understanding of other people as individual human beings.
- Lessons that cultivate the capacity to reconcile cultural differences and foster greater sensitivity and a more global perspective.
- Lessons that offer insights applicable to other courses and that broaden students' overall field of vision.
Methods
Participants in the contest are free to use any methods they choose. Lesson plans utilizing any of the following methods, for example, will be highly welcome:
- Learning through experience and task-based learning:Performing skits, singing, drawing and making handicrafts, dancing, playing games, cooking, shopping, taking photographs, making videos, taking opinion surveys, conducting interviews, taking part in debates and discussions, role-playing, and performing simulations of actual events.
- Real interaction, putting students in touch with others:Exchanging letters and other materials, as well as faxes, cassette tapes or videotapes; interacting by e-mail and in real time on the Internet; inviting guests to visit and visiting other schools or classes; attending international gatherings; holding joint lessons or conducting joint studies.
- tilizing TJF-sponsored resources:The TJF Web site (http://www.tjf.or.jp/), TJF photo collections (such as The Way We Are), etc.
Selection Committees
| chairwoman | Murano Ryoko | instructor, International Christian University |
| Anita Gesling | Japanese-language teacher, American School in Japan | |
| Arakawa Yohei. | associate professor, Japanese Language Center, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies | |
| Kambe Yoshimi | teacher, Katoh Elementary School | |
| Fujimitsu Yoko | former Japanese-language consultant, New South Wales Department of Education | |
| Matsuda Miyuki | lecturer, Japanese Language Center Tokyo University of Foreign Studies | |
| Tanaka Koshizu | teacher, St. Joseph International School |
The following are the members of the final selection committee:
| chairwoman | Uyeno Tazuko | professor, Tokyo Woman's Christian University |
| Penny Kinnear | foreign-language consultant, Yokohama City Board of Education | |
| Murano Ryoko | instructor, International Christian University | |
| Nishihara Suzuko | professor, Tokyo Woman's Christian University | |
| Sasaki Michiko. | director, Department of External Services, Centre for Teaching Japanese as a Second Language, National Language Research Institute |
Grand Prize
Two lesson plans, one elementary-level plan and one secondary-level plan, will each be awarded the Grand Prize-a 10-day expenses-paid trip to Japan next year for the person who created and submitted the plan (expenses covered include airfare and lodgings in Japan, and other costs as well). The exact travel dates will be determined by TJF, in consultation with the winning contestants.
Air travel for TJF events generally arranged through the cooperation of All Nippon Airways.
Prizes for Distinguished Entries
Ten lesson plans will be selected, out of all the entries received, for special recognition as particularly distinguished entries. Each of the authors will be presented with a set of teaching materials and reference resources including: Opening the Minds and Hearts of Your Japanese-language Students to Culture, Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, The Great Japanese Dictionary,and The Nippon.
Other Points to Bear in Mind
- All entries must represent the original ideas of those who submit them.
- Lesson plans submitted will not be returned.
- All copyrights pertaining to the lesson plans submitted will become the property of TJF. Many of the lesson plans submitted will be featured under the author's name in Kokusai Bunka Fooramu Tsuushin, The Japan Forum Newsletter, or in a TJF Report, or posted on the TJF Web site. Those whose entries are published or posted will be notified and will receive a copy of the relevant publications.
Deadline for Entries
To qualify for consideration, all entries must be submitted (or postmarked, in the case of entries submitted by mail) by Thursday, September 30, 1999. Prize winners will be notified by Tuesday, February 29, 2000.