By KAZUO OGOURA
Special to The Japan Times
The world is changing rapidly under the influence of globalization. At the same time, the political, economic and even academic environment surrounding Japanese studies outside Japan has changed a great deal. Traditional motives for studying Japan, such as curiosity in the exotic, the perception of Japan as a menace, and anticipation of political conflicts with Japan, have largely been replaced by other incentives.
Grant-making organizations and Japanese academic and educational institutions should reorient their policies to respond to the new trends in Japanese studies abroad. In attempting to reorient their policies, the organizations concerned should first of all recognize the new trends surrounding Japanese studies around the world, particularly in the United States.
One such trend is the decline in the importance of area studies as opposed to interdisciplinary studies. Amid the growing conviction that comparative studies are necessary for analyzing and understanding Japan, scholars in political science, economics and even literature are increasingly placing Japanese studies in a global context.
A second observable trend is the inevitable tendency for international political and economic realities to affect academic studies. Two current examples that pertain to Japan are the comparative stagnation of the Japanese economy since the mid-1990s and the growing politico-military interdependence between Japan and the U.S. Consequently, there is in the U.S. little of the sense of threat or risk that once characterized Japan-U.S. relations. This implies that, unless we actively encourage the interest in Japan at American educational institutions, it will remain difficult to increase the number of students who pursue Japan-related studies.
The third trend we must consider is a change in U.S. strategic interests, which have shifted heavily toward the Middle East and adjacent regions over the past several years.
At the same time, American intellectuals have also been focusing their attention on China. This does not mean, however, that potential interest in Japan as a partner in resolving global issues has diminished. On the contrary, there is revived interest in the strategic partnership with Japan, and this reality should encourage a new orientation of Japanese studies.
The fourth trend is the widening gap between academic works and the public's knowledge of Japan. Traditionally, there has been a certain intellectual link between academic studies on Japan and the promotion of understanding of Japan in general.
Recently, however, interest in and understanding of Japan has been increasingly divorced from some academic works on Japan. Young people's fascination with manga and anime has weakened, or at least blurred, the established link between some traditional types of Japanese studies and young intellectuals' interest in Japan. (This gap may partly be attributed to the growing "fragmentation" or "specialization" of Japanese studies, which may itself be viewed as part of a broader trend in many academic fields.)
Considering the trends described above, how should we develop policies to support the study of Japan? First, Japanese foundations and grant-making bodies should not only respond to the wishes and curiosity of people who are interested in Japan but also nurture and cultivate young people's "deeper" interest in Japan, particularly in its history, arts and literature.
Second, we should not focus on Japan in isolation. We must place Japanese studies in a wider comparative context and even encourage comparative studies that include, but do not necessarily focus on, Japan. This could mean expanding areas of scholarship on Japanese studies to include the study of other parts of Asia or even Europe. In this vein, we should promote, even within the context of "Japanese studies," joint international policy-oriented studies on global issues involving Japan.
Third, in order to bridge the gap between academic knowledge of Japan and the influence of manga, anime and other pop-culture phenomena prevalent among young people, we need to create programs that link Japanese studies at university level with high-school curricula in the fields of history and language.
In addition, we may have to develop courses that focus on subjects of greater interest to young people, such as sports, fashion and food. Studies on these subjects could be paired with programs that include demonstrations, performances, and other events held by foundations and organizations.
Kazuo Ogoura, professor of political science at Aoyama Gakuin University, is president of the Japan Foundation. He served as Japanese ambassador to Vietnam (1994-1995), South Korea (1997-1999) and France (2000-2002).
The Japan Times: March 23, 2006
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20060323a1.html
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Square Enix, Gakken to develop game software for jobs, education
Game software developer Square Enix Co. and publishing house Gakken Co. said Wednesday they will jointly develop computer game software that enables students and job seekers to study and learn professional skills.
The two will set up a new company, SG Lab Inc., on May 1 with Square Enix putting up 60 percent of the 10 million yen capital and Gakken the remainder.
Software developers at the new firm will write such educational software in response to specific orders to be placed by schools, businesses and local governments, the two said.
The firm will seek to post 1 billion yen in sales in the initial year of operations.
Computer games for school education and professional training are referred to as "serious games" in European countries and the United States.
Such games include ones to enable people to learn about the development of a range of humans' tools, as well as procedures for fire-extinguishing operations.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060322/kyodo/d8ggk1n02.html
The two will set up a new company, SG Lab Inc., on May 1 with Square Enix putting up 60 percent of the 10 million yen capital and Gakken the remainder.
Software developers at the new firm will write such educational software in response to specific orders to be placed by schools, businesses and local governments, the two said.
The firm will seek to post 1 billion yen in sales in the initial year of operations.
Computer games for school education and professional training are referred to as "serious games" in European countries and the United States.
Such games include ones to enable people to learn about the development of a range of humans' tools, as well as procedures for fire-extinguishing operations.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060322/kyodo/d8ggk1n02.html
80,000 youths successfully find jobs through 'Job Cafes'
About 80,000 out of 1.5 million young registrants have successfully found jobs through government-backed job-placement centers dubbed "job cafes" that have been set up in 20 of Japan's 47 prefectures, officials at the industry ministry said Wednesday at a symposium in Tokyo.
At the symposium, some 300 participants from the national and local governments as well as other persons involved reported the current status and future prospects for Job Cafes which the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare launched in 2004, together with industry leaders.
An official from Chiba Prefecture reported that they helped 165 registrants to get job offers in two weeks by setting a specific goal.
Officials from Yamaguchi Prefecture said their region creates teams of counselors to give job-seekers advice.
In addition, they discussed some schemes necessary for building bridges between youths, companies, and educational institutions.
The government set aside 6.75 billion yen to operate the job centers in fiscal 2005 ending this month.
Job cafes operate as "one-stop service centers" that offer consultations on what kind of jobs young people have an aptitude for and on internships at local companies, as well as providing job information.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060322/kyodo/d8ggm2003.html
At the symposium, some 300 participants from the national and local governments as well as other persons involved reported the current status and future prospects for Job Cafes which the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare launched in 2004, together with industry leaders.
An official from Chiba Prefecture reported that they helped 165 registrants to get job offers in two weeks by setting a specific goal.
Officials from Yamaguchi Prefecture said their region creates teams of counselors to give job-seekers advice.
In addition, they discussed some schemes necessary for building bridges between youths, companies, and educational institutions.
The government set aside 6.75 billion yen to operate the job centers in fiscal 2005 ending this month.
Job cafes operate as "one-stop service centers" that offer consultations on what kind of jobs young people have an aptitude for and on internships at local companies, as well as providing job information.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060322/kyodo/d8ggm2003.html
Why are Japanese poor at English?
By MIKE GUEST
As an English teacher living in Japan, I find it hard to escape the question. It is asked in schools, government-sponsored think-tanks, restaurants, bars, newspapers and online chat rooms: Why are the Japanese so poor at English?
I would like to offer some reasons for this. These reasons are largely cultural and, while it is both arrogant and pretentious to presume to be able to change a culture, understanding these factors may allow teachers to reassess or temper their methods and thereby help learners adopt more beneficial approaches.
Geographical, linguistic and psychological distance from the English-speaking world
Yes, the world is getting smaller due to the ease of international travel and modern communication tools like the Internet, but Japan’s distance from the English-speaking world cannot be underestimated.
Not only does having no contiguous border with another country heighten the psychological sense of distance, but linguistic fundamentals including the understanding of written/aural units such as syllables and sentences, parts of speech, and the widespread usage of set social speech formulas have little in common with English.
The belief that there are only two socio-cultural entities – Japan and “The World”
Although all Japanese are quite aware intellectually of the multiplicity of countries, cultures and languages, on a certain psychological level, there remains for many the belief that Japan is completely distinct from the rest of the world, which can be lumped together as a singular gaikoku.
Therefore, it is quite natural that the people in gaikoku speak English well because English is the lingua franca of gaikoku, unlike Japan. This worldview ends up being supported by the feeling that:
Real Japanese don’t speak English
On TV, one can often see interviews with prominent politicians, businessmen, or celebrities from non-English-speaking countries being conducted in English. This can contribute to a foreigners-speak-English-but-we-Japanese-don’t mentality.
This belief in a fundamental handicap vis-a-vis the rest of the world can inhibit Japanese learners in mastering English, since it fosters the notion that somehow English is not “right” for the Japanese or, worse, that the Japanese brain cannot process the language in the same way that “other people” can.
In fact, some prominent figures in Japan seem to take pride in not being skilled in English, as if it might take away from their “Japaneseness”.
The lack of a real need for English
People have been talking about internationalisation as being the catalyst for English study in Japan for some time now but, let’s face it, the average Japanese really doesn’t need English.
People who know that their destiny is to labour on a farm, in a local factory or in a nondescript office in the provinces are unlikely to see too much benefit in putting forward the amount of time and effort it takes to master English.
In short, there are few intrinsic or instrumental motivations for study in Japan. In many countries, fluency in English can mean a better-paying, more rewarding job or the chance to make a living from foreign tourists, but this is very rare in Japan. Perhaps some of this is due to:
The comprehensive Japanese publishing industry
I have an Indonesian friend who is very interested in jazz and progressive music. Since there is very little information available on these genres in his mother tongue, he has developed highly competent reading/writing skills in English, since that’s the only way he can get the information he craves and discuss it with others.
In Japan, though, there is copious information available in Japanese about every possible subject. Got a passion for Islamic pottery? A hankering for breeding bloodhounds? Look no further! It’s all available without leaving the mother tongue!
A cultural propensity towards reticence
This claim may sound preposterous to anyone who has watched a Japanese “wide show”, but it is safe to say that Japanese tradition doesn’t tend to see being articulate as a virtue and regards verbosity as suspicious.
Many common Japanese expressions and proverbs serve to reinforce this attitude, an attitude that would seem to work against skills in foreign languages.
The belief that perfection equals a lack of mistakes
Why speak or write if you are liable to make a mistake? Both Japanese teachers and learners of English seem obsessed with mistakes.
Personal letters from Japanese correspondents often contain the request: “Please correct my mistakes.” There is also a pervasive belief that even the smallest error in English renders an entire text as meaningless gobbledygook.
I’ve had very linguistically skilled Japanese colleagues who were shocked to find that I understood their “incorrect” English just fine.
Can one change these general cultural attitudes in a day? No. But to guide learners across the language divide, teachers should be cognisant of these factors and may want to address them in some way so that learners may be freed from some of their inhibitions in acquiring foreign languages. – The Daily Yomiuri / Asia News Network
The writer is an associate professor of English at the Medical College of Miyazaki University.
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/3/22/lifefocus/13589475&sec=lifefocus
As an English teacher living in Japan, I find it hard to escape the question. It is asked in schools, government-sponsored think-tanks, restaurants, bars, newspapers and online chat rooms: Why are the Japanese so poor at English?
I would like to offer some reasons for this. These reasons are largely cultural and, while it is both arrogant and pretentious to presume to be able to change a culture, understanding these factors may allow teachers to reassess or temper their methods and thereby help learners adopt more beneficial approaches.
Geographical, linguistic and psychological distance from the English-speaking world
Yes, the world is getting smaller due to the ease of international travel and modern communication tools like the Internet, but Japan’s distance from the English-speaking world cannot be underestimated.
Not only does having no contiguous border with another country heighten the psychological sense of distance, but linguistic fundamentals including the understanding of written/aural units such as syllables and sentences, parts of speech, and the widespread usage of set social speech formulas have little in common with English.
The belief that there are only two socio-cultural entities – Japan and “The World”
Although all Japanese are quite aware intellectually of the multiplicity of countries, cultures and languages, on a certain psychological level, there remains for many the belief that Japan is completely distinct from the rest of the world, which can be lumped together as a singular gaikoku.
Therefore, it is quite natural that the people in gaikoku speak English well because English is the lingua franca of gaikoku, unlike Japan. This worldview ends up being supported by the feeling that:
Real Japanese don’t speak English
On TV, one can often see interviews with prominent politicians, businessmen, or celebrities from non-English-speaking countries being conducted in English. This can contribute to a foreigners-speak-English-but-we-Japanese-don’t mentality.
This belief in a fundamental handicap vis-a-vis the rest of the world can inhibit Japanese learners in mastering English, since it fosters the notion that somehow English is not “right” for the Japanese or, worse, that the Japanese brain cannot process the language in the same way that “other people” can.
In fact, some prominent figures in Japan seem to take pride in not being skilled in English, as if it might take away from their “Japaneseness”.
The lack of a real need for English
People have been talking about internationalisation as being the catalyst for English study in Japan for some time now but, let’s face it, the average Japanese really doesn’t need English.
People who know that their destiny is to labour on a farm, in a local factory or in a nondescript office in the provinces are unlikely to see too much benefit in putting forward the amount of time and effort it takes to master English.
In short, there are few intrinsic or instrumental motivations for study in Japan. In many countries, fluency in English can mean a better-paying, more rewarding job or the chance to make a living from foreign tourists, but this is very rare in Japan. Perhaps some of this is due to:
The comprehensive Japanese publishing industry
I have an Indonesian friend who is very interested in jazz and progressive music. Since there is very little information available on these genres in his mother tongue, he has developed highly competent reading/writing skills in English, since that’s the only way he can get the information he craves and discuss it with others.
In Japan, though, there is copious information available in Japanese about every possible subject. Got a passion for Islamic pottery? A hankering for breeding bloodhounds? Look no further! It’s all available without leaving the mother tongue!
A cultural propensity towards reticence
This claim may sound preposterous to anyone who has watched a Japanese “wide show”, but it is safe to say that Japanese tradition doesn’t tend to see being articulate as a virtue and regards verbosity as suspicious.
Many common Japanese expressions and proverbs serve to reinforce this attitude, an attitude that would seem to work against skills in foreign languages.
The belief that perfection equals a lack of mistakes
Why speak or write if you are liable to make a mistake? Both Japanese teachers and learners of English seem obsessed with mistakes.
Personal letters from Japanese correspondents often contain the request: “Please correct my mistakes.” There is also a pervasive belief that even the smallest error in English renders an entire text as meaningless gobbledygook.
I’ve had very linguistically skilled Japanese colleagues who were shocked to find that I understood their “incorrect” English just fine.
Can one change these general cultural attitudes in a day? No. But to guide learners across the language divide, teachers should be cognisant of these factors and may want to address them in some way so that learners may be freed from some of their inhibitions in acquiring foreign languages. – The Daily Yomiuri / Asia News Network
The writer is an associate professor of English at the Medical College of Miyazaki University.
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2006/3/22/lifefocus/13589475&sec=lifefocus
Japan calling: Indian Graduates who know English
NEW DELHI, MARCH 21: Good communication skills in English and a graduation degree of any stream is what it’ll take you to land a plum job in Japan.
For the first time, the Government of Japan is inviting graduates under 40 years of age to teach English in Japan. The promised salary: Rs 14.5 lakh per annum.
The teachers are meant to be representatives of India, who will foster ‘‘respect and understanding for India among Japanese students”. And, they’ll be posted in local government areas in Japan and not metropolitan cities. Says Counsellor, Embassy of Japan, Toshio Yamamoto, ‘‘We will post the Indian teachers in areas with local government— as opposed to metros— as we believe they will be more visible there among students and the community. We hope this programme will be taken forward by Japanese students coming to India for further studies.’’
Around 30 Indian teachers will be hired this year, and with the success of the programme, the number is expected to double. The Embassy will chiefly be working through Delhi, personally meeting the candidates after they clear the initial stages.
The programme will be carried out under the aegis of the Japanese Teaching and Exchange (JET) Programme. At present, posts of Assistant Language Teachers in elementary and secondary Schools (both Public and Private) or Coordinators for International Relations will be offered in selected local government offices in Japan.
‘‘Before this, we only invited English teachers from countries where English is the native language like the US and Canada. But we realised that the high level of English spoken by Indians can be useful for us and help both countries,’’ said Yamamoto.
There is another objective as well: economics. ‘‘In a recent survey done in Japan, India has emerged as the second most favoured business destination for the Japanese people following China. “At present, Indo-Japanese business is 1/30th of Japanese-Chinese business. We want to raise this figure to atleast one- third,’’ he adds.
The Japanese Government is also inviting some 50 students to study in Japan under the Monbusho scholarship. And from Japan too, Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteers — including Judo teachers — will be come to teach here. Interestingly, CBSE has introduced the study of Japanese language in middle schools this year.
http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=121149
For the first time, the Government of Japan is inviting graduates under 40 years of age to teach English in Japan. The promised salary: Rs 14.5 lakh per annum.
The teachers are meant to be representatives of India, who will foster ‘‘respect and understanding for India among Japanese students”. And, they’ll be posted in local government areas in Japan and not metropolitan cities. Says Counsellor, Embassy of Japan, Toshio Yamamoto, ‘‘We will post the Indian teachers in areas with local government— as opposed to metros— as we believe they will be more visible there among students and the community. We hope this programme will be taken forward by Japanese students coming to India for further studies.’’
Around 30 Indian teachers will be hired this year, and with the success of the programme, the number is expected to double. The Embassy will chiefly be working through Delhi, personally meeting the candidates after they clear the initial stages.
The programme will be carried out under the aegis of the Japanese Teaching and Exchange (JET) Programme. At present, posts of Assistant Language Teachers in elementary and secondary Schools (both Public and Private) or Coordinators for International Relations will be offered in selected local government offices in Japan.
‘‘Before this, we only invited English teachers from countries where English is the native language like the US and Canada. But we realised that the high level of English spoken by Indians can be useful for us and help both countries,’’ said Yamamoto.
There is another objective as well: economics. ‘‘In a recent survey done in Japan, India has emerged as the second most favoured business destination for the Japanese people following China. “At present, Indo-Japanese business is 1/30th of Japanese-Chinese business. We want to raise this figure to atleast one- third,’’ he adds.
The Japanese Government is also inviting some 50 students to study in Japan under the Monbusho scholarship. And from Japan too, Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteers — including Judo teachers — will be come to teach here. Interestingly, CBSE has introduced the study of Japanese language in middle schools this year.
http://www.financialexpress.com/latest_full_story.php?content_id=121149
Educational Renaissance/ Thinking skills begin with 'Why?' at juku
Kazuya Sekiguchi Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
This is an excerpt from an installment of The Yomiuri Shimbun's Educational Renaissance series. This part of the series, continued from last week, focuses on helping children develop communication skills.
OSAKA--Juku cram schools are basically for helping students catch up with school studies or pass entrance examinations. However, one juku chain has gone further by introducing a course to help its students improve their thinking skills through dialogue-based classes.
Ruijuku, a chain that operates 25 branches in Osaka Prefecture, launched what it calls a "honkaku (full-scale) course" last year.
A recent class in the course, held at the main office of the chain in Yodogawa Ward, Osaka, began with a Japanese translation of a poem by the famous Chinese poet Tu Fu (712-770).
"Kuni yaburete sanga ari," lecturer Satoru Yano, 24, recited. (The line means, "Though the nation has been defeated, the hills and rivers remain as they were.") The students repeated the words after him, before writing the lines down.
The course aims at helping children develop "full-scale" thinking skills that enable them to come up with flexible ideas. In a standard 90-minute class, the first 30 minutes are dedicated to listening comprehension and speaking--the reciting of the Chinese poem being one such example.
The students also practice deep breathing to improve their concentration, before moving on to discussion sessions between the lecturer and the students on various topics.
"When people talk about environmental problems, what are the issues they raise?" Yano asked.
"Acid rain." "Destroying the ozone layer." "Decreasing rain forests." The students responded in quick succession. Then the lecturer posed the next question. "Well, why does acid rain happen?"
The day's class was attended by 25 students, ranging from third-year primary school to second-year middle school students. The wide range of ages reflects Ruijuku's belief that it is important for children to learn about opinions that they would not ordinarily hear in discussions among children of their own age group. The chain initially recruited students from the fourth-year of primary school to those of high school age for its honkaku course.
With classes held once a week, the course has attracted about 160 students. Ruijuku aims at increasing the number to about 400 for the new school year starting next month.
Topics featured in the course generally deal with social issues or topics that have something to do with school subjects.
For example, the concept of "burning" is featured in the course as something related to science. The challenge to students goes as follows: "To put out something burning, you should decrease the temperature of the object by pouring water on it. However, there is a metal that can also burn in water--even below the freezing point. Why is this possible?"
The honkaku course pursues this kind of "why?" question giving students time to look into something that they would not usually be asked to do.
Since its establishment in 1975, Ruijuku has become known for sending many students to prestigious public high schools in the Osaka area. However, Koji Kitamura, 45, head of the chain's public relations office, pointed out that what children study at school and for entrance examinations has drifted far apart from what they need to survive in real-life business and social situations.
"We wanted to help our students develop full-scale thinking skills that would benefit them in the future," Kitamura said in explaining why his juku launched its honkaku course. "A juku is a place that should make up for what schools lack. Consequently, the roles juku are supposed to play have been changing."
Ruijuku formed a project team consisting of its younger lecturers, whose discussions eventually produced the idea of launching dialogue-based classes.
"Children can develop their thinking skills through dialogues by which they accept others' opinions and express their own. Expressing their ideas can itself be good training for students," Kitamura said, quoting some of the project team's conclusions.
"When the students get feedback on their own ideas, it can be very motivating," said Nobuhiro Yasunishi, 32, one of the lecturers in charge of the course.
Discussions in the honkaku course can go beyond the classroom. The students can contribute new opinions and questions they come up with outside the classroom to a Web site exclusively for the course--a process that requires the dialogue skills necessary to convince others.
The Web site will be opened for general access beginning next month, involving the public in the children's discussions.
School focuses on self-expression skills with systematic curriculum
KANAZAWA--Divided into groups of three, first-graders at Yonaizumi Primary School began reading children's books to one another one day in early February.
"Please read in a big voice and in a way your friends can understand with ease," their teacher reminded them from time to time.
This was an exercise in preparation for an event later that month to welcome preschoolers who will enroll at the primary school next month. The school hoped the exercise would also present an opportunity for students to improve their ability to express themselves.
The public primary school has set self-expression skills at the top of its educational agenda for this school year and hopes to help its students develop these skills in every aspect of their school life under a systematic curriculum the school has devised.
In another class the same day, second graders were practicing a song they would perform for a graduation ceremony this month. Rather than giving a direct explanation of the idea of a "crescendo"--a steady increase in volume--the music teacher asked the children for their opinions.
"Before singing the song, let's think about which parts you should put your feelings into," the teacher said.
Essay writing provides another example of the school's self-expression policy. When Yonaizumi students write essays, they are encouraged to correct one another's work and discuss their essays together. In this way students can improve their skills of writing and dialogue at the same time.
Yet another opportunity for self-expression comes in the form of one-minute speeches students are encouraged to make during the 20-minute homeroom period before the day's first class.
Under its systematic curriculum, the school has also compiled a clear guide as to what activities should be used to help develop self-expression skills, with arrows suggesting which of these activities are related.
Second graders taking a Japanese class in September discussed how you could talk to your friends so they understood you more easily. A social ethics class practiced giving compliments to one another in October.
Since it was established in 1983, Yonaizumi Primary School has emphasized the importance of its Japanese classes. Despite this clear focus, though, the school noticed that many students remained relatively poor at expressing their own experiences and ideas.
"We found that our traditional methodology had reached a dead end when it came to further improving their abilities," said Principal Yasuhiro Kanaya, 53, reflecting on the time when he was transferred to the school in 2002 as vice principal.
During the summer vacation that year, the school's 24 teachers read between them all 293 published textbooks available for primary school students. Each teacher wrote a paper on the books he or she had read.
The teachers' reports revealed that while every textbook featured units that had something to do with self-expression, they were not well organized--with some contents overlapping not just classes but actual grades.
Then the school formed a committee to review the school's textbooks and activities so a more systematic curriculum promoting self-expression could be formulated.
"It was tough going until we began to see how [the textbooks' contents and school activities] could be related to one other, from one grade to another, or among subjects," said Hiroshi Hashi, 44, the teacher in charge of the project at that time.
Even after compiling the curriculum, the school has still been reviewing it.
"For the past year, I can say that our students have improved their skills far beyond our initial expectations partly because the teachers themselves have also improved their teaching skills," Kanaya said. "Ultimately, the children have also been improving academic skills in other subjects than the mother tongue."
(Mar. 21, 2006)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/20060321TDY16001.htm
This is an excerpt from an installment of The Yomiuri Shimbun's Educational Renaissance series. This part of the series, continued from last week, focuses on helping children develop communication skills.
OSAKA--Juku cram schools are basically for helping students catch up with school studies or pass entrance examinations. However, one juku chain has gone further by introducing a course to help its students improve their thinking skills through dialogue-based classes.
Ruijuku, a chain that operates 25 branches in Osaka Prefecture, launched what it calls a "honkaku (full-scale) course" last year.
A recent class in the course, held at the main office of the chain in Yodogawa Ward, Osaka, began with a Japanese translation of a poem by the famous Chinese poet Tu Fu (712-770).
"Kuni yaburete sanga ari," lecturer Satoru Yano, 24, recited. (The line means, "Though the nation has been defeated, the hills and rivers remain as they were.") The students repeated the words after him, before writing the lines down.
The course aims at helping children develop "full-scale" thinking skills that enable them to come up with flexible ideas. In a standard 90-minute class, the first 30 minutes are dedicated to listening comprehension and speaking--the reciting of the Chinese poem being one such example.
The students also practice deep breathing to improve their concentration, before moving on to discussion sessions between the lecturer and the students on various topics.
"When people talk about environmental problems, what are the issues they raise?" Yano asked.
"Acid rain." "Destroying the ozone layer." "Decreasing rain forests." The students responded in quick succession. Then the lecturer posed the next question. "Well, why does acid rain happen?"
The day's class was attended by 25 students, ranging from third-year primary school to second-year middle school students. The wide range of ages reflects Ruijuku's belief that it is important for children to learn about opinions that they would not ordinarily hear in discussions among children of their own age group. The chain initially recruited students from the fourth-year of primary school to those of high school age for its honkaku course.
With classes held once a week, the course has attracted about 160 students. Ruijuku aims at increasing the number to about 400 for the new school year starting next month.
Topics featured in the course generally deal with social issues or topics that have something to do with school subjects.
For example, the concept of "burning" is featured in the course as something related to science. The challenge to students goes as follows: "To put out something burning, you should decrease the temperature of the object by pouring water on it. However, there is a metal that can also burn in water--even below the freezing point. Why is this possible?"
The honkaku course pursues this kind of "why?" question giving students time to look into something that they would not usually be asked to do.
Since its establishment in 1975, Ruijuku has become known for sending many students to prestigious public high schools in the Osaka area. However, Koji Kitamura, 45, head of the chain's public relations office, pointed out that what children study at school and for entrance examinations has drifted far apart from what they need to survive in real-life business and social situations.
"We wanted to help our students develop full-scale thinking skills that would benefit them in the future," Kitamura said in explaining why his juku launched its honkaku course. "A juku is a place that should make up for what schools lack. Consequently, the roles juku are supposed to play have been changing."
Ruijuku formed a project team consisting of its younger lecturers, whose discussions eventually produced the idea of launching dialogue-based classes.
"Children can develop their thinking skills through dialogues by which they accept others' opinions and express their own. Expressing their ideas can itself be good training for students," Kitamura said, quoting some of the project team's conclusions.
"When the students get feedback on their own ideas, it can be very motivating," said Nobuhiro Yasunishi, 32, one of the lecturers in charge of the course.
Discussions in the honkaku course can go beyond the classroom. The students can contribute new opinions and questions they come up with outside the classroom to a Web site exclusively for the course--a process that requires the dialogue skills necessary to convince others.
The Web site will be opened for general access beginning next month, involving the public in the children's discussions.
School focuses on self-expression skills with systematic curriculum
KANAZAWA--Divided into groups of three, first-graders at Yonaizumi Primary School began reading children's books to one another one day in early February.
"Please read in a big voice and in a way your friends can understand with ease," their teacher reminded them from time to time.
This was an exercise in preparation for an event later that month to welcome preschoolers who will enroll at the primary school next month. The school hoped the exercise would also present an opportunity for students to improve their ability to express themselves.
The public primary school has set self-expression skills at the top of its educational agenda for this school year and hopes to help its students develop these skills in every aspect of their school life under a systematic curriculum the school has devised.
In another class the same day, second graders were practicing a song they would perform for a graduation ceremony this month. Rather than giving a direct explanation of the idea of a "crescendo"--a steady increase in volume--the music teacher asked the children for their opinions.
"Before singing the song, let's think about which parts you should put your feelings into," the teacher said.
Essay writing provides another example of the school's self-expression policy. When Yonaizumi students write essays, they are encouraged to correct one another's work and discuss their essays together. In this way students can improve their skills of writing and dialogue at the same time.
Yet another opportunity for self-expression comes in the form of one-minute speeches students are encouraged to make during the 20-minute homeroom period before the day's first class.
Under its systematic curriculum, the school has also compiled a clear guide as to what activities should be used to help develop self-expression skills, with arrows suggesting which of these activities are related.
Second graders taking a Japanese class in September discussed how you could talk to your friends so they understood you more easily. A social ethics class practiced giving compliments to one another in October.
Since it was established in 1983, Yonaizumi Primary School has emphasized the importance of its Japanese classes. Despite this clear focus, though, the school noticed that many students remained relatively poor at expressing their own experiences and ideas.
"We found that our traditional methodology had reached a dead end when it came to further improving their abilities," said Principal Yasuhiro Kanaya, 53, reflecting on the time when he was transferred to the school in 2002 as vice principal.
During the summer vacation that year, the school's 24 teachers read between them all 293 published textbooks available for primary school students. Each teacher wrote a paper on the books he or she had read.
The teachers' reports revealed that while every textbook featured units that had something to do with self-expression, they were not well organized--with some contents overlapping not just classes but actual grades.
Then the school formed a committee to review the school's textbooks and activities so a more systematic curriculum promoting self-expression could be formulated.
"It was tough going until we began to see how [the textbooks' contents and school activities] could be related to one other, from one grade to another, or among subjects," said Hiroshi Hashi, 44, the teacher in charge of the project at that time.
Even after compiling the curriculum, the school has still been reviewing it.
"For the past year, I can say that our students have improved their skills far beyond our initial expectations partly because the teachers themselves have also improved their teaching skills," Kanaya said. "Ultimately, the children have also been improving academic skills in other subjects than the mother tongue."
(Mar. 21, 2006)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/20060321TDY16001.htm
Monday, March 20, 2006
Nissan pledges 1.5 mil. pounds for Japanese studies in Britain
Nissan Motor Co. President Carlos Ghosn pledged Friday a 1.5 million pound ($2.6 million) donation to further the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies at Oxford University.
"We are very proud of our association with the institute and to have this opportunity to join the celebration of its 25th anniversary. I am encouraged to see that Nissan's early support has helped the institute gather momentum," Ghosn said in a statement released before the official announcement.
A ceremony for students was due to be held at the university --situated approximately 50 miles northwest of London -- later in the day in order to mark the time past since the institute was founded in 1981 following an initial donation from Nissan.
The institute -- which is already recognized across Europe as one of the leading academic centers focused on the study of modern Japan and is now aiming for worldwide recognition -- will receive the 1.5 million pound Nissan endowment over a period of three years
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060317/kyodo/d8gdc7185.html
"We are very proud of our association with the institute and to have this opportunity to join the celebration of its 25th anniversary. I am encouraged to see that Nissan's early support has helped the institute gather momentum," Ghosn said in a statement released before the official announcement.
A ceremony for students was due to be held at the university --situated approximately 50 miles northwest of London -- later in the day in order to mark the time past since the institute was founded in 1981 following an initial donation from Nissan.
The institute -- which is already recognized across Europe as one of the leading academic centers focused on the study of modern Japan and is now aiming for worldwide recognition -- will receive the 1.5 million pound Nissan endowment over a period of three years
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060317/kyodo/d8gdc7185.html
Tohoku University to open advanced research institute in April
Tohoku University, one of the nation's oldest national universities, announced Friday the opening in April of an advanced institute for research and education for postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers that university officials hope will compete with premier Western institutions of higher learning.
At the institute, researchers will engage in studies in one of the five interdisciplinary categories the university has created, covering life and biomedical sciences, information technology, languages and humanities.
Akihisa Inoue, vice president of the university based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, said the institute will offer a unique system of education that spans a broad range of academic disciplines that is unprecedented in Japan.
"To make contributions to solve such problems as environmental destruction, there is a need for people to undertake research in varied fields like humanities or life science. The new institute will address such needs in society," said Hitoshi Onishi, executive vice president of the university.
The new entity will consist of the Institute for International Advanced Research and Education, which will be up and running in April to offer postgraduate courses. Another separate research institute will open in April 2007, according to university officials.
About 30 holders of doctorates will be selected to attend the research institute as special researchers, with admission open to researchers from abroad as well, they said.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060317/kyodo/d8gdb5t00.html
At the institute, researchers will engage in studies in one of the five interdisciplinary categories the university has created, covering life and biomedical sciences, information technology, languages and humanities.
Akihisa Inoue, vice president of the university based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, said the institute will offer a unique system of education that spans a broad range of academic disciplines that is unprecedented in Japan.
"To make contributions to solve such problems as environmental destruction, there is a need for people to undertake research in varied fields like humanities or life science. The new institute will address such needs in society," said Hitoshi Onishi, executive vice president of the university.
The new entity will consist of the Institute for International Advanced Research and Education, which will be up and running in April to offer postgraduate courses. Another separate research institute will open in April 2007, according to university officials.
About 30 holders of doctorates will be selected to attend the research institute as special researchers, with admission open to researchers from abroad as well, they said.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060317/kyodo/d8gdb5t00.html
English taught in over 90 percent of elementary schools
More than 90 percent of Japan's public elementary schools have classes involving listening and speaking in English, a government poll has shown.
A total of 20,803 elementary schools (93.6 percent) run this kind of class, according to the survey by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Technology, whose results were released Thursday. The percentage is 1.5 points higher than the previous poll.
Sixth-graders have 13.7 hours of English classes a year on average, the poll shows.
Officials from most elementary schools said that they carried out classes by featuring songs and games for students to become familiar with the language.
In more than 90 percent of the schools, homeroom teachers teach English classes. Native-speaking assistant language teachers (ALTs) took part in these classes in more than 60 percent of the schools.
Governmental education guidelines provide that schools can have foreign language activities as part of education for international understanding. (Mainichi)
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20060317p2a00m0na001000c.html
A total of 20,803 elementary schools (93.6 percent) run this kind of class, according to the survey by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Technology, whose results were released Thursday. The percentage is 1.5 points higher than the previous poll.
Sixth-graders have 13.7 hours of English classes a year on average, the poll shows.
Officials from most elementary schools said that they carried out classes by featuring songs and games for students to become familiar with the language.
In more than 90 percent of the schools, homeroom teachers teach English classes. Native-speaking assistant language teachers (ALTs) took part in these classes in more than 60 percent of the schools.
Governmental education guidelines provide that schools can have foreign language activities as part of education for international understanding. (Mainichi)
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20060317p2a00m0na001000c.html
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Hard lessons in broken English
A working holiday teaching English in Japan is a dream that can become a nightmare, writes Deborah Cameron.
DAVID Dormon, a former department store salesman from Sydney, signed up to teach English in Japan and look where it got him: fighting a lawsuit against a powerful company, in a battle of wills with a supervisor who kept a shame file and grasping at an insecure visa. The lawsuit - over demotion, a pay cut and intimidation - concluded with a win and compensation for Dormon.
But he resigned anyway, ending the humiliation of dealing with Japan's leviathan language school, Nova, the country's biggest employer of foreigners. "I felt very stressed, alone and unappreciated and I was very happy to get out because I was hating every moment," he says.
His was an experience that is becoming increasingly representative for Australian teachers in Japan. "Australians are being exploited as English teachers in Japan, especially by Nova," he says.
As with working holidays in Europe or North America, teaching English has become a rite of passage for thousands of Australians in their 20s.
Nova's head of overseas recruitment, Stephen Farley, an Australian, denies Nova is unfair to its employees and says there were faults on Dorman's side, but it ended the legal action to avoid further costs.
English tuition in Japan is a billion-dollar business. Between January and November last year private language schools earned 110 billion yen ($1.2 billion) from fees and book sales, Japan's Ministry for Economy, Trade and Industry says.
English is also being taught in corporate programs, through do-it-yourself tapes and texts, conversation clubs and loose arrangements with English-speaking friends. Last year 21 per cent of Japan's five-year olds were enrolled in private English conversation classes, a survey by Benesse Corp, a publisher and operator of the Berlitz language school, shows.
The high level of spending on private language colleges does not include the expense of university study or government spending on six years of compulsory English tuition in schools.
There are never fewer than 700,000 students in private tuition in Japan, most of them adult.
Students buy lesson time in packages of up to 300 sessions, sometimes financing the cost with loans from credit agencies allied to schools. Last March, a particularly buoyant month coinciding with the traditional recruiting season by big companies, saw 46,000 new students enrol.
English skills are a plus for job hunters, and recruits are often required to sit for the Test of English for International Communication, a recognised proficiency measure. In fact, Japan's mania for results has been something of a boon for the test, with Japan and South Korea accounting for 81 per cent of all of its candidates worldwide.
Japan's test score for reading and comprehension was the lowest in a group that included the rest of Asia, South America, Africa, North America and Europe. Despite ferocious national effort, English is less widely and competently spoken in Japan than it is, say, in Indonesia or Thailand. Even after years of school study, graduates lack confidence and find very few mentors in public life.
Senior ministers, including those who are fluent, do not set examples by using English and the Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, is apparently unable to converse, though he attended the London School of Economics. Even small talk at private dinners with leaders such as John Howard or George Bush is via an interpreter.
Into this tangled environment walk hundreds of young Australians every year, convinced they can educate people and make good money. Of the 1000 who travel on working holiday visas to Japan, it is a fair bet most are destined for jobs in language teaching. Together with hundreds more on year-long work visas, they top up the pool of 12,000 instructors in Japan's private language schools.
Nova, the biggest school with the highest profile, says it employed between 5000 and 6000 instructors in 2004. There were 3000 new recruits that year and 30 per cent were Australians, Farley says. Those in the industry say Australians are its backbone.
A vital mechanism for maintaining the flow of instructors is a visa system that sets few barriers and requires no teaching qualifications. "You've got a TAFE woodworking degree? Excellent," says Dorman.
Japan, which has no immigration policy and is wary of letting in too many foreigners, has devised a convenient array of visas and training schemes enabling businesses to import labour. The most notorious - the entertainer visa - is the figleaf that allows bars to recruit prostitutes and hostesses from the Philippines and eastern Europe. In 2004 the US State Department put Japan on its people-trafficking watch list because of the way these visa arrangements compromised the rights of those who took the bait.
While there is no evidence that young Australian language instructors are getting sucked into the black economy, veterans of the English-teaching industry say that they are vulnerable financially. As well as that, the work is mind-numbing. Past and present teachers also warn of inadequate health and medical insurance and of concerns with workers compensation cover.
Jim Richards, 34, a former information technology worker from Wahroonga, has spent three years teaching English in Japan and says there are many traps. "A lot of people see the advertisements … and think it will be like schoolroom teaching and lots of fun, but when you get here it is more like doing factory line work," he says. "The whole teaching-English-in-Japan thing is a complete fraud and the experience can be quite bitter."
Recruits expecting excitement find monotony. The welcome mat is in reality a stopwatch-driven classroom that allots about six minutes of "free time" between lessons, a couple of minutes "warm-up" with students and a 40-minute class that must be done word-for-word from company textbooks.
Richards's advice to new hands is to think about going to China, South Korea or elsewhere in Asia. But for anyone set on working in Japan, the Nova language school should be the last option, he says. "If you come over with Nova then stay for six or seven months and start looking for another job." Once you find one, resign, and leave before the visa expires.
New teachers should also bring at least $2000 in savings because it is almost impossible to settle in and survive on the 200,000 yen ($2200) monthly starting wage, Richards said.
Richards resigned from Nova after getting fed up and now works at FCC in Fukuoka, which he says is better.
Farley says the majority of its Australian recruits were employed on full visas and not under work holiday arrangements. He says the Nova workforce is happy and that most people stay for about a year, although between 5 and 10 per cent quit within six months because they did not like the job or regretted the move to Japan.
Nova does not provide medical and health insurance for foreign workers but has a worker's compensation policy comparable to Australia's, he says. The company advised all recruits to bring 120,000 yen because it took up to six weeks, for the Japanese salary cycle to kick in.
Simon Hitchens, 35, from Perth, is another Nova critic. After several years of service, he was not offered a new contract by Nova when he revealed his union membership, he says. Nova summarily relocated him to another office and he was asked to leave company housing, he says.
Kara Harris, 28, an American, also had a sour experience. She says she was in negotiations with Nova over her sixth consecutive contract when she asked to be made permanent. In reply the company offered her a 12-month extension. When Harris went to the union, Nova responded with a list of accusations including that she was unco-operative, hostile to other staff, had fallen asleep during work and was a poor dresser.
Successive courts have since found that Harris was unfairly treated by Nova, and she has negotiated a financial settlement. She is returning to the US where she will study labour law.
Farley denies that Nova objects to unions or singles out union members. Very few employees were affiliated with a union, he said, but "if there are problems people should come and talk to me about it".
For teachers including David Dormon, the end can be especially drawn-out. Two years ago, when he was 30, Dormon was penalised financially and demoted for going out with a 21-year-old student at the school. He was also transferred to another branch.
Even though he says he worked hard to redeem himself, more complaints about him piled up in a shame file kept on him by a supervisor and there were new rebukes. The end came in an Osaka court-supervised settlement that gave Dormon compensation and a reference letter outlining his commendable record.
"The court case was nothing more than me fighting against something wrongly done to me," Dormon says. "I was disgusted by their actions. I felt very wronged. I realised very quickly that all the assumptions that I had about my rights as an employee and as a person did not exist in Japan."
http://smh.com.au/news/world/hard-lessons-in-broken-english/2006/03/14/1142098460885.html
DAVID Dormon, a former department store salesman from Sydney, signed up to teach English in Japan and look where it got him: fighting a lawsuit against a powerful company, in a battle of wills with a supervisor who kept a shame file and grasping at an insecure visa. The lawsuit - over demotion, a pay cut and intimidation - concluded with a win and compensation for Dormon.
But he resigned anyway, ending the humiliation of dealing with Japan's leviathan language school, Nova, the country's biggest employer of foreigners. "I felt very stressed, alone and unappreciated and I was very happy to get out because I was hating every moment," he says.
His was an experience that is becoming increasingly representative for Australian teachers in Japan. "Australians are being exploited as English teachers in Japan, especially by Nova," he says.
As with working holidays in Europe or North America, teaching English has become a rite of passage for thousands of Australians in their 20s.
Nova's head of overseas recruitment, Stephen Farley, an Australian, denies Nova is unfair to its employees and says there were faults on Dorman's side, but it ended the legal action to avoid further costs.
English tuition in Japan is a billion-dollar business. Between January and November last year private language schools earned 110 billion yen ($1.2 billion) from fees and book sales, Japan's Ministry for Economy, Trade and Industry says.
English is also being taught in corporate programs, through do-it-yourself tapes and texts, conversation clubs and loose arrangements with English-speaking friends. Last year 21 per cent of Japan's five-year olds were enrolled in private English conversation classes, a survey by Benesse Corp, a publisher and operator of the Berlitz language school, shows.
The high level of spending on private language colleges does not include the expense of university study or government spending on six years of compulsory English tuition in schools.
There are never fewer than 700,000 students in private tuition in Japan, most of them adult.
Students buy lesson time in packages of up to 300 sessions, sometimes financing the cost with loans from credit agencies allied to schools. Last March, a particularly buoyant month coinciding with the traditional recruiting season by big companies, saw 46,000 new students enrol.
English skills are a plus for job hunters, and recruits are often required to sit for the Test of English for International Communication, a recognised proficiency measure. In fact, Japan's mania for results has been something of a boon for the test, with Japan and South Korea accounting for 81 per cent of all of its candidates worldwide.
Japan's test score for reading and comprehension was the lowest in a group that included the rest of Asia, South America, Africa, North America and Europe. Despite ferocious national effort, English is less widely and competently spoken in Japan than it is, say, in Indonesia or Thailand. Even after years of school study, graduates lack confidence and find very few mentors in public life.
Senior ministers, including those who are fluent, do not set examples by using English and the Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, is apparently unable to converse, though he attended the London School of Economics. Even small talk at private dinners with leaders such as John Howard or George Bush is via an interpreter.
Into this tangled environment walk hundreds of young Australians every year, convinced they can educate people and make good money. Of the 1000 who travel on working holiday visas to Japan, it is a fair bet most are destined for jobs in language teaching. Together with hundreds more on year-long work visas, they top up the pool of 12,000 instructors in Japan's private language schools.
Nova, the biggest school with the highest profile, says it employed between 5000 and 6000 instructors in 2004. There were 3000 new recruits that year and 30 per cent were Australians, Farley says. Those in the industry say Australians are its backbone.
A vital mechanism for maintaining the flow of instructors is a visa system that sets few barriers and requires no teaching qualifications. "You've got a TAFE woodworking degree? Excellent," says Dorman.
Japan, which has no immigration policy and is wary of letting in too many foreigners, has devised a convenient array of visas and training schemes enabling businesses to import labour. The most notorious - the entertainer visa - is the figleaf that allows bars to recruit prostitutes and hostesses from the Philippines and eastern Europe. In 2004 the US State Department put Japan on its people-trafficking watch list because of the way these visa arrangements compromised the rights of those who took the bait.
While there is no evidence that young Australian language instructors are getting sucked into the black economy, veterans of the English-teaching industry say that they are vulnerable financially. As well as that, the work is mind-numbing. Past and present teachers also warn of inadequate health and medical insurance and of concerns with workers compensation cover.
Jim Richards, 34, a former information technology worker from Wahroonga, has spent three years teaching English in Japan and says there are many traps. "A lot of people see the advertisements … and think it will be like schoolroom teaching and lots of fun, but when you get here it is more like doing factory line work," he says. "The whole teaching-English-in-Japan thing is a complete fraud and the experience can be quite bitter."
Recruits expecting excitement find monotony. The welcome mat is in reality a stopwatch-driven classroom that allots about six minutes of "free time" between lessons, a couple of minutes "warm-up" with students and a 40-minute class that must be done word-for-word from company textbooks.
Richards's advice to new hands is to think about going to China, South Korea or elsewhere in Asia. But for anyone set on working in Japan, the Nova language school should be the last option, he says. "If you come over with Nova then stay for six or seven months and start looking for another job." Once you find one, resign, and leave before the visa expires.
New teachers should also bring at least $2000 in savings because it is almost impossible to settle in and survive on the 200,000 yen ($2200) monthly starting wage, Richards said.
Richards resigned from Nova after getting fed up and now works at FCC in Fukuoka, which he says is better.
Farley says the majority of its Australian recruits were employed on full visas and not under work holiday arrangements. He says the Nova workforce is happy and that most people stay for about a year, although between 5 and 10 per cent quit within six months because they did not like the job or regretted the move to Japan.
Nova does not provide medical and health insurance for foreign workers but has a worker's compensation policy comparable to Australia's, he says. The company advised all recruits to bring 120,000 yen because it took up to six weeks, for the Japanese salary cycle to kick in.
Simon Hitchens, 35, from Perth, is another Nova critic. After several years of service, he was not offered a new contract by Nova when he revealed his union membership, he says. Nova summarily relocated him to another office and he was asked to leave company housing, he says.
Kara Harris, 28, an American, also had a sour experience. She says she was in negotiations with Nova over her sixth consecutive contract when she asked to be made permanent. In reply the company offered her a 12-month extension. When Harris went to the union, Nova responded with a list of accusations including that she was unco-operative, hostile to other staff, had fallen asleep during work and was a poor dresser.
Successive courts have since found that Harris was unfairly treated by Nova, and she has negotiated a financial settlement. She is returning to the US where she will study labour law.
Farley denies that Nova objects to unions or singles out union members. Very few employees were affiliated with a union, he said, but "if there are problems people should come and talk to me about it".
For teachers including David Dormon, the end can be especially drawn-out. Two years ago, when he was 30, Dormon was penalised financially and demoted for going out with a 21-year-old student at the school. He was also transferred to another branch.
Even though he says he worked hard to redeem himself, more complaints about him piled up in a shame file kept on him by a supervisor and there were new rebukes. The end came in an Osaka court-supervised settlement that gave Dormon compensation and a reference letter outlining his commendable record.
"The court case was nothing more than me fighting against something wrongly done to me," Dormon says. "I was disgusted by their actions. I felt very wronged. I realised very quickly that all the assumptions that I had about my rights as an employee and as a person did not exist in Japan."
http://smh.com.au/news/world/hard-lessons-in-broken-english/2006/03/14/1142098460885.html
Active Home Web Use by Country, January 2006
By Enid Burns March 13, 2006
The number of active home Internet users continues its growth in a majority of the 11 countries tracked by Nielsen//NetRatings. Yet the overall growth rate stagnated in January due to a decrease in active users in a few countries.
Brazil continued to lose traction with active Internet users, experiencing a 1.41 percent slip. After closing the year with a slight increase to its Internet user base in December, Germany's active users slipped just over half a percent. While France gained the lead in European broadband accounts last year, January showed a loss of 132,724 active users. Declines were also experienced in Sweden and the United States.
Nielsen//NetRatings uses a sampling methodology applied worldwide which allows for aggregation of data on a regional and global basis.
Active Home Internet Users by Country, January 2006
Country Japan
January 2006 39,817,810
December 2005 40,134,842
One-Month Change -317,393
Change % -.79
Japan is still ranked second behind USA.
http://www.clickz.com/stats/sectors/geographics/article.php/3591231
The number of active home Internet users continues its growth in a majority of the 11 countries tracked by Nielsen//NetRatings. Yet the overall growth rate stagnated in January due to a decrease in active users in a few countries.
Brazil continued to lose traction with active Internet users, experiencing a 1.41 percent slip. After closing the year with a slight increase to its Internet user base in December, Germany's active users slipped just over half a percent. While France gained the lead in European broadband accounts last year, January showed a loss of 132,724 active users. Declines were also experienced in Sweden and the United States.
Nielsen//NetRatings uses a sampling methodology applied worldwide which allows for aggregation of data on a regional and global basis.
Active Home Internet Users by Country, January 2006
Country Japan
January 2006 39,817,810
December 2005 40,134,842
One-Month Change -317,393
Change % -.79
Japan is still ranked second behind USA.
http://www.clickz.com/stats/sectors/geographics/article.php/3591231
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Country kids need language support
Growing educational diversity not limited to urban areas
By CHRIS BURGESS
Ji Young was 13 when she moved from Seoul to a small village in Yamagata in 1999. Her mother had arrived from Korea a few months earlier to marry a Japanese man.
Entering the local high school, she struggled at first with the language, cultural differences, and relations with friends, though quickly picked up spoken Japanese. Ji Young's mother's case was a fairly common example of a non-Japanese woman marrying a Japanese man who brings (or is later joined by -- "yobiyose") a child or children ("tsureko") from a first marriage.
And Yamagata Prefecture is a fairly typical destination for such children.
This region of around 1.25 million people located in Tohoku, was the first place in Japan to officially "bring in" brides from abroad, in 1985, triggering a nation-wide international marriage boom. Today, one in 17 (6.1 percent) of all marriages in the prefecture are international marriages, compared with around one in 20 nationally.
And while most of the children of international marriages are born and brought up in Japan, usually hold Japanese citizenship and speak fluent Japanese, stepchildren like Ji Young are typical of what researchers currently refer to as "newcomer" children -- those children who were born and brought up outside of Japan.
Haruo Ota, perhaps the leading researcher in this area, argues that the growing presence of these children in Japanese society presents one of the most significant historical challenges to the Japanese public school system.
At the moment, however, neither local nor national governments are adequately addressing the challenge of newcomer children outside urban areas, despite the fact that it is the more commonly observed situation throughout Japan.
According to government figures for 2004, the number of registered foreign children of compulsory school age was 120,417, with the number actually enrolled in Japanese public schools standing at 70,345.
While the discrepancy can be partly explained by enrollment in private, ethnic, and international schools, there are also estimated to be a large number of non-attendees, particularly among children of "nikkeijin."
Of the 70,345 attendees, 19,678 were classified as "requiring Japanese language instruction," with 84 percent actually receiving some kind of support. Broken down by region, Aichi Prefecture had the highest number (3,057) of students classified as needing language support, while Yamagata ranked in the lower half, with only 73 students.
These figures form the background for a glut of recent research on newcomer children in Japanese public schools. The vast majority of this work has focused on what have been called "diversity points," urban areas with large visible concentrations of non-Japanese, including not only Aichi Prefecture but also places such as Kanagawa Prefecture (Kawasaki City), Shizuoka Prefecture (Hamamatsu City), Gunma Prefecture (Ota City), as well as Tokyo and Osaka.
However, most children who require Japanese instruction are not concentrated in one area but spread across Japan, with over 80 percent of schools and more than half of villages, towns, and cities having four or fewer such students.
In other words, statistically, regions such as Yamagata do, in some ways, better reflect the situation and experiences of the majority of non-Japanese children in Japanese public schools compared with the diversity points.
However, despite the fact that the children in these nonmetropolitan regions represent some of the most needy cases, they tend to be ignored by researchers and their schools ineligible for government support.
A further problem is the category "foreign students who need Japanese instruction" itself.
First, there is no clear official definition of the term, judgment usually being left to individual schools.
Second, once students are adjudged to have reached a certain level of Japanese -- usually proficiency in daily conversation and basic reading -- they "disappear" from the statistics, typically after a year or so of schooling.
Third, children who are born and brought up in Japan and/or who possess dual nationality are not included in the category. Thus, although the figure of 73 children "who need Japanese instruction" gives the impression of a very low level of cultural diversity, this is in reality only the tip of the multicultural iceberg.
The 20 percent of schools which have more than four students deemed to require language help have generally enjoyed significant support from the Ministry of Education (MEXT). Since 1992, additional teachers have been dispatched to individual schools specifically to teach Japanese as a second language (JSL) and provide guidance on school culture. In 2004, for example, 985 such teachers were dispatched, though not all of these were Japanese teaching specialists.
Unfortunately, the 80 percent of public schools in Japan with four or fewer such students generally fail to qualify for these kinds of national assistance. As a result, support tends to come not from inside but from outside the school. Sometimes, volunteer organizations are the only source of support for many newcomer children in Japan.
In this respect, the support offered by grassroots organizations all over Japan fills a crucial gap.
According to a Cabinet Office survey, as of November 2004 there were more than 19,000 officially licensed NPOs nation-wide, a six-fold increase over four years.
And although there is no precise data on how many of these specifically support newcomer children, 3.3 percent of civic organizations, including NPOs, gave education as their main activity, with a further 17.4 percent involved in a secondary role.
In Yamagata, the necessity of providing newcomer children with appropriate Japanese language support was first discussed in a December 2001 symposium sponsored by IVY, a local NGO. Since then, progress in the form of practical policy response has been mixed. The prefectural government's recent 10-year plan barely mentioned the issue. On the municipal level, Yamagata City has seen the most promising initiatives.
In May 2004, Yamagata City International Friendship Association (YIFA) -- an independent organization largely funded by the city government -- made use of a one-off national government regional development grant to establish a "Resident Foreigner School Support Program."
Aimed at children between five and 20 and utilizing both bilingual staff and student volunteers, the program offers both intensive five-day-a-week classes for new arrivals and supplementary classes at weekends for those already attending school.
Unfortunately, the outlook for such organizations is uncertain. The YIFA program barely survived into its second year following the end of the initial government grant and only last minute funds from the city government saved the program, albeit one that had to be drastically cut back.
"Basically, with the lack of resources we are unable to provide proper support," one veteran says. "Moreover, with administrative restrictions being so stifling, I wonder just for who and why we're doing this."
As numbers of NPOs and other civic organizations continue to increase nationally in order to satisfy the needs of growing local educational diversity, funding is likely to become even tighter and red tape more cumbersome.
Ji Young, the 13-year-old Korean girl who followed her mother to Yamagata, was lucky to have a supportive family, friends, teachers, and neighbors in her struggle to adapt to Japanese public school life. But thousands of students in hundreds of schools across Japan continue to struggle with little or no support at all.
Dr. Chris Burgess lectures in Japanese Studies at Tsuda College Send comments to: community@japantimes.co.jp
The Japan Times: March 14, 2006
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20060314zg.html
By CHRIS BURGESS
Ji Young was 13 when she moved from Seoul to a small village in Yamagata in 1999. Her mother had arrived from Korea a few months earlier to marry a Japanese man.
Entering the local high school, she struggled at first with the language, cultural differences, and relations with friends, though quickly picked up spoken Japanese. Ji Young's mother's case was a fairly common example of a non-Japanese woman marrying a Japanese man who brings (or is later joined by -- "yobiyose") a child or children ("tsureko") from a first marriage.
And Yamagata Prefecture is a fairly typical destination for such children.
This region of around 1.25 million people located in Tohoku, was the first place in Japan to officially "bring in" brides from abroad, in 1985, triggering a nation-wide international marriage boom. Today, one in 17 (6.1 percent) of all marriages in the prefecture are international marriages, compared with around one in 20 nationally.
And while most of the children of international marriages are born and brought up in Japan, usually hold Japanese citizenship and speak fluent Japanese, stepchildren like Ji Young are typical of what researchers currently refer to as "newcomer" children -- those children who were born and brought up outside of Japan.
Haruo Ota, perhaps the leading researcher in this area, argues that the growing presence of these children in Japanese society presents one of the most significant historical challenges to the Japanese public school system.
At the moment, however, neither local nor national governments are adequately addressing the challenge of newcomer children outside urban areas, despite the fact that it is the more commonly observed situation throughout Japan.
According to government figures for 2004, the number of registered foreign children of compulsory school age was 120,417, with the number actually enrolled in Japanese public schools standing at 70,345.
While the discrepancy can be partly explained by enrollment in private, ethnic, and international schools, there are also estimated to be a large number of non-attendees, particularly among children of "nikkeijin."
Of the 70,345 attendees, 19,678 were classified as "requiring Japanese language instruction," with 84 percent actually receiving some kind of support. Broken down by region, Aichi Prefecture had the highest number (3,057) of students classified as needing language support, while Yamagata ranked in the lower half, with only 73 students.
These figures form the background for a glut of recent research on newcomer children in Japanese public schools. The vast majority of this work has focused on what have been called "diversity points," urban areas with large visible concentrations of non-Japanese, including not only Aichi Prefecture but also places such as Kanagawa Prefecture (Kawasaki City), Shizuoka Prefecture (Hamamatsu City), Gunma Prefecture (Ota City), as well as Tokyo and Osaka.
However, most children who require Japanese instruction are not concentrated in one area but spread across Japan, with over 80 percent of schools and more than half of villages, towns, and cities having four or fewer such students.
In other words, statistically, regions such as Yamagata do, in some ways, better reflect the situation and experiences of the majority of non-Japanese children in Japanese public schools compared with the diversity points.
However, despite the fact that the children in these nonmetropolitan regions represent some of the most needy cases, they tend to be ignored by researchers and their schools ineligible for government support.
A further problem is the category "foreign students who need Japanese instruction" itself.
First, there is no clear official definition of the term, judgment usually being left to individual schools.
Second, once students are adjudged to have reached a certain level of Japanese -- usually proficiency in daily conversation and basic reading -- they "disappear" from the statistics, typically after a year or so of schooling.
Third, children who are born and brought up in Japan and/or who possess dual nationality are not included in the category. Thus, although the figure of 73 children "who need Japanese instruction" gives the impression of a very low level of cultural diversity, this is in reality only the tip of the multicultural iceberg.
The 20 percent of schools which have more than four students deemed to require language help have generally enjoyed significant support from the Ministry of Education (MEXT). Since 1992, additional teachers have been dispatched to individual schools specifically to teach Japanese as a second language (JSL) and provide guidance on school culture. In 2004, for example, 985 such teachers were dispatched, though not all of these were Japanese teaching specialists.
Unfortunately, the 80 percent of public schools in Japan with four or fewer such students generally fail to qualify for these kinds of national assistance. As a result, support tends to come not from inside but from outside the school. Sometimes, volunteer organizations are the only source of support for many newcomer children in Japan.
In this respect, the support offered by grassroots organizations all over Japan fills a crucial gap.
According to a Cabinet Office survey, as of November 2004 there were more than 19,000 officially licensed NPOs nation-wide, a six-fold increase over four years.
And although there is no precise data on how many of these specifically support newcomer children, 3.3 percent of civic organizations, including NPOs, gave education as their main activity, with a further 17.4 percent involved in a secondary role.
In Yamagata, the necessity of providing newcomer children with appropriate Japanese language support was first discussed in a December 2001 symposium sponsored by IVY, a local NGO. Since then, progress in the form of practical policy response has been mixed. The prefectural government's recent 10-year plan barely mentioned the issue. On the municipal level, Yamagata City has seen the most promising initiatives.
In May 2004, Yamagata City International Friendship Association (YIFA) -- an independent organization largely funded by the city government -- made use of a one-off national government regional development grant to establish a "Resident Foreigner School Support Program."
Aimed at children between five and 20 and utilizing both bilingual staff and student volunteers, the program offers both intensive five-day-a-week classes for new arrivals and supplementary classes at weekends for those already attending school.
Unfortunately, the outlook for such organizations is uncertain. The YIFA program barely survived into its second year following the end of the initial government grant and only last minute funds from the city government saved the program, albeit one that had to be drastically cut back.
"Basically, with the lack of resources we are unable to provide proper support," one veteran says. "Moreover, with administrative restrictions being so stifling, I wonder just for who and why we're doing this."
As numbers of NPOs and other civic organizations continue to increase nationally in order to satisfy the needs of growing local educational diversity, funding is likely to become even tighter and red tape more cumbersome.
Ji Young, the 13-year-old Korean girl who followed her mother to Yamagata, was lucky to have a supportive family, friends, teachers, and neighbors in her struggle to adapt to Japanese public school life. But thousands of students in hundreds of schools across Japan continue to struggle with little or no support at all.
Dr. Chris Burgess lectures in Japanese Studies at Tsuda College Send comments to: community@japantimes.co.jp
The Japan Times: March 14, 2006
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20060314zg.html
Operators of Chinese, Korean schools in Japan call for tax breaks
Operators of Chinese and Korean schools in Tokyo and Kanagawa prefectures on Monday called for preferential tax treatment for donations to their schools, claiming that only providing such treatment to European and American international schools in Japan is discriminatory.
Tokyo Chosen Gakuen and Kanagawa Chosen Gakuen, both of which provide education for Koreans in Japan, and Yokohama Yamate Chinese School filed a petition with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations to correct the tax practice.
According to the petition, Korean and Chinese schools are unable to receive tax breaks for donations to the schools for such purposes as renovating or building school facilities, although such tax breaks are given to European and American schools in Japan.
The petition says such discriminatory treatment is a human rights violation.
Han Chong Suk, head of the mothers' association of Tokyo's Korean school and one of those who filed the petition, told a news conference that the construction of the school has been financed solely by donations.
"We want (the tax system) rectified," Han said
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060313/kyodo/d8gakubo0.html
Tokyo Chosen Gakuen and Kanagawa Chosen Gakuen, both of which provide education for Koreans in Japan, and Yokohama Yamate Chinese School filed a petition with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations to correct the tax practice.
According to the petition, Korean and Chinese schools are unable to receive tax breaks for donations to the schools for such purposes as renovating or building school facilities, although such tax breaks are given to European and American schools in Japan.
The petition says such discriminatory treatment is a human rights violation.
Han Chong Suk, head of the mothers' association of Tokyo's Korean school and one of those who filed the petition, told a news conference that the construction of the school has been financed solely by donations.
"We want (the tax system) rectified," Han said
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060313/kyodo/d8gakubo0.html
REFILING: Reforms promoted at public colleges
Unique reforms have been undertaken at seven public universities since they were turned into independent administrative entities, with a non-Japanese national appointed as president of Yokohama City University and student evaluation systems introduced at six schools, an education ministry survey showed Monday.
Yokohama City University appointed Bruce Stronach, a U.S. citizen, as president, while Akita International University appointed Australian Gregory Clark as vice president, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Yokohama City University also allows students to pay fees for some classes at convenience stores.
Six of the seven universities, including Nagasaki Prefectural University, have introduced tenure systems, while another combination of six, including Iwate Prefectural University, enables students to evaluate teachers.
The other universities turned into independent administrative entities were Tokyo Metropolitan University, Osaka Prefectural University and the University of Kitakyushu.
There were 73 colleges operated by prefectural or municipal governments in Japan as of April last year.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060313/kyodo/d8gak4pg7.html
Yokohama City University appointed Bruce Stronach, a U.S. citizen, as president, while Akita International University appointed Australian Gregory Clark as vice president, according to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Yokohama City University also allows students to pay fees for some classes at convenience stores.
Six of the seven universities, including Nagasaki Prefectural University, have introduced tenure systems, while another combination of six, including Iwate Prefectural University, enables students to evaluate teachers.
The other universities turned into independent administrative entities were Tokyo Metropolitan University, Osaka Prefectural University and the University of Kitakyushu.
There were 73 colleges operated by prefectural or municipal governments in Japan as of April last year.
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060313/kyodo/d8gak4pg7.html
Monday, March 13, 2006
Student trades UW for Japan
Casey Snyder of Everett receives the first undergraduate scholarship from Japan's government.
By Melissa SlagerHerald Writer
Casey Snyder will leave the University of Washington one quarter shy of graduating with a major in Japanese linguistics.
He's trading it in for a unique opportunity to delve deeper into the language he loves.
Snyder, 20, of Everett is the first recipient of the Japanese government's undergraduate student scholarship. He will be able to live and study in Japan for as long as five years, all expenses paid.
"It's a great blessing, so I'm really excited," said Snyder, an Everett High School graduate. "You can't pass this up."
Americans make up 8 percent of all foreign students in Japan, and just 1 percent of those attending on Japanese government scholarships. Japan has offered scholarships to students outside its borders since 1954. There are now five awards for which students in the western United States are eligible.
The undergraduate scholarship is new, and the most lucrative. It will pay for Snyder's tuition and fees at Osaka University of Foreign Studies, as well as a monthly allowance of $1,155.
The average cost for the first year at a public university in Japan is $7,875.
Staff at the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle recently gave Snyder and others some tips on living and learning in a nation that is one of the world's major economic powers.
"You are really American ambassadors to Japan. You should be very proud," Consul-General Kazuo Tanaka said.
Former scholarship winners urged recipients to make friends, travel and immerse themselves in the culture.
"The people you meet can help you all through your career," said Keith Takechi, a member of an alumni group.
Snyder will enter a fast-paced metropolis where cell phones double as credit cards, imperial deer are fearless enough to steal ice cream from your hand, and royal gossip is as prevalent as Shinto and Buddhist temples.
He visited the country for two weeks with friends before and is looking forward to seeing more of its islands, including escapes to the countryside, and learning traditional Japanese calligraphy.
A Christmas gift at age 5 sparked Snyder's love of Asian languages and cultures. Images of pagodas and pictograms in a geography game he received quickly claimed his curiosity.
Everett High School offered only French, German and Spanish, so he turned to Everett Community College through the Running Start program.
For his senior project, Snyder learned 1,600 kanji symbols in 10 weeks. Kanji, based on borrowed or modified Chinese characters, is the most difficult Japanese system of writing.
Snyder graduated in 2004 with both his high school diploma and an associate's degree from EvCC. He plans to pursue a second major in Osaka with the eventual goal of becoming a translator or interpreter. He leaves April 4.
He said he sympathizes with Japanese exchange students who have not benefited from the same kind of support their government is offering him. He said he hopes his learning there will act as a bridge.
A former EvCC instructor and mentor said he deserves the scholarship.
"He was a very enthusiastic student from the beginning," Masako Nair said. "He followed his bliss all the way and just blossomed."
Reporter Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@ heraldnet.com.
http://heraldnet.com/stories/06/03/12/100loc_b1japan001.cfm
By Melissa SlagerHerald Writer
Casey Snyder will leave the University of Washington one quarter shy of graduating with a major in Japanese linguistics.
He's trading it in for a unique opportunity to delve deeper into the language he loves.
Snyder, 20, of Everett is the first recipient of the Japanese government's undergraduate student scholarship. He will be able to live and study in Japan for as long as five years, all expenses paid.
"It's a great blessing, so I'm really excited," said Snyder, an Everett High School graduate. "You can't pass this up."
Americans make up 8 percent of all foreign students in Japan, and just 1 percent of those attending on Japanese government scholarships. Japan has offered scholarships to students outside its borders since 1954. There are now five awards for which students in the western United States are eligible.
The undergraduate scholarship is new, and the most lucrative. It will pay for Snyder's tuition and fees at Osaka University of Foreign Studies, as well as a monthly allowance of $1,155.
The average cost for the first year at a public university in Japan is $7,875.
Staff at the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle recently gave Snyder and others some tips on living and learning in a nation that is one of the world's major economic powers.
"You are really American ambassadors to Japan. You should be very proud," Consul-General Kazuo Tanaka said.
Former scholarship winners urged recipients to make friends, travel and immerse themselves in the culture.
"The people you meet can help you all through your career," said Keith Takechi, a member of an alumni group.
Snyder will enter a fast-paced metropolis where cell phones double as credit cards, imperial deer are fearless enough to steal ice cream from your hand, and royal gossip is as prevalent as Shinto and Buddhist temples.
He visited the country for two weeks with friends before and is looking forward to seeing more of its islands, including escapes to the countryside, and learning traditional Japanese calligraphy.
A Christmas gift at age 5 sparked Snyder's love of Asian languages and cultures. Images of pagodas and pictograms in a geography game he received quickly claimed his curiosity.
Everett High School offered only French, German and Spanish, so he turned to Everett Community College through the Running Start program.
For his senior project, Snyder learned 1,600 kanji symbols in 10 weeks. Kanji, based on borrowed or modified Chinese characters, is the most difficult Japanese system of writing.
Snyder graduated in 2004 with both his high school diploma and an associate's degree from EvCC. He plans to pursue a second major in Osaka with the eventual goal of becoming a translator or interpreter. He leaves April 4.
He said he sympathizes with Japanese exchange students who have not benefited from the same kind of support their government is offering him. He said he hopes his learning there will act as a bridge.
A former EvCC instructor and mentor said he deserves the scholarship.
"He was a very enthusiastic student from the beginning," Masako Nair said. "He followed his bliss all the way and just blossomed."
Reporter Melissa Slager: 425-339-3465 or mslager@ heraldnet.com.
http://heraldnet.com/stories/06/03/12/100loc_b1japan001.cfm
Japanese universities need foreign students: U.K. scholar
By YUKA SHIMADA
Staff writer
Recruiting foreign students will be key if Japanese universities are to survive the competition expected as the population shrinks, according to British scholar Peter Mathias.
Peter Mathias
Japanese universities must establish an "international status" that will enable them to attract students from all over the world, said Mathias, an honorary fellow at Downing College, Cambridge, and former research supervisor to Crown Prince Naruhito at Oxford University.
Japanese universities "will be competing at an international level to provide the best (Japanese) students going overseas and acquire the best overseas students coming to Japan," the 78-year-old said.
Mathias, an authority on modern economic history, was in Tokyo recently to attend a meeting at Keio University. He is one of the advisers of the university's new International Advisory Committee, whose job it is to work out ways to internationalize the school.
Mathias has worked with other Japanese universities, including Waseda and Hitotsubashi, as a visiting professor or external adviser.
In November 2003, the government conferred on him the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, in recognition of his contributions to promoting academic exchanges between Japan and Britain.
Mathias said many Japanese universities are fighting to survive in the new supercompetitive environment. And the competition to attract good students will become tougher as universities try to maintain their academic standards by having good students as well as good faculties.
"Many universities will face financial difficulties. To overcome them, some institutions may cut departments that are highly respected or expensive. However, closing those departments would reduce the academic status of the universities," he said.
"One of the most important aspects of survival will be the ability of a university's international status to attract students worldwide."
The first thing some foreign students look for when choosing a school is the international status of its research or departments, he emphasized.
Having tieups with foreign universities and establishing international programs are two ways Mathias said would help to attract foreign students and maintain high academic standards.
Keio University has had an exchange program for students and faculty members with Downing College for more than 20 years and maintains alliances with nearly 200 academic institutions worldwide.
According to Mathias, to ensure the success of alliances, the partners should have equal and strong academic standards.
"The building of confidence and trust is very important when you are considering the creation of an international program," he said. "Without assurances of the academic standards of your international partners, it can be a disaster."
The Japan Times: March 11, 2006
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060311f2.html
Staff writer
Recruiting foreign students will be key if Japanese universities are to survive the competition expected as the population shrinks, according to British scholar Peter Mathias.
Peter Mathias
Japanese universities must establish an "international status" that will enable them to attract students from all over the world, said Mathias, an honorary fellow at Downing College, Cambridge, and former research supervisor to Crown Prince Naruhito at Oxford University.
Japanese universities "will be competing at an international level to provide the best (Japanese) students going overseas and acquire the best overseas students coming to Japan," the 78-year-old said.
Mathias, an authority on modern economic history, was in Tokyo recently to attend a meeting at Keio University. He is one of the advisers of the university's new International Advisory Committee, whose job it is to work out ways to internationalize the school.
Mathias has worked with other Japanese universities, including Waseda and Hitotsubashi, as a visiting professor or external adviser.
In November 2003, the government conferred on him the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, in recognition of his contributions to promoting academic exchanges between Japan and Britain.
Mathias said many Japanese universities are fighting to survive in the new supercompetitive environment. And the competition to attract good students will become tougher as universities try to maintain their academic standards by having good students as well as good faculties.
"Many universities will face financial difficulties. To overcome them, some institutions may cut departments that are highly respected or expensive. However, closing those departments would reduce the academic status of the universities," he said.
"One of the most important aspects of survival will be the ability of a university's international status to attract students worldwide."
The first thing some foreign students look for when choosing a school is the international status of its research or departments, he emphasized.
Having tieups with foreign universities and establishing international programs are two ways Mathias said would help to attract foreign students and maintain high academic standards.
Keio University has had an exchange program for students and faculty members with Downing College for more than 20 years and maintains alliances with nearly 200 academic institutions worldwide.
According to Mathias, to ensure the success of alliances, the partners should have equal and strong academic standards.
"The building of confidence and trust is very important when you are considering the creation of an international program," he said. "Without assurances of the academic standards of your international partners, it can be a disaster."
The Japan Times: March 11, 2006
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20060311f2.html
Friday, March 10, 2006
Japanese universities prepare survival strategies
Many of Japan’s universities will face financial crisis in the coming years, confronted with a combination of government parsimony and a rapid decline in the number of young people, say experts.
But they are responding inventively by trying to broaden their sources of revenue beyond government handouts. This presents rich opportunities for financial services companies.
A fifth of universities and colleges are in the red and the number will rise, says Sunao Onuma, chairman of the Association of Private Universities of Japan.
Eiichiro Kobayashi, vice-president responsible for finance at Waseda – perhaps the most prestigious of Japan’s private universities – predicts that over the next 10 years a quarter to a third of the country’s universities will face “management crisis” as financial pressures force them to rethink the way they are run.
The reasons behind the crisis are largely demographic.
The number of 18-year-olds in Japan peaked above 2m in 1990. But a birth rate that is among the lowest in the world has since pushed it down below 1.4m, decreasing the number of potential fee-paying students.
The government is adding to the demographic squeeze. Japanese ministers, keen to rein in the government’s fiscal deficit, have imposed a stringent regime for university funding.
The bulk of the money spent by Japan’s 89 state universities comes from the government. But under a regime that started in 2004, each year these universities will receive 1 per cent less than the previous year. Government subsidies to private universities have also been cut – as a proportion of costs, they have fallen to 12 per cent in 2004 from a peak of 29.5 per cent in 1980.
Japanese universities, acutely aware of their financially parlous state, are busily preparing survival strategies. “To survive the very intense competition, we need money,” says Mr Kobayashi.
“In future, universities can expect to face declining revenues from tuition and fees, so they want to make more money through investments and by increasing outside funding,” says Eiji Kata-yama, senior financial industry researcher at Nomura, Japan’s biggest securities house, and a member of its research team on universities and colleges.
The team took a group of Japanese universities on a tour of the US last year to see how their American counterparts managed their finances. “If you look at their investment, [most Japanese universities] are very unsophisticated compared with US universities,” he says. US universities put their money in a broader range of investments, including equities as well as safe but dull government bonds.
Waseda responded to a sharp rise in its debts by looking for new sources of income. One approach was to exploit the opportunities of its extensive property, for example by charging fees for accountancy exams held on its premises.
Waseda has also begun to switch from a low-risk/low-return investment strategy based on an annual yield of 2 per cent to a “middle-risk/middle-return” plan which shifts money from bank deposits to securities and has a target of 4 per cent.
Universities and colleges that want to change their financial management complain that the government still does not give them enough freedom (see case study below).
However, the government is expected this year to change the law to allow private universities to issue tradeable bonds for the first time. Largely in preparation for this, 24 private universities have already acquired their own credit ratings.
But some university officials see a danger in a bolder style of financial management. Mr Onuma of the APUJ, who is also president of Bunka Women’s University and Fashion College, says many private universities and colleges do not buy stocks because of the risk. “The presidents of Japan’s universities and colleges are not skilled business people.”
Mr Onuma says colleges such as Waseda and Keio will be able take advantage of their famous brand names both to issue bonds and to raise donations. But “the average university has difficulty getting donations”.
He suggests they build on their tradition of raising money from a broad range of operations, such as offering sports facilities to the public
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/6af0eeb6-afc8-11da-b417-0000779e2340.html
But they are responding inventively by trying to broaden their sources of revenue beyond government handouts. This presents rich opportunities for financial services companies.
A fifth of universities and colleges are in the red and the number will rise, says Sunao Onuma, chairman of the Association of Private Universities of Japan.
Eiichiro Kobayashi, vice-president responsible for finance at Waseda – perhaps the most prestigious of Japan’s private universities – predicts that over the next 10 years a quarter to a third of the country’s universities will face “management crisis” as financial pressures force them to rethink the way they are run.
The reasons behind the crisis are largely demographic.
The number of 18-year-olds in Japan peaked above 2m in 1990. But a birth rate that is among the lowest in the world has since pushed it down below 1.4m, decreasing the number of potential fee-paying students.
The government is adding to the demographic squeeze. Japanese ministers, keen to rein in the government’s fiscal deficit, have imposed a stringent regime for university funding.
The bulk of the money spent by Japan’s 89 state universities comes from the government. But under a regime that started in 2004, each year these universities will receive 1 per cent less than the previous year. Government subsidies to private universities have also been cut – as a proportion of costs, they have fallen to 12 per cent in 2004 from a peak of 29.5 per cent in 1980.
Japanese universities, acutely aware of their financially parlous state, are busily preparing survival strategies. “To survive the very intense competition, we need money,” says Mr Kobayashi.
“In future, universities can expect to face declining revenues from tuition and fees, so they want to make more money through investments and by increasing outside funding,” says Eiji Kata-yama, senior financial industry researcher at Nomura, Japan’s biggest securities house, and a member of its research team on universities and colleges.
The team took a group of Japanese universities on a tour of the US last year to see how their American counterparts managed their finances. “If you look at their investment, [most Japanese universities] are very unsophisticated compared with US universities,” he says. US universities put their money in a broader range of investments, including equities as well as safe but dull government bonds.
Waseda responded to a sharp rise in its debts by looking for new sources of income. One approach was to exploit the opportunities of its extensive property, for example by charging fees for accountancy exams held on its premises.
Waseda has also begun to switch from a low-risk/low-return investment strategy based on an annual yield of 2 per cent to a “middle-risk/middle-return” plan which shifts money from bank deposits to securities and has a target of 4 per cent.
Universities and colleges that want to change their financial management complain that the government still does not give them enough freedom (see case study below).
However, the government is expected this year to change the law to allow private universities to issue tradeable bonds for the first time. Largely in preparation for this, 24 private universities have already acquired their own credit ratings.
But some university officials see a danger in a bolder style of financial management. Mr Onuma of the APUJ, who is also president of Bunka Women’s University and Fashion College, says many private universities and colleges do not buy stocks because of the risk. “The presidents of Japan’s universities and colleges are not skilled business people.”
Mr Onuma says colleges such as Waseda and Keio will be able take advantage of their famous brand names both to issue bonds and to raise donations. But “the average university has difficulty getting donations”.
He suggests they build on their tradition of raising money from a broad range of operations, such as offering sports facilities to the public
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/6af0eeb6-afc8-11da-b417-0000779e2340.html
2 colleges drop ID requirement for foreign applicants
Two colleges, one in Fukuoka Prefecture and the other in Tokyo, have stopped requiring non-Japanese applicants to submit identification certificates, following complaints that it is a discriminatory practice, school officials said Thursday.
An official at Kyushu Dental College in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, said, "We aimed at checking if applicants overstay, but we can confirm it through documents from their high schools."
"As we do not require residence certificates for Japanese applicants, we abide by the claim that the previous practice is discriminatory," the official said.
The Fukuoka school made the decision after a South Korean resident of Japan, who lives in Osaka, complained to the college on Feb. 6 that the requirement was discriminatory. After consulting with the education ministry, the college decided to eliminate the requirement next day.
Tokyo-based Showa University received a similar complaint last month and eliminated the requirement, it said.
"While we did not regard it as discriminatory, we concluded that the certificates are unnecessary," an official said. "We sought applicants' IDs just as a habitual practice, but the claim gave us a good opportunity to review it."
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060309/kyodo/d8g7pgvo5.html
An official at Kyushu Dental College in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, said, "We aimed at checking if applicants overstay, but we can confirm it through documents from their high schools."
"As we do not require residence certificates for Japanese applicants, we abide by the claim that the previous practice is discriminatory," the official said.
The Fukuoka school made the decision after a South Korean resident of Japan, who lives in Osaka, complained to the college on Feb. 6 that the requirement was discriminatory. After consulting with the education ministry, the college decided to eliminate the requirement next day.
Tokyo-based Showa University received a similar complaint last month and eliminated the requirement, it said.
"While we did not regard it as discriminatory, we concluded that the certificates are unnecessary," an official said. "We sought applicants' IDs just as a habitual practice, but the claim gave us a good opportunity to review it."
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060309/kyodo/d8g7pgvo5.html
Ehime University freshmen to get leg up with private tutors
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Ehime University will begin offering private tutoring to freshmen in April to ensure they have the academic background to keep up with classes.
This year's freshmen are the first students to have been educated under the "cram-free education" curriculum, which was introduced in April 2003 to allow students to take a less rigorous course of study.
Under the curriculum, course content was cut by 5 percent.
Tutoring in English, math, science and other subjects will be given by the university's postgraduate students.
Although some staff at the university, based in Matsuyama, say students should not be pampered, the university decided to launch the unusual program in response to declining academic skills among students and a growing number of failing students.
About 2,000 students will enter the university in April. Five postgraduate students will be hired to give private tutorials every weekday in the university library. They will teach the students math, how to write reports and make study plans.
In the 2004 academic year, 114 of the university's 8,300 students dropped out. Many said they were discouraged and had lost enthusiasm for learning as they could not understand subjects such as math.
Sensing a crisis, Hiroaki Sato, an associate professor at the university's Institute for Education and Student Support, suggested providing tutoring as a way to help get students off on the right foot.
The university decided to leave the program to postgraduate students, who they hope will be better able to advise students about university life.
The university's move was not universally welcomed. "When we were students, we weren't as academically strong as students today because some of us had been in the war," said Tsuyoshi Mori, professor emeritus of Kyoto University. "But we managed to hang on. Universities today might be trying too hard to keep students happy."
(Mar. 9, 2006)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20060309TDY02008.htm
Ehime University will begin offering private tutoring to freshmen in April to ensure they have the academic background to keep up with classes.
This year's freshmen are the first students to have been educated under the "cram-free education" curriculum, which was introduced in April 2003 to allow students to take a less rigorous course of study.
Under the curriculum, course content was cut by 5 percent.
Tutoring in English, math, science and other subjects will be given by the university's postgraduate students.
Although some staff at the university, based in Matsuyama, say students should not be pampered, the university decided to launch the unusual program in response to declining academic skills among students and a growing number of failing students.
About 2,000 students will enter the university in April. Five postgraduate students will be hired to give private tutorials every weekday in the university library. They will teach the students math, how to write reports and make study plans.
In the 2004 academic year, 114 of the university's 8,300 students dropped out. Many said they were discouraged and had lost enthusiasm for learning as they could not understand subjects such as math.
Sensing a crisis, Hiroaki Sato, an associate professor at the university's Institute for Education and Student Support, suggested providing tutoring as a way to help get students off on the right foot.
The university decided to leave the program to postgraduate students, who they hope will be better able to advise students about university life.
The university's move was not universally welcomed. "When we were students, we weren't as academically strong as students today because some of us had been in the war," said Tsuyoshi Mori, professor emeritus of Kyoto University. "But we managed to hang on. Universities today might be trying too hard to keep students happy."
(Mar. 9, 2006)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20060309TDY02008.htm
Matsushita college to train factory hands for management
The Asahi Shimbun
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. will set up an in-house college in April to teach its brightest young manufacturing employees cutting-edge technologies and management skills.
Under the Monozukuri Daigakko (manufacturing college) program, selected workers with a few years exper- ience in manufacturing at the group's factories will enroll in the one-year program.
Graduates of the program will be regarded as candidates for plant managers.
The program will help the company ensure that skills in advanced technology will be passed down to younger generations of the Matsushita family, company officials said.
Matsushita has offered several skill-training programs for employees, but Monozukuri Daigakko "marks the first time for the company to set up a curriculum on such a systematic basis," an official said.
The company decided conventional training is inadequate to teach young employees advanced technologies.
The school will be established in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, close to the company's headquarters. Students will live in a dormitory.
A managing director in charge of personnel affairs will serve as the college president, while experienced workers in manufacturing will teach.
For the first year, 20 to 30 candidates will be picked for the program.
They will gain knowledge in advanced technology and learn management skills in a number of areas, including information technology, product quality, cost control and production schedules.
The students will also be taught courtesies and manners, as well as communication skills required of a leader.
To cultivate English skills, the students will attend classes taught by native English speakers. The goal is for students to score at least 550 on the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication).
Although Matsushita's business performance is favorable, the company has asked many middle-aged employees to take early retirement.
Postwar baby boomers born between 1947 and 1949 are expected to start retiring in droves in 2007. Manufacturers are faced with the urgent task of transferring the expertise of the retiring workers to younger employees.
Electronics makers are reversing a trend of increasing production overseas. They are finding that they can increase profits by making key components at domestic facilities.
(IHT/Asahi: March 8,2006)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200603080148.html
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. will set up an in-house college in April to teach its brightest young manufacturing employees cutting-edge technologies and management skills.
Under the Monozukuri Daigakko (manufacturing college) program, selected workers with a few years exper- ience in manufacturing at the group's factories will enroll in the one-year program.
Graduates of the program will be regarded as candidates for plant managers.
The program will help the company ensure that skills in advanced technology will be passed down to younger generations of the Matsushita family, company officials said.
Matsushita has offered several skill-training programs for employees, but Monozukuri Daigakko "marks the first time for the company to set up a curriculum on such a systematic basis," an official said.
The company decided conventional training is inadequate to teach young employees advanced technologies.
The school will be established in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, close to the company's headquarters. Students will live in a dormitory.
A managing director in charge of personnel affairs will serve as the college president, while experienced workers in manufacturing will teach.
For the first year, 20 to 30 candidates will be picked for the program.
They will gain knowledge in advanced technology and learn management skills in a number of areas, including information technology, product quality, cost control and production schedules.
The students will also be taught courtesies and manners, as well as communication skills required of a leader.
To cultivate English skills, the students will attend classes taught by native English speakers. The goal is for students to score at least 550 on the TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication).
Although Matsushita's business performance is favorable, the company has asked many middle-aged employees to take early retirement.
Postwar baby boomers born between 1947 and 1949 are expected to start retiring in droves in 2007. Manufacturers are faced with the urgent task of transferring the expertise of the retiring workers to younger employees.
Electronics makers are reversing a trend of increasing production overseas. They are finding that they can increase profits by making key components at domestic facilities.
(IHT/Asahi: March 8,2006)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200603080148.html
Interview with Professor Eiko Kato, First in the World to Apply iPods to Education
Steve McCarty (Professor, Osaka Jogakuin College)
Steve McCarty interviews Eiko Kato, Harvard PhD and 15-year Mac user, who initiated the distribution of iPods loaded with English listening materials to all incoming students at Osaka Jogakuin College from April 2004. This was about a half year before Duke University simply distributed iPods, widely publicized as the first in the world to do so. Professor Kato discusses how this institutional innovation originated, before iPods became popular in Japan, and how iPods are being used effectively in the second year. This interview itself is a transcribed podcast from Japancasting, a spoken library for listening by computer or MP3 player at http://stevemc.blogmatrix.com
Steve McCarty: Today I have with me Professor Eiko Kato of Osaka Jogakuin College. She was the one who was actually first in the world to initiate the use of iPods in education, distributing iPods to all the freshman students starting in 2004, about a half year before Duke University did so, which has often been proclaimed as the first. So let’s ask her about her background and how she came to this idea of using iPods in education before any other educational institution in the world. Could you please introduce yourself a little?
Eiko Kato: Hi, my background is in education, but my research area is in mother-child interaction during child-rearing. Another interest of mine is in how computers and technology can be used in education. When I first saw the iPod I thought it could be a perfect tool for English learning. Because when I was a student a long time ago I listened to English tapes, and I had to listen to English broadcasts at home. But with the iPod you can carry it around, anywhere, any time, and anywhere can be a classroom. You can listen to things you like, and the iPod can be a perfect tool for busy students.
SM: Well, that’s true. But until recently there were not that many Mac users in Japan. Haven’t you been involved with Macintoshes for a long time?
EK: I’ve been a Mac user for at least 15 years, and I’m a diehard Mac user [laughs]. I started working on a project with my students. We had a Mac club, and my students and I made cultural movies. We exchanged cultural movies with students in New York City. We got interesting comments from American students. That was the beginning of my contact with education and technology.
SM: Well, it sounds like there was much more to it. And since you started with iPods, podcasting has come along, so we can discuss that as another way of providing content. You had an individual project exchanging movies, but now with podcasting we can potentially reach the whole world of listeners, and we can become providers of new content. Well, how did you first start thinking about introducing iPods here, and when was that?
EK: It happened very quickly after the examination [in early 2004]. We were talking about the opening of the four-year college. Because Osaka Jogakuin has been known as a junior college. We wanted something surprising, something more, something the media should know. And I said, what about iPods for education? Osaka Jogakuin has been known for its English education, and we already had lots of contents, to place them in iPods. So that’s when I started talking to administrators and other teachers, and they liked the idea. At that time iPod was not well known in the Japanese market. People had just started using them, and high school students didn’t know about them. So people were surprised that iPods could be used for English learning. We put lots of things on iPod, because we had already developed some materials by ourselves, so we were copyright free [smiles]. For students, because we teach them in English from the beginning of the [first] year, for some students it is hard. So we wanted to have them to listen to English conversations and English expressions used often in classrooms. We placed them in iPods [distributed during the entrance ceremony] and we expected students to listen to them before classes started. That’s the beginning.
SM: Yes, it was amazing, because at that time iPods had not become popular, and very few foreign products have really become a boom in Japan like the iPod has become, so it was a remarkable stroke of intuition to decide on using iPods. So Osaka Jogakuin College did have a whole store of materials and could record more, a number of other conversation strategies and other forms to help kick-start the students in the education in the English medium here, which is also rare, teaching so much in English from the start, which is one reason the students are so good. So, going from the first year into the second year of using iPods in education, how has it evolved?
EK: We had lots of textbooks developed by our faculty members. Audio tapes were available. Video materials were available. But they were not available for iPod use, so throughout the first year we tried to digitize those materials, whether video materials or audio cassette materials, into iPod. Also lots of textbooks come with CDs, and students purchase those textbooks. They can easily install the CD which came with the textbook [into their iPods]. For example, our grammar teachers noticed the difference after we started using the iPod. Students were supposed to practice the target grammar in dialogues. They didn’t expect to listen to CDs, and they didn’t have time to listen to them at home. They just memorized the dialogue. But after we started using the iPod, probably on their way to school, before the dialogue presentation, they had to listen to the iPod dialogue installed. And then their performance became much better. Also phonetics teachers noticed the difference. Because students are expected to listen to English sounds and English phonology. Using the iPod they remarkably improved their pronunciation. That’s a change throughout the year.
SM: From what I’ve seen, there are 50 to 100 possible listening files available to students [stored on college servers, aside from CD materials], more available through their schoolbooks, and more that are being created. We can also think of podcasting as another way to provide content, without having to go through studios and so forth. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
EK: In addition to English learning, some students are taking foreign languages here such as Korean and Chinese. They have textbooks with CDs. They install the CD materials on iPod and they also use those materials for their foreign language learning in addition to English. Also for podcasting there are lots of possibilities. For example, you can record your own lectures. We are all giving lectures in English in the third year and fourth year. If your students have trouble understanding the first time, they can listen to the recorded lecture again and again, and understand the lecture better.
SM: Yes, even at the Japancasting site there’s one podcast that was trilingual in English, Japanese and Chinese, good for various learners. And actually, one of my in-class lectures, part of the class, was recorded like that [with a hand-held MP3 format digital voice recorder, then uploaded to the podcasting blog], so students could conceivably listen to lectures later. The Stanford on iTunes Project is offering a limited number of faculty lectures to the general public through the iTunes program [software free to download]. Stanford on iTunes is not available directly through searches [of the online Apple Music Store, which has a podcast genre with many free including Japancasting], but it can be found at the Stanford Website []. In that way they’ve leap-frogged over the MIT Open Courseware Project: they’ve gone from the written level and now they’ve taken it to the spoken level. And so we would also like to be one of the pioneers in that area. OK, well, thank you for being with us today, Dr. Kato.
Note: For more information on podcasting and screen shots of the interfaces mentioned in this interview, cf. McCarty, S. (2005). Spoken Internet to go: Popularization through podcasting. The JALTCALL Journal, 1(2), 67-74. The article is available online by permission at http://www.waoe.org/president/podcasting_article.html.
Eiko Kato is a Professor at Osaka Jogakuin College in charge of English education. Originally a graduate of its junior college, she went on to the Boston University graduate program in Bilingual Education and received a PhD from Harvard University, specializing in the first language development of children. She teaches courses in her specialization along with bilingual education, English reading, and presentation skills. The integrated curriculum of content-based English language education at Osaka Jogakuin College has been recognized for its excellence by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Steve McCarty is a Professor at Osaka Jogakuin College. He is the elected President of the World Association for Online Education, an NPO registered in the U.S., from 1998-2007. He teaches EFL through topic discussion, current events, human rights, Bilingual Education, and Computer Communication. His Website of online publications, with English and Japanese annotated versions, has received a 4-star rating, very useful for research, in 1997, 2001 and 2005 from the Asian Studies WWW Virtual Library. Besides a mobile phone accessible Website since 2000 and a blog since 2003, in 2005 he established a spoken library, the podcasting blog "Japancasting." For links to all the sites, browse http://www.waoe.org/steve.
http://www.glocom.org/special_topics/colloquium/20060307_mccarty_interview/index.html
Steve McCarty interviews Eiko Kato, Harvard PhD and 15-year Mac user, who initiated the distribution of iPods loaded with English listening materials to all incoming students at Osaka Jogakuin College from April 2004. This was about a half year before Duke University simply distributed iPods, widely publicized as the first in the world to do so. Professor Kato discusses how this institutional innovation originated, before iPods became popular in Japan, and how iPods are being used effectively in the second year. This interview itself is a transcribed podcast from Japancasting, a spoken library for listening by computer or MP3 player at http://stevemc.blogmatrix.com
Steve McCarty: Today I have with me Professor Eiko Kato of Osaka Jogakuin College. She was the one who was actually first in the world to initiate the use of iPods in education, distributing iPods to all the freshman students starting in 2004, about a half year before Duke University did so, which has often been proclaimed as the first. So let’s ask her about her background and how she came to this idea of using iPods in education before any other educational institution in the world. Could you please introduce yourself a little?
Eiko Kato: Hi, my background is in education, but my research area is in mother-child interaction during child-rearing. Another interest of mine is in how computers and technology can be used in education. When I first saw the iPod I thought it could be a perfect tool for English learning. Because when I was a student a long time ago I listened to English tapes, and I had to listen to English broadcasts at home. But with the iPod you can carry it around, anywhere, any time, and anywhere can be a classroom. You can listen to things you like, and the iPod can be a perfect tool for busy students.
SM: Well, that’s true. But until recently there were not that many Mac users in Japan. Haven’t you been involved with Macintoshes for a long time?
EK: I’ve been a Mac user for at least 15 years, and I’m a diehard Mac user [laughs]. I started working on a project with my students. We had a Mac club, and my students and I made cultural movies. We exchanged cultural movies with students in New York City. We got interesting comments from American students. That was the beginning of my contact with education and technology.
SM: Well, it sounds like there was much more to it. And since you started with iPods, podcasting has come along, so we can discuss that as another way of providing content. You had an individual project exchanging movies, but now with podcasting we can potentially reach the whole world of listeners, and we can become providers of new content. Well, how did you first start thinking about introducing iPods here, and when was that?
EK: It happened very quickly after the examination [in early 2004]. We were talking about the opening of the four-year college. Because Osaka Jogakuin has been known as a junior college. We wanted something surprising, something more, something the media should know. And I said, what about iPods for education? Osaka Jogakuin has been known for its English education, and we already had lots of contents, to place them in iPods. So that’s when I started talking to administrators and other teachers, and they liked the idea. At that time iPod was not well known in the Japanese market. People had just started using them, and high school students didn’t know about them. So people were surprised that iPods could be used for English learning. We put lots of things on iPod, because we had already developed some materials by ourselves, so we were copyright free [smiles]. For students, because we teach them in English from the beginning of the [first] year, for some students it is hard. So we wanted to have them to listen to English conversations and English expressions used often in classrooms. We placed them in iPods [distributed during the entrance ceremony] and we expected students to listen to them before classes started. That’s the beginning.
SM: Yes, it was amazing, because at that time iPods had not become popular, and very few foreign products have really become a boom in Japan like the iPod has become, so it was a remarkable stroke of intuition to decide on using iPods. So Osaka Jogakuin College did have a whole store of materials and could record more, a number of other conversation strategies and other forms to help kick-start the students in the education in the English medium here, which is also rare, teaching so much in English from the start, which is one reason the students are so good. So, going from the first year into the second year of using iPods in education, how has it evolved?
EK: We had lots of textbooks developed by our faculty members. Audio tapes were available. Video materials were available. But they were not available for iPod use, so throughout the first year we tried to digitize those materials, whether video materials or audio cassette materials, into iPod. Also lots of textbooks come with CDs, and students purchase those textbooks. They can easily install the CD which came with the textbook [into their iPods]. For example, our grammar teachers noticed the difference after we started using the iPod. Students were supposed to practice the target grammar in dialogues. They didn’t expect to listen to CDs, and they didn’t have time to listen to them at home. They just memorized the dialogue. But after we started using the iPod, probably on their way to school, before the dialogue presentation, they had to listen to the iPod dialogue installed. And then their performance became much better. Also phonetics teachers noticed the difference. Because students are expected to listen to English sounds and English phonology. Using the iPod they remarkably improved their pronunciation. That’s a change throughout the year.
SM: From what I’ve seen, there are 50 to 100 possible listening files available to students [stored on college servers, aside from CD materials], more available through their schoolbooks, and more that are being created. We can also think of podcasting as another way to provide content, without having to go through studios and so forth. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
EK: In addition to English learning, some students are taking foreign languages here such as Korean and Chinese. They have textbooks with CDs. They install the CD materials on iPod and they also use those materials for their foreign language learning in addition to English. Also for podcasting there are lots of possibilities. For example, you can record your own lectures. We are all giving lectures in English in the third year and fourth year. If your students have trouble understanding the first time, they can listen to the recorded lecture again and again, and understand the lecture better.
SM: Yes, even at the Japancasting site there’s one podcast that was trilingual in English, Japanese and Chinese, good for various learners. And actually, one of my in-class lectures, part of the class, was recorded like that [with a hand-held MP3 format digital voice recorder, then uploaded to the podcasting blog], so students could conceivably listen to lectures later. The Stanford on iTunes Project is offering a limited number of faculty lectures to the general public through the iTunes program [software free to download]. Stanford on iTunes is not available directly through searches [of the online Apple Music Store, which has a podcast genre with many free including Japancasting], but it can be found at the Stanford Website []. In that way they’ve leap-frogged over the MIT Open Courseware Project: they’ve gone from the written level and now they’ve taken it to the spoken level. And so we would also like to be one of the pioneers in that area. OK, well, thank you for being with us today, Dr. Kato.
Note: For more information on podcasting and screen shots of the interfaces mentioned in this interview, cf. McCarty, S. (2005). Spoken Internet to go: Popularization through podcasting. The JALTCALL Journal, 1(2), 67-74. The article is available online by permission at http://www.waoe.org/president/podcasting_article.html.
Eiko Kato is a Professor at Osaka Jogakuin College in charge of English education. Originally a graduate of its junior college, she went on to the Boston University graduate program in Bilingual Education and received a PhD from Harvard University, specializing in the first language development of children. She teaches courses in her specialization along with bilingual education, English reading, and presentation skills. The integrated curriculum of content-based English language education at Osaka Jogakuin College has been recognized for its excellence by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
Steve McCarty is a Professor at Osaka Jogakuin College. He is the elected President of the World Association for Online Education, an NPO registered in the U.S., from 1998-2007. He teaches EFL through topic discussion, current events, human rights, Bilingual Education, and Computer Communication. His Website of online publications, with English and Japanese annotated versions, has received a 4-star rating, very useful for research, in 1997, 2001 and 2005 from the Asian Studies WWW Virtual Library. Besides a mobile phone accessible Website since 2000 and a blog since 2003, in 2005 he established a spoken library, the podcasting blog "Japancasting." For links to all the sites, browse http://www.waoe.org/steve.
http://www.glocom.org/special_topics/colloquium/20060307_mccarty_interview/index.html
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
SELHi in action / Schools' water study helps English flow
By Yoko Mizui Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer
MATSUYAMA--Relating English to specialized technical subjects and the issue of cultivating a communicative ability in English have been the main challenges faced by Ehime Prefectural Matsuyama Technical High School since its designation as a SELHi in 2004.
Of 101 SELHi schools throughout the country, Matsuyama is the only technical high school.
"As there is no previous school to provide an example or offer us advice, it has been very difficult for us to create a curriculum that can address these issues," said Kiwame Kono, 52, chief of the school's multimedia education department and head of its SELHi project. Of the school's nine courses, the students who are now in the second year of its Information Technology course were chosen as a SELHi class in 2004, partly because English is typically needed for circulating information as widely as possible on the Internet.
They chose environmental issues as a key subject for combining their English and IT studies and set a goal of collecting information on the local water environment and posting it on the Web in English in collaboration with a high school in the United States.
The students researched water quality and the presence of aquatic creatures in the nearby Ishitegawa river last year and input their data into a Geographic Information System (GIS) computer mapping application. In conducting the research, students worked with a local nonprofit organization concerned with water-related environmental preservation.
The students in the SELHi class have been in regular e-mail and videoconference contact with students from McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio, so that their data can be compiled along with data from the U.S. school into a joint report.
Matsuyama's connection with McKinley is a result of the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund's Master Teacher Program. Participating in the program are a total of 25 primary, middle and high schools in Japan and an equal number of counterpart schools in the United States. Each school pairs up with a partner school in the other country and the paired schools develop and run two projects jointly for a period of 10 months.
Matsuyama and McKinley have been researching bugs, soil, water quality and aquatic insects. The two schools have been holding monthly videoconferences and exchanging data since September. In the new school year, Matsuyama is scheduled to pair up with Shoreline High School in Tomales, Calif.
"As our students are majoring in information technology, they need to be able to convey information overseas. I think this Master Teacher Program offers students a great opportunity to do just that and exchange information with students overseas," Kono said.
Besides the overseas connection and the unusual subject matter, the format of the English lessons in the SELHi-designated class are also quite different from regular classes. Not only does the SELHi class have three hours of English per week instead of two, the 40 students in the class are divided into five groups and each one has an assigned teacher. Although the groups basically cover the same material, they study at different levels and in a way that best corresponds with their level. From time to time, the groups meet in a classroom and review together what they have learned.
The Daily Yomiuri observed one of these classes with all groups present in February. The 40 students met in an audiovisual classroom on the second floor of the school library. The class was attended by five Japanese English-language teachers and Vania Wai Yan Ling, an assistant language teacher (ALT) from Canada.
"Last week, each group studied one different aspect relating to bullfrogs. Today, we'll review last week's lesson together," said Koji Toyama, an English-language teacher.
"Today, we'll play Who Wants to Be a SELHi Millionaire?, hosted by me," Ling said. In Ling's game, modeled after the popular TV quiz show, students were required to choose a correct answer from multiple choices starting from a 100 dollars easy question--"What does hikigaeru mean in English"--to the 1 million dollars question-- "How can we stop bullfrogs from increasing their numbers?"
All the questions were related to what they had learned in previous lessons.
After the quiz, students were told to discuss the last question in their respective groups. The five teachers spread out to assist them. The students discussed the issue for about 10 minutes and representatives of each group offered their conclusions to the rest of the class.
"I think it's important to study grammar, but I also think this kind of lesson, which cannot be done in a regular class, can also be very useful. Teachers say that we should study practical English," said Yuto Kubo, a second-year student.
A classmate, Tomoya Kawamoto, described the class as interesting.
Yasuhisa Kajiwara, principal of the high school, said Japanese teachers of English were working hard to figure out what they could achieve with a limited number of English lessons.
"I hear that at some SELHi schools, they teach English six hours a week. But as our school isn't aiming at college entrance, we cannot devote so many hours just to English. So the English taught in our school is not for use in passing college entrance exams but as a tool of communication," he said. He also mentioned that thanks to the SELHi designation, the school can have an ALT stationed at the school every day.
Matsuyama is the first school at which Ling has ever taught English.
"I was surprised to come to this school as I'm not only teaching English, I'm also helping to teach biology. Most schools teach with a regular English textbook. However, we are teaching using information that the students have gathered. We don't have a textbook that was provided by the board of education," she said.
Instead of using stipulated textbooks, Matsuyama uses original materials for its SELHi class. Until last October, students used texts relating to aquatic wildlife that Kono found on the Internet, and prepared presentations to be made in their monthly videoconferences held in September and November.
For the more detailed November videoconference, each group made a presentation in English about different invasive alien species. Since then, each group has used the presentation content created by the other groups--subject to some editing by the teachers--as its own study material.
"We were lucky as Vania majored in biology at a university," Kono said.
"Multiteam teaching is very challenging, but I think it's a good opportunity to combine many different ideas and to try to think of the best way to teach students about English and about science," Ling said.
Kono thinks Ling's presence at the school helps a lot to motivate students to study English.
"I think her friendly personality and her curiosity in all kinds of things have a great influence on students and teachers," he said.
Kono moved to this school four years ago after teaching at a number of high schools with good records of sending students to prestigious universities. He believes English should be taught so that students can utilize it for life rather than just as a tool to pass university entrance examinations.
"It's not just a case of teaching English. I also want to have students learn about their local environment in cooperation with other organizations. By focusing on the environment around them, I hope students' interest in the environment will grow from a local to a global scale," he said.
(Mar. 7, 2006)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/20060307TDY16001.htm
MATSUYAMA--Relating English to specialized technical subjects and the issue of cultivating a communicative ability in English have been the main challenges faced by Ehime Prefectural Matsuyama Technical High School since its designation as a SELHi in 2004.
Of 101 SELHi schools throughout the country, Matsuyama is the only technical high school.
"As there is no previous school to provide an example or offer us advice, it has been very difficult for us to create a curriculum that can address these issues," said Kiwame Kono, 52, chief of the school's multimedia education department and head of its SELHi project. Of the school's nine courses, the students who are now in the second year of its Information Technology course were chosen as a SELHi class in 2004, partly because English is typically needed for circulating information as widely as possible on the Internet.
They chose environmental issues as a key subject for combining their English and IT studies and set a goal of collecting information on the local water environment and posting it on the Web in English in collaboration with a high school in the United States.
The students researched water quality and the presence of aquatic creatures in the nearby Ishitegawa river last year and input their data into a Geographic Information System (GIS) computer mapping application. In conducting the research, students worked with a local nonprofit organization concerned with water-related environmental preservation.
The students in the SELHi class have been in regular e-mail and videoconference contact with students from McKinley High School in Canton, Ohio, so that their data can be compiled along with data from the U.S. school into a joint report.
Matsuyama's connection with McKinley is a result of the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund's Master Teacher Program. Participating in the program are a total of 25 primary, middle and high schools in Japan and an equal number of counterpart schools in the United States. Each school pairs up with a partner school in the other country and the paired schools develop and run two projects jointly for a period of 10 months.
Matsuyama and McKinley have been researching bugs, soil, water quality and aquatic insects. The two schools have been holding monthly videoconferences and exchanging data since September. In the new school year, Matsuyama is scheduled to pair up with Shoreline High School in Tomales, Calif.
"As our students are majoring in information technology, they need to be able to convey information overseas. I think this Master Teacher Program offers students a great opportunity to do just that and exchange information with students overseas," Kono said.
Besides the overseas connection and the unusual subject matter, the format of the English lessons in the SELHi-designated class are also quite different from regular classes. Not only does the SELHi class have three hours of English per week instead of two, the 40 students in the class are divided into five groups and each one has an assigned teacher. Although the groups basically cover the same material, they study at different levels and in a way that best corresponds with their level. From time to time, the groups meet in a classroom and review together what they have learned.
The Daily Yomiuri observed one of these classes with all groups present in February. The 40 students met in an audiovisual classroom on the second floor of the school library. The class was attended by five Japanese English-language teachers and Vania Wai Yan Ling, an assistant language teacher (ALT) from Canada.
"Last week, each group studied one different aspect relating to bullfrogs. Today, we'll review last week's lesson together," said Koji Toyama, an English-language teacher.
"Today, we'll play Who Wants to Be a SELHi Millionaire?, hosted by me," Ling said. In Ling's game, modeled after the popular TV quiz show, students were required to choose a correct answer from multiple choices starting from a 100 dollars easy question--"What does hikigaeru mean in English"--to the 1 million dollars question-- "How can we stop bullfrogs from increasing their numbers?"
All the questions were related to what they had learned in previous lessons.
After the quiz, students were told to discuss the last question in their respective groups. The five teachers spread out to assist them. The students discussed the issue for about 10 minutes and representatives of each group offered their conclusions to the rest of the class.
"I think it's important to study grammar, but I also think this kind of lesson, which cannot be done in a regular class, can also be very useful. Teachers say that we should study practical English," said Yuto Kubo, a second-year student.
A classmate, Tomoya Kawamoto, described the class as interesting.
Yasuhisa Kajiwara, principal of the high school, said Japanese teachers of English were working hard to figure out what they could achieve with a limited number of English lessons.
"I hear that at some SELHi schools, they teach English six hours a week. But as our school isn't aiming at college entrance, we cannot devote so many hours just to English. So the English taught in our school is not for use in passing college entrance exams but as a tool of communication," he said. He also mentioned that thanks to the SELHi designation, the school can have an ALT stationed at the school every day.
Matsuyama is the first school at which Ling has ever taught English.
"I was surprised to come to this school as I'm not only teaching English, I'm also helping to teach biology. Most schools teach with a regular English textbook. However, we are teaching using information that the students have gathered. We don't have a textbook that was provided by the board of education," she said.
Instead of using stipulated textbooks, Matsuyama uses original materials for its SELHi class. Until last October, students used texts relating to aquatic wildlife that Kono found on the Internet, and prepared presentations to be made in their monthly videoconferences held in September and November.
For the more detailed November videoconference, each group made a presentation in English about different invasive alien species. Since then, each group has used the presentation content created by the other groups--subject to some editing by the teachers--as its own study material.
"We were lucky as Vania majored in biology at a university," Kono said.
"Multiteam teaching is very challenging, but I think it's a good opportunity to combine many different ideas and to try to think of the best way to teach students about English and about science," Ling said.
Kono thinks Ling's presence at the school helps a lot to motivate students to study English.
"I think her friendly personality and her curiosity in all kinds of things have a great influence on students and teachers," he said.
Kono moved to this school four years ago after teaching at a number of high schools with good records of sending students to prestigious universities. He believes English should be taught so that students can utilize it for life rather than just as a tool to pass university entrance examinations.
"It's not just a case of teaching English. I also want to have students learn about their local environment in cooperation with other organizations. By focusing on the environment around them, I hope students' interest in the environment will grow from a local to a global scale," he said.
(Mar. 7, 2006)
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/language/20060307TDY16001.htm
Japan to give refugees free language lessons, help them find work
Japan will soon open an office to provide free Japanese language lessons to refugees and to help them find work, the Cabinet Office said on Monday.
The Japanese government accepts refugees only after it deems they will probably suffer persecution in their home countries, for religious, political or other reasons, if they are forced to return.
The government will commission the Foundation for the Welfare and Education of the Asian People to do the work. About 10 refugees have already been listed to receive help there in fiscal 2006.
They are expected to come to the office and receive Japanese language classes for a total of 572 hours and attend guidance programs on Japanese customs. Job introductions and work consultations are also available.
"I appreciate the service as a first step in governmental assistance for refugees," said international law professor Hiroshi Honma of Hosei University.
Honma added that more assistance by local governments in such areas as language education, medical services, and job placement would be necessary in the future.
Japan accepted 46 people as refugees in 2005. (Mainichi)
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20060306p2a00m0na028000c.html
The Japanese government accepts refugees only after it deems they will probably suffer persecution in their home countries, for religious, political or other reasons, if they are forced to return.
The government will commission the Foundation for the Welfare and Education of the Asian People to do the work. About 10 refugees have already been listed to receive help there in fiscal 2006.
They are expected to come to the office and receive Japanese language classes for a total of 572 hours and attend guidance programs on Japanese customs. Job introductions and work consultations are also available.
"I appreciate the service as a first step in governmental assistance for refugees," said international law professor Hiroshi Honma of Hosei University.
Honma added that more assistance by local governments in such areas as language education, medical services, and job placement would be necessary in the future.
Japan accepted 46 people as refugees in 2005. (Mainichi)
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20060306p2a00m0na028000c.html
Monday, March 06, 2006
Long-term costs of education reform
In the largely classless society of postwar Japan, educational qualifications, particularly at the college level, have been the key determinant of career opportunities. Hence, standardized admission and low tuition fees ensured that anyone with brains had a chance to attend the top national institutions such as the University of Tokyo ("Todai"), and then launch themselves on a fast-track career path at a blue-chip corporation or in the civil service.
Consequently, the whole nation has long been obsessed with education, with Todai as the ultimate goal. However, an absence of government scholarships, recent steep fee increases at national universities and cuts in government financial aid to students are now denying bright students with limited means a vital springboard to career opportunities. This endangers the egalitarianism that has driven Japan's postwar economic growth.
Annual tuition fees at Japanese universities are now among the highest in the world. Those at national universities, which were a readily affordable 36,000 yen in 1975, have risen 15-fold over three decades to a daunting 536,000 yen after a further increase last year. This figure, according to a Ministry of Education survey, is more than double the average fees of state universities in the United States. The ministry, however, seems intent on pushing up fees even higher.
In a Diet debate last year, a senior ministry official spoke of the importance of closing the gap with private institutions so as not to be "unfair to students who attend private universities," whose fees currently average 807,000 yen. "Let the recipients bear the cost of education" is the guiding principle of the ministry -- a principle that academics say was first proposed by a government panel in 1975, but has of late been embraced under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's market-driven "reform" program.
A year before last year's fee increase, the government abolished the only avenue of free tertiary education, which was available to those who went into the teaching profession. Now, the only financial aid available to Japanese students are loans of between 30,000 yen and 100,000 yen per month from a semigovernmental corporation. Some students qualify for interest-free loans, but a majority must pay interest on their "debt."
Applying market principles to these loans, the government is putting pressure on borrowers in arrears to pay up, using private collection firms. This is harsh and shortsighted, particularly in comparison with the British system, for example, which does not demand repayment until a student's income reaches a certain level, and the repayment schedule can be pushed back almost indefinitely.
In contrast, the current Japanese policy could put undue financial pressure on students, and even worse, make higher education inaccessible to those with limited means -- especially those who must live away from their homes in the provinces. Already academic standards are suffering because most students work part time to help pay their way, leaving them less time and energy to devote to their studies.
Moreover, in the absence of university-owned student accommodations, an increasing number of students live at home to minimize expenditures, making it harder for them to become independent of parental protection and influences. "This is a problem in the development of teenagers into adulthood," says a professor emeritus of Chiba University.
Yet the government seems blind to the long-term social and academic costs of the current policy, which will undoubtedly have economic consequences in the future. Former Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, in an interview with the Asahi Shimbun, expressed concern that Japan could end up as "a laissez faire society" reminiscent of Victorian Britain, with life becoming harder for the less privileged.
As a result, feelings of inequality might pervade society and young people who were denied education opportunities -- and hence career opportunities -- could lose motivation.
Japan, Rwanda and Madagascar are the only three of the United Nations' 151 member countries that have not ratified the clause in the International Covenants on Human Rights committing them to "the progressive introduction of free higher education," and "accessibility" of it to "all."
In 2001, Japan spent 0.5 percent of GDP on higher education -- only one-third of Canada's spending and nearly half of America's. If the government aims to cut this still further, it will be even more out of step with the global trend and put Japan in danger of losing international competitiveness in the years to come. In the U.S., the model for the open market economy, the federal government annually budgets nearly $ 10 billion (about 1 trillion yen) for scholarships.
No such scholarships are available to Japanese students in Japan.
The Japan Times: March 6, 2006
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20060306a1.html
Consequently, the whole nation has long been obsessed with education, with Todai as the ultimate goal. However, an absence of government scholarships, recent steep fee increases at national universities and cuts in government financial aid to students are now denying bright students with limited means a vital springboard to career opportunities. This endangers the egalitarianism that has driven Japan's postwar economic growth.
Annual tuition fees at Japanese universities are now among the highest in the world. Those at national universities, which were a readily affordable 36,000 yen in 1975, have risen 15-fold over three decades to a daunting 536,000 yen after a further increase last year. This figure, according to a Ministry of Education survey, is more than double the average fees of state universities in the United States. The ministry, however, seems intent on pushing up fees even higher.
In a Diet debate last year, a senior ministry official spoke of the importance of closing the gap with private institutions so as not to be "unfair to students who attend private universities," whose fees currently average 807,000 yen. "Let the recipients bear the cost of education" is the guiding principle of the ministry -- a principle that academics say was first proposed by a government panel in 1975, but has of late been embraced under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's market-driven "reform" program.
A year before last year's fee increase, the government abolished the only avenue of free tertiary education, which was available to those who went into the teaching profession. Now, the only financial aid available to Japanese students are loans of between 30,000 yen and 100,000 yen per month from a semigovernmental corporation. Some students qualify for interest-free loans, but a majority must pay interest on their "debt."
Applying market principles to these loans, the government is putting pressure on borrowers in arrears to pay up, using private collection firms. This is harsh and shortsighted, particularly in comparison with the British system, for example, which does not demand repayment until a student's income reaches a certain level, and the repayment schedule can be pushed back almost indefinitely.
In contrast, the current Japanese policy could put undue financial pressure on students, and even worse, make higher education inaccessible to those with limited means -- especially those who must live away from their homes in the provinces. Already academic standards are suffering because most students work part time to help pay their way, leaving them less time and energy to devote to their studies.
Moreover, in the absence of university-owned student accommodations, an increasing number of students live at home to minimize expenditures, making it harder for them to become independent of parental protection and influences. "This is a problem in the development of teenagers into adulthood," says a professor emeritus of Chiba University.
Yet the government seems blind to the long-term social and academic costs of the current policy, which will undoubtedly have economic consequences in the future. Former Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, in an interview with the Asahi Shimbun, expressed concern that Japan could end up as "a laissez faire society" reminiscent of Victorian Britain, with life becoming harder for the less privileged.
As a result, feelings of inequality might pervade society and young people who were denied education opportunities -- and hence career opportunities -- could lose motivation.
Japan, Rwanda and Madagascar are the only three of the United Nations' 151 member countries that have not ratified the clause in the International Covenants on Human Rights committing them to "the progressive introduction of free higher education," and "accessibility" of it to "all."
In 2001, Japan spent 0.5 percent of GDP on higher education -- only one-third of Canada's spending and nearly half of America's. If the government aims to cut this still further, it will be even more out of step with the global trend and put Japan in danger of losing international competitiveness in the years to come. In the U.S., the model for the open market economy, the federal government annually budgets nearly $ 10 billion (about 1 trillion yen) for scholarships.
No such scholarships are available to Japanese students in Japan.
The Japan Times: March 6, 2006
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20060306a1.html
Friday, March 03, 2006
FEATURE: Hotel trainee's hope is to work and live in U.S.
(Kyodo)
Keiko Sugai is waiting for her work visa so that she can realize her dream of getting a job in the United States after spending four years in Honolulu, first as a student and later as a hotel trainee.
The 24-year-old made the first step toward her goal of becoming a full-fledged member of society in December when she successfully passed a job interview for a front desk position at a Honolulu hotel where she had been training.
The hotel's manager asked her, "Keiko, would you like to (work)?"
And at that moment she realized she was a member of the staff. If all goes well, she wants to live in the United States for the rest of her life.
After graduating from college in Japan, she enrolled at the University of Hawaii's School of Travel Industry Management as a sophomore in 2002.
In addition to attending challenging classes on the hotel business, she trained at the hotel in Honolulu.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Tokyo said the number of Japanese studying in China, Britain, the United States and other major countries totaled 79,455 in 2002, up 3,800 from three years earlier.
Sugai first visited Hawaii with her family when she was in elementary school and she went to Utah on a home-stay program as a high student. Her yearning for life in the United States gradually grew stronger.
When told her father about her dream, he did not object and told her: "You yourself will depend on the outcome of the choice you have made."
Recalling his remark, Sugai said that he probably wanted to tell her to assume responsibility for herself.
The environment surrounding her on-the-job training reinforced her conviction that she could demonstrate her capability in the United States.
While going through the training, she was told that there was no disparity in pay between men and women and that she could explicitly give her views on matters to her boss.
Hired as a manager-trainee, she now is waiting for her work visa, which should be good for three years. The U.S. government has a quota for the number of people allowed to obtain such visas.
It does not set a priority for any nationalities but grants a visa renewal on condition that American employers file an application with the government.
Sugai has seen many Japanese friends return to their homes after failing to receive visa renewals.
"I will have to (convince) my employers that they need me," she said. "I must get a promotion from being a trainee to a manager within the three years."
She said it would be difficult for her to return to Japan. "There still is a strong awareness in Japan that women should stay at home. I think it's hard for me to get married with a Japanese man...I will thoroughly consider getting U.S. citizenship. I don't think I'll return to Japan."
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060302/kyodo/d8g3o8ko0.html
Keiko Sugai is waiting for her work visa so that she can realize her dream of getting a job in the United States after spending four years in Honolulu, first as a student and later as a hotel trainee.
The 24-year-old made the first step toward her goal of becoming a full-fledged member of society in December when she successfully passed a job interview for a front desk position at a Honolulu hotel where she had been training.
The hotel's manager asked her, "Keiko, would you like to (work)?"
And at that moment she realized she was a member of the staff. If all goes well, she wants to live in the United States for the rest of her life.
After graduating from college in Japan, she enrolled at the University of Hawaii's School of Travel Industry Management as a sophomore in 2002.
In addition to attending challenging classes on the hotel business, she trained at the hotel in Honolulu.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Tokyo said the number of Japanese studying in China, Britain, the United States and other major countries totaled 79,455 in 2002, up 3,800 from three years earlier.
Sugai first visited Hawaii with her family when she was in elementary school and she went to Utah on a home-stay program as a high student. Her yearning for life in the United States gradually grew stronger.
When told her father about her dream, he did not object and told her: "You yourself will depend on the outcome of the choice you have made."
Recalling his remark, Sugai said that he probably wanted to tell her to assume responsibility for herself.
The environment surrounding her on-the-job training reinforced her conviction that she could demonstrate her capability in the United States.
While going through the training, she was told that there was no disparity in pay between men and women and that she could explicitly give her views on matters to her boss.
Hired as a manager-trainee, she now is waiting for her work visa, which should be good for three years. The U.S. government has a quota for the number of people allowed to obtain such visas.
It does not set a priority for any nationalities but grants a visa renewal on condition that American employers file an application with the government.
Sugai has seen many Japanese friends return to their homes after failing to receive visa renewals.
"I will have to (convince) my employers that they need me," she said. "I must get a promotion from being a trainee to a manager within the three years."
She said it would be difficult for her to return to Japan. "There still is a strong awareness in Japan that women should stay at home. I think it's hard for me to get married with a Japanese man...I will thoroughly consider getting U.S. citizenship. I don't think I'll return to Japan."
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/060302/kyodo/d8g3o8ko0.html
Little love lost among Asian students - survey
TOKYO (Reuters) - Only about a quarter of Chinese and South Korean high school students say they like Japan, and even fewer of their Japanese counterparts reciprocate the feeling, according to a survey published this week.
Only 10 percent of Japanese respondents to the survey by the Japan Youth Research Institute said they liked China, and fewer than 17 percent said they liked South Korea, amid generally fractious relations between Japan and its two Asian neighbours.
Chinese students responding to the survey described the Japanese as polite and group-oriented, but also as possessing violent tempers.
The Japanese participants described Chinese people as deeply patriotic, violent-tempered and old-fashioned in their thinking.
Japan's relations with China and South Korea are at a low ebb, mainly over issues relating to Japan's invasion and occupation of large parts of the continent before and during World War Two.
Mutual perceptions between Japanese and South Korean students seemed slightly warmer, with the Koreans describing the Japanese as strictly observant of rules, polite and kind. The Japanese students saw the South Koreans as patriotic, hard-working and old-fashioned.
The study of more than 7,000 students was carried out in high schools in Japan, China, South Korea and the United States between October and December last year.
Another section of the survey found Japanese students were less enthusiastic about their studies than those in other countries -- a shock for a nation where parents spend fortunes on extra tuition to get their offspring into the right schools and universities.
When asked what kind of student they would like to be, around 80 percent of respondents in the United States and China said they wanted to be good at studying. For Japanese students the most important factor was popularity, with nearly 50 percent of respondents saying they wanted to be liked by their classmates.
Japan also had the highest proportion of students who agreed with the statement "I want to live an easy life, provided I have enough to eat."
Japan's standings in international comparisons of academic achievement have fallen in recent years, a phenomenon some have blamed on government efforts to take the emphasis off rote learning at primary schools.
"People no longer see the value of making an effort," Masahiro Yamada, a sociology professor at Tokyo Gakugei University, told the daily Yomiuri Shimbun. "We may not be able to sustain our society amid the ageing population and falling number of children."
http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-03-02T111457Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-238926-1.xml
Only 10 percent of Japanese respondents to the survey by the Japan Youth Research Institute said they liked China, and fewer than 17 percent said they liked South Korea, amid generally fractious relations between Japan and its two Asian neighbours.
Chinese students responding to the survey described the Japanese as polite and group-oriented, but also as possessing violent tempers.
The Japanese participants described Chinese people as deeply patriotic, violent-tempered and old-fashioned in their thinking.
Japan's relations with China and South Korea are at a low ebb, mainly over issues relating to Japan's invasion and occupation of large parts of the continent before and during World War Two.
Mutual perceptions between Japanese and South Korean students seemed slightly warmer, with the Koreans describing the Japanese as strictly observant of rules, polite and kind. The Japanese students saw the South Koreans as patriotic, hard-working and old-fashioned.
The study of more than 7,000 students was carried out in high schools in Japan, China, South Korea and the United States between October and December last year.
Another section of the survey found Japanese students were less enthusiastic about their studies than those in other countries -- a shock for a nation where parents spend fortunes on extra tuition to get their offspring into the right schools and universities.
When asked what kind of student they would like to be, around 80 percent of respondents in the United States and China said they wanted to be good at studying. For Japanese students the most important factor was popularity, with nearly 50 percent of respondents saying they wanted to be liked by their classmates.
Japan also had the highest proportion of students who agreed with the statement "I want to live an easy life, provided I have enough to eat."
Japan's standings in international comparisons of academic achievement have fallen in recent years, a phenomenon some have blamed on government efforts to take the emphasis off rote learning at primary schools.
"People no longer see the value of making an effort," Masahiro Yamada, a sociology professor at Tokyo Gakugei University, told the daily Yomiuri Shimbun. "We may not be able to sustain our society amid the ageing population and falling number of children."
http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyID=2006-03-02T111457Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-238926-1.xml
Poll: Japanese students lack drive
03/03/2006The Asahi Shimbun
Japanese high school students are less motivated than their peers in the United States, China and South Korea to improve their marks, develop relationships or do anything constructive in their daily lives, a survey shows.
In fact, the survey released Wednesday shows that Japanese students have a strong sense of being just like everyone else, and tend to have a blase attitude about what to do with their time.
The survey was conducted by the Japan Youth Research Institute from October to December last year on 1,000 to 3,000 randomly chosen high school students from each country.
In Japan, 1,342 students responded.
The responses from the Japanese differed significantly from those in the other three countries when asked what matters most to them.
Students were allowed to give multiple replies from a list of 16 items, including: to play with friends or do what they enjoy; to develop a talent or skill; and to become friendly with someone they like of the opposite sex.
The U.S., Chinese and South Korean high school students gave many positive answers. But the responses from the overwhelming majority of Japanese students indicate they have no particular things they really want to do.
For example, more than 70 percent of the respondents in the other countries said they hope to improve their academic performances. The figure for Japan was 33 percent.
About 40 percent of the Japanese said they hope their relationships with friends go well, the most common item selected by the Japanese.
But the figure for that category was 67 percent for the U.S. students, 53 percent for the Chinese and 44 percent for the South Koreans.
(IHT/Asahi: March 3,2006)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200603030160.html
Japanese high school students are less motivated than their peers in the United States, China and South Korea to improve their marks, develop relationships or do anything constructive in their daily lives, a survey shows.
In fact, the survey released Wednesday shows that Japanese students have a strong sense of being just like everyone else, and tend to have a blase attitude about what to do with their time.
The survey was conducted by the Japan Youth Research Institute from October to December last year on 1,000 to 3,000 randomly chosen high school students from each country.
In Japan, 1,342 students responded.
The responses from the Japanese differed significantly from those in the other three countries when asked what matters most to them.
Students were allowed to give multiple replies from a list of 16 items, including: to play with friends or do what they enjoy; to develop a talent or skill; and to become friendly with someone they like of the opposite sex.
The U.S., Chinese and South Korean high school students gave many positive answers. But the responses from the overwhelming majority of Japanese students indicate they have no particular things they really want to do.
For example, more than 70 percent of the respondents in the other countries said they hope to improve their academic performances. The figure for Japan was 33 percent.
About 40 percent of the Japanese said they hope their relationships with friends go well, the most common item selected by the Japanese.
But the figure for that category was 67 percent for the U.S. students, 53 percent for the Chinese and 44 percent for the South Koreans.
(IHT/Asahi: March 3,2006)
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200603030160.html
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