The ALLEX Japanese Teacher Training Institute is an intensive course for current teachers of Japanese or those who plan to enter the field. The program provides the foundation for a future instructor to teach Japanese and gives substantial tools to current teachers of Japanese to reinforce and strengthen their programs. Effective methodology in teaching Japanese to North Americans is emphasized over a theoretical analysis of the Japanese language.

The curriculum of the full-time-intensive summer program includes a lecture component (covering such topics as the basic principles of effective Japanese language pedagogy, classroom teaching techniques, the linguistic analysis of Japanese, and language testing); an observation component (during which participants observe and analyze actual Japanese language classes taught by master instructors); and a demonstration component (during which participants teach actual Japanese class sessions, which are videotaped and later critiqued by program faculty members).

Topics to be covered in lecture class include: the nature of language, the 'act' and 'fact' components of language learning, learned and acquired culture, language and culture vs. language in culture, the analysis of Japanese for Western students, the teaching of the four skills, the use of audio- and videotapes and multimedia adaptations, drills vs. exercises, teaching pronunciation, evaluating performance, and achievement vs. proficiency vs. prochievement testing. More Topics Covered

Click Here for a Syllabus Overview.

Credit: 12 credits (8 semester units) Participants who are pursuing a degree are generally able to transfer these credits to their own university.

Hours: The full-time training program is five hours of class a day, five days a week, for eight weeks, plus extensive preparation and review outside of formal class hours. The program includes 114 instructional hours plus 76 hours of tutorial work.

Participants: Participants include practicing teachers of Japanese, those who wish to enter the field, American and Japanese graduate students in Japanese studies, and ALLEX IEP lecturers.

Faculty:
Director: Patricia Wetzel, Professor of Japanese, Portland State University
ALLEX Academic Director: Eleanor Jorden, Professor of Linguistics, Emerita, Cornell University
Coordinator: Suwako Watanabe, Associate Professor of Japanese, Portland State University

The course is taught by experts in Japanese pedagogy and master university instructors (who are native speakers of Japanese). Four of these experts also serve on the training program's academic board: Dr. Eleanor Jorden, Professor Emerita, Cornell University, and ALLEX Academic Director; Ginger Marcus, Senior Lecturer of Japanese at Washington University in St. Louis; Robert J. Sukle, Director of Japanese FALCON and Senior Lecturer of Japanese at Cornell University; and Patricia Wetzel, Director of the Institute for Asian Studies and Professor of Japanese, at Portland State University.

Past faculty have included:
Sanae Eda (Kansas University)
Fumiko Harada (University of Findlay)
Masayuki Itomitsu (Washington University at Saint Louis)
Noriko Iwasaki (University of California Davis)
Hiroaki Kawamura (University of Findlay)
Emiko Konomi (Mountain View High School)
Virginia Marcus (Washington University at Saint Louis)
Naomi Nakada (Cornell University)
Misumi Sadler (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Robert Sukle (Cornell University)
Misako Suzuki (National University of Singapore)
Masakazu Watabe (Brigham Young University)
Patricia Wetzel, (Portland State University)
Lindsay Yotsukura (University of Maryland College Park)

Main Texts:
Japanese: the Spoken Language by Eleanor Hartz Jorden with Mari Noda
Japanese: the Written Language by Eleanor Hartz Jorden with Mari Noda
Acts of Reading : Exploring Connections in Pedagogy of Japanese by Hiroshi Nara, ed.
Advances in Japanese Language Pedagogy by Hiroshi Nara, ed.
(Nakama, Yokoso, and Genki also reviewed in the program.)

Meals:
Rooms in the main dormitory have kitchens equipped with pots, pans, silverware, and a refrigerator. The main dormitory is subject to space limitations and may fill quickly. The secondary dorm does not have kitchen facilities. Participants may eat in the campus cafeteria or dine at one of the many nearby restaurants. No "meal plan" is available.

Financial Aid
Limited financial support for tuition is available in the form of scholarships. When scholarships are given they are usually in the amount of $500 - $1, 000 and do not cover housing. To apply for a scholarship please have TWO referees send a letter of recommendation to the ALLEX Japan Office. Email and faxes also accepted. Faxes should be sent to 978-383-0718 (Massachusetts). All snail mail paper correspondence should be sent to the Japan Office.

Apply Online
Deadline: Rolling Admission (Priority Deadline: March 15, 2008)