INSIDE... WJEC Q&A • CV TEACHING RESOURCE • GUIDE TO ICT

MADOVOLUME 21 • JANUARY 2005

THE JAPAN FOUNDATIONLONDON LANGUAGE CENTRE NEWSLETTER

Japan 21 and the JFLLC welcomed teachersto an Evaluation Session for the first pilotphase of the primary Japanese course,developed as part of the Ready SteadyNihonGO project, on November 30.

Ready Steady NihonGO was initially launchedin response to the UK Government’s plans tointroduce language learning in every primaryschool in England by 2010. The ten-unitcourse, tailor-made by JFLLC Chief AdvisorTatsuya Nakagome and Japan 21 EducationOfficer Katherine Donaghy, aims to provide aflexible model for teaching Japanese atprimary level. Designed to be delivered bythe class teacher together with a Japanesenative-speaker, the course is also supportedby an extensive resource pack.

The Evaluation Session gave teachers anopportunity to share experiences and to giveconstructive feedback on the course andcourse materials. In addition, JFLLC andJapan 21 observers had made regular visitsto the four London schools participating inthe trial - Anson Primary in Cricklewood,Kew Riverside Primary in Richmond, BeaversCommunity Primary in Hounslow and StMary’s and St Peter’s C of E Primary inTeddington – where they were impressedboth by pupils’ enthusiasm for Japanese andtheir ability to retain new language.

Rajan Anand from Beavers School, who hadteam taught with Masumi Shibata, pointedout that one of the great advantages ofintroducing Japanese was that it was a newsubject for everyone: “Because they are allstarting from the same point, it’s great forthe self-esteem of pupils who usually lackconfidence because it gives them anopportunity to do as well as everyone else.”The response to the course was so positivethat Rajan is determined to continueteaching Japanese at the school.

Rachel Kluzynski from St Mary’s and StPeter’s emphasised how important it hadbeen for her to be able to work with nativespeaker Atsuko Console. “As a completebeginner, I wouldn’t have had theconfidence to introduce Japanese withoutthis support. Our teaching styles worked welltogether and we became even more attunedto each other as time went on.”

Joher Anjari from Anson Primary, who taughtwith Manami Miyamoto, was struck by how hispupils’ enthusiasm went beyond the bounds ofthe classroom; at Parents’ Evening he wasregaled by stories of children going home toteach Japanese words and songs to theirsiblings, while a special assembly gave theclass a chance to show the whole school whatthey had learnt during the Japanese course.

The second pilot phase begins in Januarywith seven more schools. After final revisionsto the course it is hoped to make it availableto schools nationwide in autumn 2005.

Ready Steady NihonGO: moving forward in 2005

Katherine Donaghy from Japan 21 with Year 1 pupils at Kew Riverside Primary School

The Exploring Japan workshop held at the University of CentralLancashire in Preston on November 19 was attended by morethan 35 teachers from both the primary and secondary sectors.Organised by Japan 21 Education with the JFLLC and theEmbassy of Japan, the event was designed to cater for teachersin the fields of Art, Geography and Language, with a programmecomprising three parallel strands. Participants in the languagesessions, run by the JFLLC, were taught basic greetings andnumbers, before moving on to a self-introduction activityinvolving the exchange of meishi. In the afternoon, there was anin-depth briefing on setting up Japanese at schools, includingan overview of the resources that are available, a selection ofclips from Class Acts, and information on how to get support.The response from teachers was extremely enthusiastic, eventhough most had no previous knowledge of Japanese.

On September 24, the Centre organised a stand at the annualJETAA Careers Information Day,held at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS.As in previous years, the stallpromoting Japanese languageteaching attracted a constantstream of visitors, all of whomwere enthusiastic aboutmaking the most of theJapanese they had learntduring their stay in Japan.JFLLC’s Programme OfficerNimali De Silva also gave apresentation on TeachingJapanese in the UK, providing anoverview of professional training options forparticipants interested in teaching as a career. This eventproved to be a valuable opportunity for the JFLLC to extend itscontacts with ex-JETs, a number of whom go on to becometeachers of Japanese in the UK.

The JFLLC alsoparticipated in theEuropean Day ofLanguages event whichtook place at theForeign andCommonwealth Officeon September 27.Organised by CILT tocelebrate theEuropean Award forLanguages, the daywas attended byhundreds of

children from schoolsacross the UK, accompanied by their

teachers. The JFLLC teamed up with the Embassy’sJICC to organise a stand combining cultural and language displayswhich proved to be one of the most popular and interactive at theevent. Numerous children took part in the activities and games onoffer, some competing against friends to match cards on ahiragana chart and others playing ‘Fukuwarai’ or testing themselveswith the mini quiz prepared by Miyuki Matsumoto from JICC. Pupilsalso had the chance to try out the on-line Japanese resource Tobu.

The JFLLC co-operated with JICC again to set up a stand at theLanguage Show, held in Olympia from November 5 to 7. Thebrightly-decorated stall attracted significant numbers of visitors,both adults and children, who were able to try their hand atorigami and watch scenes from the Class Acts video. On theSaturday, Centre Director Mana Takatori took part in a paneldiscussion alongside representatives from the French Embassy andthe Goethe Institute, exploring the theme of how an understandingof language can provide insights into a country’s culture.

Raising the Profileof JapaneseDuring the autumn, the JFLLC

participated in a number of events toraise the profile of Japanese teaching

and learning in the UK.

Exploring Japan in Preston

MAKING THE MOST OFINTERACTIVE TECHNOLOGYTeachers had a chance to find out about the excitingpossibilities offered by interactive whiteboards at a twilightworkshop held in partnership with CILT on October 7. The first

presentation by Wendy Adeniji (pictured left), ICTConsultant at Trinity & All Saints College in Leeds,focused on the Promethean whiteboard, while JaneRutherford, Assistant Language College Manager and

Head of Japanese at Queen Mary’s HighSchool in Walsall, gave a hands-on

demonstration of how to use aSmartboard in the Japanese classroom.

Both speakers introduced a wide range ofuseful websites and participants were visibly

impressed not only by the potential ofwhiteboard technology, but also by the wealth of

on-line resources available for Japanese. One teachersaid, “It is great to know that there are lots ofpeople who have shared Japanese resources. I wouldlove to put something on our school website in thefuture. This course gave me motivation for that.”

BYE • TIME TO SAY GOODBYE • TIME TO SAYIt’s been great to work with you in the UK.Although I have to leave the JFLLC, I willalways treasure the many good memoriesfrom my time here. Thank you all for yourkind co-operation, and I look forward toseeing you again somewhere in this smallworld. Arigato & ogenki de!

Kumiko KaitaniPAGE 2 CENTRE NEWS

GETTING STARTED WITH ICTA one-day seminar at Kingswood City Learning Centre in Fulhamprovided an introduction to the use of ICT in the teaching ofJapanese and Mandarin Chinese. Organised by CILT with specialistsupport from the JFLLC, the event covered a range of skills frombasic word processing to the creation of tailor-made resources.After each session, participants had time for hands-on practice toconsolidate what they had learnt. Presentations specific toJapanese were given by Claire Dugard, Language Teaching Advisorat CILT, who demonstrated the use of MS PowerPoint in differentcharacter sets, and Rochelle Matthews, JFLLC Japanese LanguageAdvisor, who introduced teachers to the basic tools required forusing ICT in Japanese language teaching, as well as to a varietyof on-line resources including Tobu. A selection of the websitesand teaching materials introduced at both the InteractiveWhiteboard workshop (see below) and the ICT Day is featured onthis issue’s Library & Resources Page.

Who is the course designed for?The course was originally designed for sixthformers taking a one-year introductorycourse in Japanese. It is now also beingused by some pupils in Key Stage 3 as agentle ‘stepping stone’ to GCSE, as well asby some adult learners.

What are the main features of the course?The course is split into 4 topics (see above),each of which is assessed separately. Thereis a specified vocabulary, grammar and scriptlist for each topic. Assessments are flexibleand can be taken when the student is ready.

To what extent has the course contentchanged?The course content has changed very little,except that the ‘new’ assessment 4represents half each of the ‘old’ assessments4 and 5. The ‘new’ assessment 4 now coversthe areas of going out and finding the way.

What are the main changes in theassessment process?Assessments 1, 2 and 3 are internallyassessed, as they have been in the past. Themajor change here is that only a sample ofspeaking assessments needs to be recorded,and only a sample (rather than all thecandidates’ work) needs to be sent to theWJEC. Assessment 4 is now externallyassessed, and needs to be taken during Juneon a date (of the centre’s choice) within 3weeks specified by the WJEC. Teachers willnot need to mark this work, but will send itdirectly to the WJEC for marking.

What qualification will the course lead to?The certificate is now officially recognisedby the QCA as a Level 1 Certificate withinthe National Qualifications Framework. Thismeans that it officially attracts credit for theschool/pupil as well as funding as a level 1qualification. Students will be awarded aCertificate of Credit if they successfullycomplete one or more of the assessments. Toreceive the Level 1 Certificate, pupils mustcomplete all four assessments.

Are there any specific textbooks/resourcesfor the Certificate?There is no one set textbook recommendedfor the Certificate. A list of resources forteaching the various topics has been providedin the specification. Also, there are a varietyof on-line resources specifically designed forthe course by teachers on the JFLLC website– see the Teaching Resources section(www.jpf.org.uk/language/setteachres.html.)

Why is the specification written in kanji?Do my pupils need to learn kanji?The specification has been produced inkanji, as many teachers find kanji easier toread than hiragana or romaji. However, workis progressing on hiragana and romajiversions of the specifications. Pupils learnhiragana in assessment 1, katakana and thekanji numbers in assessment 2, kanji fordays of the week (to write) and kanji forschool and time (to recognise) inassessment 3, as well as a few kanji used inpublic signs in assessment 4.

What should I do if my school has alreadystarted teaching the old course?You may continue to teach the old courseduring the academic year 2004/5. All

assessments from the old course shouldbe submitted to the WJEC for

moderation by the end of thiscurrent academic year.

How should internalassessments be carried

out?Internal assessmentsmay be carried out inclass time. Pupilsshould work on theirown, under a teacher’s

supervision, withoutaccess to notes,

help ordictionaries, tocarry outassessments.

How do I go about choosing a sample?The size of the sample required is given inthe specification. Teachers should try tochoose candidates that represent a goodspread of marks and any candidates whosework is atypical (eg if they have notcompleted all 4 components) should beexcluded.

How are external assessments carried out?External assessments are carried out likeother public exams. The materials will bedelivered to the institution’s examinationofficer in sealed envelopes. They should beopened, the assessment carried out, and thenthe work of all candidates should immediatelybe sent to the examiner specified by theWJEC in standard examination envelopes.

Does the course have to be completed in acertain time frame?The course should be completed within 3years.

When are results notified?Results will be sent to schools on the sameday as GCSE results come out.

How can I register to teach the course atmy school?Please contact Jayne Summerill at the WJEC, 245 Western Avenue, Cardiff, CF5 2YX;tel: 02920 265 180; email:jayne.summerill@wjec.co.uk.

WJEC LEVEL 1 CERTIFICATE IN JAPANESE – YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWEREDMore than 40 people attended the WJEC Day held at the JFLLC in September last year. The event providedteachers with an update on the Japanese for Everyday Communication (JFEC) course, accredited by the WelshJoint Education Committee (WJEC).

The course has now been redeveloped and approved as a Level 1 qualification by the QCA. In an attempt to answerany questions that teachers may have about the revised course, we asked Lydia Morey, who recently retired asChief Moderator for the examination, to provide us with the latest news about the Level 1 Certificate in Japanese.

TOPI

CS

INTRODUCTIONS SHOPPING & EATING OUT DAILY LIFE SOCIALISING (Going out and finding the way)

1 2 3 4

SPECIAL FEATURE ON WJEC PAGE 3

Lydia Morey introduces activities for the course

Teachers working togetherat the WJEC Day

PAGE 4 TEACHER’S PAGE

CV for the FutureWhere will I be in 2015?

Curriculum Vitae

one’s present address

academic background

employment history

job or work you wish to do

hobby

(special) skill

licence

certificate, qualification

Vocabulary

Aimsto think about the future and express it inJapanese

to discuss future hopes and aims in relationto the GCSE/AS/A2 topics: Education, Training and Employment;Business and Industry; Hobbies, Interests,Sports and Exercise

to fill in a Japanese CV and use this as thebasis for interview practice

to learn the difference between a Japaneseand an English CV

LevelGCSE, AS/A2, Higher Education

ProcedureAsk your pupils to think about their futurecareer plans and fill in a copy of the blankCV on page 5a. I have also provided asample CV on page 5 which they could useas a model. Brief them as follows:

Encourage pupils to talk about their futurein pairs or groups based on the information

they have put in the CV, using the followingsentences as prompts:

Select a panel of 3 to 5 interviewers and askpupils to take it in turn to be interviewedabout their education, employment historyand hobbies, etc:

ExtensionComposition: Pupils could write a shortessay using the CV as a starting point.

Conversation practice: An authentic settingsuch as a school reunion in 2015 could be agood way to stimulate discussion aboutwhat pupils have been doing.

Culture: Discuss the differences betweenEnglish and Japanese CVs. Your pupils maybe surprised to learn that standard CV formscan be bought at newsagents in Japan. Whymight this be? Why are photos usually notrequired for CVs in the UK?

1

2

3

1

2

3

Useful WebsitesThe following websites provide the standard Japanese 2-page CV format in downloadable form and offer advice (in Japanese) on how to fill them in.

www.jusnet.co.jp/company/item/rireki.doc

www.ne.jp/asahi/long-life/taro/resume-j.rtf

http://rikunabi-next.yahoo.co.jp/03/step/sawotsukeru_2.html

www.shigotonavi.co.jp/staff/s_resume_kakikata.asp

Happy New Year! This istraditionally a time, both inJapan and the UK, for makingNew Years’ resolutions andthinking about the future. So whynot take it a step further and askyour pupils to imagine what andwhere they think they’ll be in2015? Using the simplifiedJapanese CV format on page 5 asa starting point, get them toexpress their ambitions for thefuture. By the way, this will bethe final teacher’s page from me.I have enjoyed sharing ideas andinformation with you through oneof the ‘windows’ of Mado over thelast 3 years. Many thanks indeedand all the best for your future!

Specimen

TEACHER’S PAGE PAGE 5

PAGE 5A EXTRA TEACHER’S PAGE

The British Association for Teaching Japanese as a ForeignLanguage (BATJ) is an organisation set up to support and promoteJapanese language teaching in the UK, particularly at highereducation level. The association runs a wide range of events andactivities, many of them jointly organised with the JFLLC.

With new Executive Committee members from October 2004(Chair - Kazuki Morimoto, University of Durham; Vice-Chair –Masakazu Kudara, Cardiff University; Treasurer – Yoshiko Jones,SOAS Language Centre; Workshop Organiser – Miyuki Nagai,University of Sheffield; and Membership Administrator - HidekoMaeda, University of Leeds), BATJ has organised two seminarsrecently, both of which were held at the JFLLC.

The first seminar took place on October 23 with Professor HiroshiTanaka of Daito Bunka University as the invited speaker. Hediscussed Japanese grammar and how it links to the teaching ofJapanese, especially at intermediate level, with a special focus oncomplex sentences. He also introduced teaching materials andtextbooks he had developed as well as some works in progress.The second seminar, held on December 4 and led by Dr EmaUshioda from the University of Warwick, explored the role ofmotivation in language learning through a combination oftheoretical input and a workshop activity. The BATJ is alsoplanning to hold a Spring Conference with the JFLLC in Londonfrom March 20-21.

To find out more about BATJ’s activities and updated information,please visit www.batj.org.uk or contact the Chair: KazukiMorimoto, Department of East Asian Studies, University ofDurham, Elvet Hill House, Durham DH1 3TH; tel: 0191 334 5334;fax: 0191 334 5331; email: Kazuki.Morimoto@durham.ac.uk.

Following the success of the JLCJapanese Speech Contest for SecondarySchools (Nihongo Cup) held in June2004, the Japanese Language Committee(JLC) will be holding the contest againthis year at a slightly earlier time. Flyerswere sent out to schools in November, invitingspeeches on the theme Friends to be sent in byFebruary 14. Finals Day is scheduled to take place on Saturday April23. This year’s event, which is being co-organised with the JapanFoundation and the Embassy of Japan, will include a Key Stage 5category for pupils aged between 16 and 19. Thanks to co-operationwith the Japanese Speech Award (JSA), the winner of the KS5category will be given the opportunity to travel to Japan toparticipate in the JSA Finals and Cultural Programme in July, inaddition to other prizes. If you haven’t yet received a flyer or wouldlike further details about Nihongo Cup 2005, contact the ProjectManager on 020 7379 3934 or by email: cml@japanesematters.co.uk.JLC looks forward to receiving entries from pupils across the UK!

Although the regional sessions for primary teachers scheduled to beheld last autumn were unfortunately cancelled due to low take-up,JLC hopes that it will be possible to make the CD-based Japanesematerials which were specially created for the project available toteachers in the future.

As part of the Association for Language Learning, JLC aims torepresent the views of Japanese language teachers at schools andcolleges in the UK. To find out more, log on to the website atwww.jlcweb.org.uk or contact the Chair David Farrell(rdfarrell@aol.com; tel: 02893 322610).

JLC NewsBATJ Update

Leicester AdultEducation College is the main

provider of languages to adults inLeicester. Japanese has been part of thelanguages curriculum since 2000, whentutor Keiko German began to offer avariety of courses from beginners’ level toadvanced. Currently the college has 38students enrolled in Japanese, agedbetween 19 and 59. Their motivation forstudying the language varies from aninterest in Japanese manga, martial artsor history, to a desire to travel to Japanor to use Japanese at work.

A highlight of the 2003 programme wasthe Japanese Day in June offered in co-operation with Akemi Solloway, lecturer of Japanese language and culture. The day,which attracted 19 enthusiastic students,included language tuition as well as manydifferent cultural experiences.

PAGE 6 NEWS UPDATE

Leicester Adult Education College

This successful event was supported bythe Japan Foundation, the Association forLanguage Learning and the LeicesterJapan Society.

A recent development is a 5-week FamilyLearning course in Japanese launched inco-operation with the local LanguageCollege (Judgemeadow Community College)and the Family Learning Department of theLocal Education Authority in November2004. The course provides anintergenerational language learningexperience which seeks to stimulate theengagement by family members in thelanguage learning of their children. Since

there has been little consistent practice inthe delivery of language teaching throughfamily learning methodology on a nationallevel, the college is very excited about thenew project.

Annett Hering, Languages Co-ordinator atthe college, comments: “At a time whenadult language programmes areincreasingly under threat, the example ofour Japanese provision demonstrates thevalue of innovative approaches andeffective co-operation and also raisesawareness of the fun and the success thatis to be had using a language other thanEnglish.”

Getting to grips with obi at the Japanese Day in June

Participants try their hand at origami

LIBRARY PAGE PAGE 7

STAGE ONE – THE BASIC TOOLSMS Japanese IME (word processor)http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2002/imejpn.aspx & www.jflalc.org/teaching/resource/comptech/manual/index.html

Ask your school’s network manager todownload Microsoft’s Japanese IME free fromhttp://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2002/imejpn.aspx or visit www.jflalc.org/teaching/resource/comptech/manual/index.html firstfor advice if you are installing the programmeyourself. If you are not Microsoft compatiblecontact us for advice on other alternatives.

Jim Breen’s Edict Dictionarywww.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/wwwjdic.html

When working on-line, Jim Breen’s Edictdictionary is an ideal reference tool. Choose‘Search a word in the dictionary’ and type ina word you want translated in English orJapanese. One extremely convenient aspectof the dictionary is a Japanese scripttranslation feature, which allows textssourced elsewhere on-line to be pasted inand processed. Pupils will need to be taughtdictionary skills before using this site.

STAGE TWO – READY-TO-USE RESOURCESKids’ Japanwww.kids-japan.com

This site isdesigned forstudents aged 4 to16, by JapaneseHigh Schoolpupils. The site isupdated weeklyand encouragespupils to submitquestions aboutJapan that arethen answeredon-line.Students’knowledge ofJapan can bedevelopedthrough ageneralknowledge quiz where theaim is to reach the summit of Mount Fuji. Byanswering questions on topics as diverse asJapanese traditional sports and modern daysocial problems, students gradually scale thelevels of the mountain, facing the dreadedoni (demon) when their answer is incorrect.The Language Room also provides beginnerlevel language instruction.

The DEAI websitewww.tjf.or.jp/deai/

DEAI: The Lives of Seven Japanese HighSchool Students, The Japan Forum’s photo-based teaching resource for learning aboutJapanese language, culture, and society insecondary schools still remains a source ofinspiration to teachers. The site provides fortheme-based study of the language andculture through a process of encounters withJapanese pupils. From getting to know theDEAI characters through simple classintroductions to exploring how they livethrough their photographs, profiles, andmessages, students can acquire an authenticpicture of daily life and culture in modernday Japan. The new Deai Cafe takes this ideafurther by encouraging students to submittheir own photos and essays in eitherJapanese or English, or acombination of both. So why notdrop into the Cafe hosted on theoriginal DEAI site? You will alsofind Japanese languagecurriculum maps and samplelesson plans with worksheetsthat are updated regularly. TheVoices and Idea Corner sectionsintroduce comments and ideas sentin by teachers.

Reading Tutorhttp://language.tiu.ac.jp/index_e.html

With authentic reading materials that areaccessible to learners always in shortsupply, the Reading Resource Bank, whichcontains articles written by Japanese pupilsthat are suitable for Key Stage 4 studentsupwards, is a real find! The materials aregraded from 1 to 5 stars according to theirdifficulty. The Reading Tutor system wasdeveloped specifically to help learners studywritten Japanese at their own pace and intheir own way. Pupils can click on highlightedwords to go to the dictionary where wordslooked up are added to a personalised list.The Reading Tutor also provides links toother sites that feature articles on Japaneseculture, Japanese language learning andnews. These can then be inputted into theDictionary Tool to enable students to readcurrent articles on chosen themes. The LevelChecker allows those studying for theJapanese Language Proficiency Test toascertain the text’s level of difficulty inrelation to the four test qualifications.

Yahoo! Weather & TokyoBroadcasting System’s Weather Guidehttp://weather.yahoo.co.jp/weather/ & www.tbs.co.jp/weather/te_today_n-2j.html

Teach or practise weather vocabulary usinglive weather updates. Yahoo Japan’s weathersite at http://weather.yahoo.co.jp/weather/provides up-to-date weather reports on allregions of Japan. This site, along with themaps section of the Yahoo web directory,http://map.yahoo.co.jp/, can providestudents with practice in reading kanji for theregions and prefectures of Japan. Today’sweather, www.tbs.co.jp/weather/te_ today_n-2j.html, extends the weather theme further byproviding worldwide weather reports, testingstudents’ ability in katakana and knowledge ofgeography, and naturally lending itself tousage with comparatives and superlatives.

STAGE THREE – SHARING &MAKING YOUR OWNQueen Mary’s High School Websitewww.queenmaryshigh.walsall.sch.uk

Need inspiration as to how to put together anon-line resource page for your school? Lookno further than the Queen Mary’s High Schoolwebsite, which has some great on-lineresources that support the UK curriculum.With links to sites such as the Japan NationalTourist Organisation, Kids Web Japan andKantango, the website also provides thosenew to on-line learning with a startingreference. Download the electronic flashcardsavailable for KS3 and GCSE as your first movetowards integrating ICT into your classroom.Other ready-made resources include on-linePowerPoint presentations and quizzes.

JFLLC Websitewww.jpf.org.uk/language/

Feel ready to tackle creating your own on-lineresources? Great. For ideas on making yourown activities, flashcards and presentationstake a look at the new WJEC on-line exercisesin the Teaching Resources section of the JFLLCWebsite. I have designed these tasks andquizzes using Hot Potatoes, a free sharewareprogramme that makes it possible to createon-line crosswords, gap-fill exercises and lotsmore. For more information on thisprogramme, and using PowerPoint to producehigh-quality and up-to-date teachingresources contact me at Rochelle.Matthews@jpf.org.uk. The JFLLC website provides anideal forum for teachers to share resourceswith others: take a look today! From February,a link to www.southwolds.co.uk will lead youto a range of new materials created by AnneRajakumar at Southwolds School.

Following on from the Interactive Whiteboard andICT events held in partnership with CILT in theautumn, this on-line edition of Mado seems likethe perfect opportunity to review some of thewebsites featured and others that definitely fallinto the ‘add to bookmarks’ category. See below

for a three-stage guide to incorporating ICT intoyour teaching, whatever your technical proficiency

and the level of your pupils may be, prepared by ourJapanese Language Advisor Rochelle Matthews.

For Library closing dates this term please refer to the Library Page on our website or contact theLibrarian (tel: 020 7436 6698; email:library@jpf.org.uk)who can also answer any otherquestions relating to the Library.

To take advantage ofthis on-line onlyversion of Mado, wepresent a guide tousing ICTresources atyour school – seepage 7 for advice on getting started aswell as a selection of ready-to-use on-lineresources that are only a hotlink away!The high-tech theme continues on theTeacher’s Pages where Nakagome senseiinvites you to look into the future withyour pupils who can use the Japanese-style CV to express their ambitions for2015. As reported on the front cover, theReady Steady NihonGO primary project hasgone from strength to strength, withpositive feedback from both pupils andteachers. The JFLLC has been busy raisingthe profile of Japanese teaching in the UKthrough its presence at special events, aswell as through the Centre’s regularprogramme (see page 2). Following onfrom our well-attended WJEC event inSeptember, we hope to have all theanswers to your questions about theCertificate in Japanese on page 3. Wewelcome feedback to the newsletter (andto our new-look website) and lookforward to hearing from you in 2005.

MADOEditor: Caroline Lewis • Design: François Hall

Published byTHE JAPAN FOUNDATION

LONDON LANGUAGE CENTRERussell Square House

10-12 Russell Square, London WC1B 5EHTelephone: 020 7436 6698

Fax: 020 7323 4888Website: www.jpf.org.uk

PAGE 8 EVENTS & NOTICEBOARD

NIHONGO CUP 2005

Application forms are now

available for

the 2005 JLC Japanese Sp

eech Contest

for Secondary Schools (N

ihongo Cup)

co-organised by the Japan

ese Language

Committee of the Associa

tion for

Language Learning, the Em

bassy of

Japan and the Japan Foun

dation. Open

to pupils aged between 11

to 19, the

contest is divided into th

ree categories

– Key Stage 3, Key Stage

4 and Key

Stage 5. Taped speeches

in Japanese on

the theme Friends should

be sent in by

February 14, with Finals Da

y scheduled

to be held on Saturday Ap

ril 23. For

further details and applic

ation forms

contact the Project Manag

er on 020

7379 3934 or by email:

cml@japanesematters.co.u

k.

Happy New Year!

BETT SHOW Wednesday 12 – Saturday 15 JanuaryAn educational technology exhibition atOlympia in London featuring seminars

and workshops on current issues in ICT.For further details log on to:

www.bettshow.co.uk.

HEAD STARTMonday 24 – Wednesday 26 January

An introduction to the Japaneselanguage and the issues relating tostarting up Japanese at schools forSecondary Heads of MFL and Primary

Language Co-ordinators.

CILT PRIMARY LANGUAGES SHOWFriday 11 – Saturday 12 MarchTo be held at The Palace Hotel in

Manchester. For further information,visit www.cilt.org.uk

or call 020 7379 5101.

BATJ SPRING CONFERENCESunday 20 – Monday 21 March

For further details, please see the BATJ Update on page 6 or contact

BATJ Chair Kazuki Morimoto on 0191 334 5334 or by email:

Kazuki.Morimoto@durham.ac.uk.

NIHONGO CUP Saturday 23 April

Finals Day for the 2005 JLC JapaneseSpeech Contest for Secondary Schools(see noticeboard for further details).

Please visit our website for more up-to-date information on courses and

events: www.jpf.org.uk/language.

Unless otherwise stated, all events takeplace at the Japan Foundation London

Language Centre in Russell Square House.Please call us on 020 7436 6698 for

further details.

The JFLLC reserves the right to cancelcourses in the event of insufficient

take-up.