Monday, April 21, 2008

K-12 Japanese Education

Japanese has been taught in K-12 (Kindergarten through 12th grade) public schools for about 30 years in Chicagoland area. Learning Japanese in K-12 schools and in colleges and universities are fundamentally different. . In college-level teaching, we are more or less assisting students in acquiring an extra skill, namely, the ability to communicate in Japanese. In K-12 school settings, on the other hand, what we teach and how we teach it will directly affect the children’s character formation have an impact on how they view themselves as members of society.
K-12 Japanese language teachers, therefore, must become familiar with the cultural and socio-educational environment of children in the U.S. If there is any short-cut to becoming a knowledgeable, effective K-12 teacher, it would be to take courses in teacher education in the U.S.

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