Japanese Newsletter
I am happy to present the following Japanese newsletter
published at Lyon
College.
January 2003, Vol. 1, No. 1
May 2003, Vol. 1, No. 2
January 2004, Vo.
2, No. 1
May 2004, Vol. 2, No.
2
February 2005, Vol. 3, No. 1
May 2005, Vol. 3, No. 2
I wish to take this opportunity to express my deep
appreciation to the students in Beginning and Intermediate Japanese. Their interest in Japan and its language made the
course a joy to teach. I wish them
to know how very proud I am of them for not only learning to read, write, and
speak basic Japanese, but also for having the courage to present their final
compositions for the course in Japanese from memory. Though some of the students might think that
their final oral presentations were rather elementary, I can assure them that
that is not the case as the presentations exceeded their instructor’s
expectations based on years of prior experience at other institutions.
When I started teaching Japanese at Lyon College
August 2002, I asked my students why they wanted to learn Japanese. Their interests ranged widely. Some were
interested in current Japanese customs; some wanted to know about feudal
practices and martial arts; some sought to advance career opportunities as a
diplomat or teacher of Asian studies; some wanted to acquire knowledge of
business practices; and many, of course, were interested in contemporary
Japanese anime, movies, games, and music.
I applaud the breadth of their interests in Japan and hope the course in
Beginning Japanese further developed these interests.
Some new students of
Japanese language may have questions about the long-term benefits of taking
Japanese rather than a European language.
One Nichols trip to Japan
is already planned in May 2004 and another is under development in
2006. The study of Japanese often makes
a distinctive impression on prospective employers, especially those engaged in
international trade. Students of
Japanese are highly competitive for teaching jobs in Japan (i.e., the JET program).
Those students considering graduate programs in international business,
economics, or politics may also find a transcript with Japanese on it to be a
real plus.
