• JF News – the Japan Foundation’s e-bulletin bringing together the three main areas of our work: Arts & Culture, Japanese Studies & Intellectual Exchange and of course Language
• Jle-UK, an email-based discussion forum for those involved in Japanese language education in the UK
• Japanese Media on the links page
• News Archives

Japan Conference for Schools

4th February, 2009

On Monday 26th January, the worlds of Japanese language and cultural exchange combined to form the Japan Conference for Schools. About 120 teachers and local authority advisors from the UK and Japan gathered together at the British Council in London to share practical ideas about introducing Japan and Japanese in schools. The conference - a joint project for the fourth year running, between the British Council, the Embassy of Japan, the Japan Foundation, the Japan Society, and funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families - included workshops led by teachers on the themes of Environmental Education, Food and Fitness, Science, Japanese Language Education for All and Joint Curriculum Projects. Participants were also able to take advantage of one-on-one sessions with specialists about funding, Japanese activity days, resources, exchange between the UK and Japan and much more.

The day started in fine style with a presentation by the teachers and students of Wearhead School, County Durham. Having woken up at 2:30am to begin their journey to London, they spoke about their partnership with Amanuma School in Japan, which they visited last year. Pupils from the two schools have been very busy with exchange projects and have written a science fiction story, with each school taking it in turns to write a page. Members of the audience were thrilled by the excellent presentation, and very impressed to hear that Wearhead School has just 24 students. It goes to show that anything is possible when combined with the right drive and support!

The day ran very smoothly and there was a lot of positive feedback. Steve Fletcher, Head of Geography at Roding Valley High School said:

"The conference is a great day, with stimulating workshops that vary every year. As a geography teacher, it's the one course of the year where I can mix with and talk to teachers with varied subject backgrounds, yet all pursuing a common aim. Through the conference and the contacts I have made, I have organised language, art, music, dance and flower arranging (ikebana) workshops, games like Shogi (Japanese chess) and Go, all with Japanese workshop leaders. I always leave feeling enthusiastic about continuing developing Japanese studies in school because I feel part of a wider network where we are all trying new ideas to enrich pupils' experiences."

Tomomi Masumoto from Eton College stated that:

"As a teacher of the Japanese language, I found it particularly useful to hear about the speakers' teaching experience, as well as to exchange ideas with teachers from other schools. There was plenty of opportunity to receive advice and practical information from Japan-related organisations. I was also intrigued that the study of Japan could be applied in a wider scope, and that some British schools adopted Japanese schools' lunchtime and cleaning customs for a certain period of time, which raised the students' awareness of environmental issues such as waste."

Delegates were also lucky enough to enjoy a taiko drumming performance by the children of Heritage House School, Buckinghamshire. The performers, who in 2006 studied in Japan with a leading taiko master, wowed the audience with their exhilarating rhythms and sheer enthusiasm for the music. The audience could not help but cheer and clap along!

Thank you to all the participants, speakers and the other organisers for making the conference such a success. See you again next year!

Students of Wearhead School giving a presentation

Back to News

Japan Foundation Mailing list

If you would like to receive information about news and events from the Japan Foundation please provide us with your details by registering with the Japan Foundation.

News Archives

Archives of Mado

The archives of Mado (April 1999- September 2006) may be particularly useful in the following ways:

• For ideas, texts and activities to use in the classroom see the Teacher’s pages. To see what is included in the Teacher’s pages of each edition click here.
  
  
• To find out what other schools have done to introduce and develop Japanese language education in their schools.

Mado News
News, views, teaching ideas and course information designed for everyone involved in teaching Japanese in the UK. Volume 26 September 2006 Nihongo Cup attracts record number of entries Setting up a network for Stepping Out Japanese Works Teacher's Pages: Lafcadio Hearn: A love of Old Japan Undergraduates compete in new Japanese speech contest Download Download ZIP version

Mado is now available to you online!   To make the most of this interactive online only version simply download as usual and then save a copy to your desktop. From the saved copy you will be able to access the sound files with ease. Volume 25 April 2006 Undergraduates compete in new Japanese speech contest Head start inspires action in japanese Expanding the Japan-related Network Teacher's Pages: Waste not want not: Mottanai! Download Download ZIP version Volume 24 January 2006- Interactive version! The Launch of Ready Steady NihonGO! Why Practice Pronunciation? Japanese Clubs - 35 Years of Gonenkai Teacher?fs Pages: Japanese Pronunciation Download Download ZIP version Volume 23 September 2005 Setting standards for Japanese Manga and anime in your classroom The power of speech Teachers Page: Dealing with dilemmas Download Volume 22 April 2005 15 years of Urawa Higher Education Focus New Library books GCSE Reading Resource Download Volume 21 January 2005 Ready Steady NihonGO: Moving forward in 2005 Q & A: WJEC Level 1 Certificate in Japanese Resources: Using ICT in the Classroom Teachers Page: CV for the Future Download Volume 20 September 2004 Speech Contest; Finals Day report Annual Support Programmes Resources: Tobu reviewed Teachers Page: Kanji Mix and Match Download Volume 19 April 2004 Working together with other Japan-related organisations Standards in Japanese :The Languages Ladder Head Start 2004 reviewed Stretching Out reviewed Teachers Page: Reading for A Level Download Volume 18 January 2004 JLC Re-launches Speech Contest for Schools Stepping Out reviewed Ready Steady NihonGO Reports from the Primary Conference Teachers Page: Laughter Brings Good luck (Fukuwarai) Download Volume 17 September 2003 Refresher course at new centre Ready Steady NihonGO British Council Education and Training What’s New in the Library British Council Education and Training Teachers Page: Plan your Dream Trip to Japan with Dragons, Snakes and Ladders Download Volume 16 April 2003 Japan Foundation on the move Biggest ever Head Start The National Languages Strategy: Languages for all, Languages for life Top-ten online resources Teachers Page: Using ICT to keep up with current issues Download Volume 15 January 2003 Celebrating Japanese Teaching in the UK Taking Control – event review Japanese for Everyday Communication – event review Primary Japanese Jle-uk Tobu wins award Teachers Page: Haiku for the New Year Download Volume 14 September 2002 Starting Younger Getting to grips with Grammar The Green Paper Urawa Nikki Teacher Page: A Place Near Me Download Volume 13 April 2002 Japanese Degree Course Report Update Japan 2001: Education reviewed Teachers Page: Teaching Japanese through Mathematics Download Volume 12 January 2002 Class Acts: Success Stories from the UK Japanese Classroom Q & A: AS exam Resources: CD-ROMS reviewed Teachers Page: Writing a Diary Download Volume 11 September 2001 Symposium on Bridging the sectorial divide Flights of Fancy Resources: Preview of Mirai stages 3 & 4 Teachers Page: Making a Speech in Japanese Download Volume 10 April 2001 WJEC Teachers Page: Motivating through Manga, Download Volume 9 January 2001 Tobu Japan 2001 Special inc. Class Acts, Homestay UK, Higher Education seminar Resources: Ima reviewed… Teachers Page: Kanji Families Download Volume 8 September 2000 Homestay UK Teachers Page: Talking about Careers… Download (Part 1) Download (Part 2) Volume 7 May 2000 Starting Young Japanese A Level set texts… Teachers Page: Let’s Recycle Download Volume 6 January 2000 Staffing Japanese A level update Focus on A Level Resources… Teachers Page: Omikuji Download Volume 5 September 1999 Refresher Course reviewed Annual Support Programmes Exchanges with Japan Teachers Page: Talking Timetables, Download Volume 4 April 1999 Head Start reviewed The new A level Japanese ALL launches Japanese Language Committee… Teachers Page: Food, Fitness and Health Download

To view Mado online you need Adobe Acrobat Reader ®. This is FREE software, which will enable you to download Mado, view it from your computer screen and print it out. To obtain a copy, follow the step by step instructions below. Downloading Adobe Acrobat Reader® 1. Go to www.adobe.com 2. On the Adobe home page, click on the Adobe Acrobat icon on the left hand side 3. Scroll down the page to the free acrobat reader 4. Select a language 5. Select a Platform (the operating system that your computer uses, i.e., Windows XP) NB; If you work on a Macintosh computer, indicate here mac_.bin or mac_.hqx - the majority of Mac's will run from mac_.bin 6. Select your nearest location 7. Check the PDF option box 8. Click the download button 9. Adobe Acrobat will then be installed onto the hard disk of your computer To Open Mado: 1. Once you have downloaded Adobe Acrobat Reader ®, it will be saved on your computer and you won't have to repeat this process. 2. Click on the issue that you want to download. 3. Depending on your computer, this will either open in a new browser or it will be saved to your desktop. 4. If it is saved to your desktop, open Adobe Acrobat Reader ® and open the file. You can then save it to wherever you want. Problems If you have difficulties downloading Adobe Acrobat please refer to; Adobe Acrobat Reader ® support