Japanese-Language Education

38th Philippine Nihongo Teachers’ Forum
13 March 2024 | Wednesday | 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM
UP Diliman, Quezon City

Transform your teaching today! 

Join us for a hands-on lecture-workshop that will allow you to interact with and receive advice directly from internationally acclaimed Japanese language expert, Prof. Yasu-hiko Tohsaku. 

In this forum, expect to:                   

✅ Learn from experienced educators as they share techniques and strategies for effective assessment in the classroom.
✅ Reflect on how to integrate technology to enhance your teaching and create dynamic, engaging assessment tools that resonate with your students.
✅ Unleash your creativity as we collaborate to develop innovative, practical approaches to formative assessment tailored to meet your unique classroom needs.

Save the date and watch out for further details on registration!

—

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Yasu-Hiko Tohsaku (Ph.D. in linguistics, University of California, San Diego) is Professor and Language Program Director at School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California, San Diego. His current research interests are second language acquisition, language pedagogy, and language assessment. His publications include “Yookoso!: Invitation to Contemporary Japanese”, “Yookoso!: Continuing with Contemporary Japanese” (McGraw-Hill 2006), “Doraemon no Dokodemo Nihongo (Japanese Language Learning Anywhere by Draemon)” (coauthor 2009), and “Gakushu no Meyasu (Curriculum Guidelines of Chinese and Korean Instruction in Japanese High Schools)” (co-author, The Japan Forum 2012), “Japanese Language Instruction: 77 Tips Series” (co-general editor, Kuroshio Shuppan 2012-) and “Japanese Language Education x ICT” (supervising editor, Hitsuji Shobo 2019). In “Nippon 3.0 no Shohosen (Prescription for Japan 3.0) “(Kodansha 2013), he proposed a new approach to language teaching and in his 2021 publication, “Social Networking Approach to Japanese Language Teaching: Intersection of Language and Culture in the Digital Age”, (co-editor, Routledge), he explores this new approach. He was formerly President of Association of Teachers of Japanese and American Association of Teachers of Japanese, and a board member of Joint National Committee on Languages in the United States. He is currently the Japanese representative to the Executive Board of the National Standards (World-Readiness Standards) Collaborative Project in the United States, President of the International Association of Computer-Based Japanese Instruction, and a board member of Japanese Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (JACTFL) in Japan. He received the Society Award from the Society of Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language in Japan in 2015, the Lifelong Achievement Award from the American Association of Teachers of Japanese in 2020, and the Commissioner’s Award from the Agency for Cultural Affairs (Bunkacho) in 2022.

37th Philippine Nihongo Teachers’ Forum (PNTF)  

November 17 – 18, 2023 

Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) 

The Philippine Nihongo Teachers’ Forum (PNTF) is a bi-annual event that provides an avenue to discuss developments in Japanese language education, exchange ideas and resources, and strengthen the professional community of Filipino Nihongo teachers across the country.  

The 37th PNTF was organized by the Association of Filipino Nihongo Teachers (AFINITE) in partnership with The Japan Foundation, Manila, and was held in Davao. The forum was attended by Nihongo teachers from different regions in the Philippines, coming all the way from Baguio in the north and Bukidnon from the south. The two-day forum entailed presentations that expanded on the theme, “Unleashing Creativity in the Digital World: Innovative Activities for Nihongo Learners,” starting with keynote speaker, Dr. Stella Marie Arcenas (Chair, Department of Languages, Literature and Arts, AdDU) conveying that creativity is also a matter of social factors, and that language teachers must seek authenticity to be able to impart to learners the communicative ability to navigate the world.  

The presentations that followed captured this essential paradigm; topics ranged from (1) Adult Learning Principles for Digital Games, (2) Micro-vlogs that foster the new ‘viewing’ language macro skill, (3) Digital Creativity for Teaching through utilizing platforms such as Discord and mediums such as podcasts, and (4) Technology Application in the Classroom featuring various game-based Nihongo learning activities for high school students. After which, select teachers and a representative from the Association of Nihongo Teachers in the Visayas (ANT-V) shared updates on how Nihongo learning resources, such as the IRODORI, have shaped their own language classrooms along with a response from JFM representatives.  

During the second day, participants were given the chance to practically apply their learnings through a collaborative workshop. In three groups facilitated by the speakers, attendees discussed, conceptualized, and presented activities that they could use in their own classrooms – both digital and face-to-face. 

In closing, JFM Deputy Director Tanaka Yojiro conveyed that the forum proved that creativity comes in various shapes and forms. What might count as creative for one educational setting may differ from another. Precisely because of this, however, collaboration as educators takes on a new importance. Echoing the same sentiment, Senior Japanese Language Education Advisor Fujimitsu Yuko gave the closing remarks and shared that teachers are ‘generators’ – active participants in the creative learning process.

Indeed, in this digital age, teachers bear the vital role of harnessing the power of technology to encourage collaboration among colleagues and students who are their essential learning partners. 

The Japan Foundation, Manila is grateful to all attendees. We hope to see everyone during the next forum!