These newsletter issues explore topics of interest to Japanese language teachers in the United States. Issues contain feature articles, book and computer software reviews, activities and worksheets for classroom use, letters to the editor, news of regional conferences and activities, announcements, new resources, and employment opportunities.…

This article discusses the expression of gratitude in spoken English by Japanese and American college students in the United States. Five hypotheses were tested: (1) Advanced non-native speakers would find expressing gratitude difficult in the target language; (2) A verbal expression of regret would occur whenever the Japanese speaker believes he…

This paper shows how satellite television programs can be used to advance Asian students' listening ability in English. Particular focus is on news broadcasts. The paper is divided into three sections, an introduction, some concluding remarks, and the substantive discussion headed "Using News Broadcasts in the EFL (English as a Foreign…

This volume of working papers in psycholinguistics, from the "MITA Psycholinguistics Circle", contains the following articles: "Some Problems in the Acquisition of Derived Nouns" (Mika Endo); "World Knowledge in Children's Sentence Comprehension" (Yuki Hirose); "Examining the Including and Excluding Roles of…

This study was conducted to evaluate the tests developed by elementary foreign language teachers of French, Japanese, and Spanish in a school district in South Carolina. The tests were designed to determine the level of end-of-year student learning and to provide a basis for evaluating the curriculum of each of the three languages. The French and…

This book sets forth a process for implementing effective education and counseling strategies for culturally diverse populations. In particular, it helps to identify characteristics of cultures, to make comparisons between the dominant culture and culturally different groups, and to develop strategies or interventions for students or clients. Key…

Program objectives and assessment results of language courses taught at the School of Travel Industry Management (TIM) of the University of Hawaii are discussed. In addition to preparing students to speak with employees and clientele in Mandarin, Japanese, French, and Spanish, these courses include the study of cultural practices and values that…

Maintaining that Japan is a strong ally and important trading partner of the United States, this publication contains a guide to teaching about Japan for students in grades three through six. This guide combines the construction of a culture box with integrated learning activities to help students better understand Japanese life. Third-grade…

Studies of causal attributions among elementary school children and their mothers in Japan and in the United States indicate that the Japanese are more likely to cite effort as the primary cause of school achievement. In the United States, ability is more frequently selected as a key factor. The characteristics of Japanese mother-child interaction…

A study investigated the hypothesis that during the "silent" period of second language learning, in which there is a dramatic drop in language directed to speakers of the second language, children not only passively assimilate second language input but also use private speech to actively integrate it. The study examined the learning…

Since the 1960s, the popular press and academic journals have promulgated the stereotype of Asian American success, maintaining that Asian Americans are well educated, that they are disproportionately and hiqhly represented in professional and technical positions, and that they earn salaries equal to or higher than those of majority Americans.…

The undercount of the Asian American population, the phenomenal rise of Asian immigrants, the projected doubling of the Asian American population by 1980, and the concentration of this population in urban areas are significant reasons for the reordering of program priorities so that Asian Americans are not excluded from Federally funded benefits…

Designed to meet the need for elementary school students to understand the status, needs, and contributions of Asian Americans, this curriculum guide was developed as a result of an in-service teacher education workshop. The basic premise of the guide is the recognition that student awareness and understanding of Asian Americans should be…

Charles A. Curran has developed a radically different type of language learning by dealing with the learners as a group rather than as a class. The social learning relationships of a class differ from a group in the contract, the social milieu, in the relationships between the teacher and students, and among the students themselves. Curran called…

This paper describes the historical development of the Japanese language program in Hawaiian elementary and secondary schools, and the curriculum materials development that accompanied it. The growth of Hawaiians' interest in and awareness of their Japanese background and cultural heritage is cited as one reason for the increase in Japanese and…