2014 Phonetic Seminar “Introduction to Speech Training for Japanese Instructors”

September 13th, 2014
Date: Saturday, December 13th, 2014 (1:30-3:30pm)
Topic: Introduction to Speech Training for Japanese Instructors
Lecturer: Kazuhiro ISOMURA, The Japan Foundation Japanese-Language Institute
Venue: Konan University, Okamoto Campus, Room 112
(8-9-1 Okamoto, Higashinada-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 658-8501 Japan)
Access http://www.konan-u.ac.jp/access/
Campus map: http://www.konan-u.ac.jp/access/campus.html
Host: The Phonetic Society of Japan (Phonetics Promotion Committee)
Organizer: Tatsuya KITAMURA (Konan University)
Participation fee: Free for members, 1000 yen for non-members
Capacity: 150 people (pre-registration necessary)
*Please pre-register. Notification will appear on the PSJ website when the number of registration reaches 150. Please check whether registration is still open before you register.
How to register: Please send an e-mail to psjf.regist[at]gmail.com (please replace [at] with @). One e-mail should only include information for one person. Please write “1213 lecture registration” in the e-mail subject, and send your name and membership status (member or non-member). If you do not write “1213 lecture registration” in the e-mail subject, the e-mail may not be processed. If you do not receive a reply from the office after three days, please send an e-mail again.
Abstract: This lecture is targeted towards instructors teaching Japanese at language schools, university, or volunteer classrooms, as well as those who wish to become Japanese instructors in the future. The lecture will include how an instructor can listen to Japanese spoken by foreign speakers and provide advice to improve their pronunciation. Practical techniques such as pronunciation exercises and some tips on teaching pronunciation will also be introduced.
This lecture will provide hints, for example, to the following instructors:
  • You are teaching Japanese to foreign students, but are having difficulty understanding what they are saying. You would like to teach them how to improve their pronunciation, but you do not know how.
  • You have attended a training program in order to become a Japanese teacher abroad. However, you had difficulty understanding phonetics and are worried about providing pronunciation tips as a native Japanese speaker.
  • You are doing research on phonetics in graduate school, but have never taught Japanese to Japanese learners.