I mentioned to some of you that even when I'm popping up in your classes on Mondays (and occasionally Fridays) that I'm still going to classes in the evening at ASU. Here's an example of what we do: 10 Minute Japanese Lesson

We practice teaching one another our languages. It's a lot cooler than my lesson plan makes it look; in last week's class alone, I learned French, German, Korean, and Sailor Moon. >X3

If you're feeling up to the challenge of college-level study and want to boost your experience with Japanese culture, the Reischauer Scholars Program is taking applications until October 18th. This is an intensive online course offered through Stanford University from February to June (Spring semester), designed to give students a solid foundation in everything that isn't language. It's free, and you don't need to know any Japanese to participate. From the website:

Brochure: http://www.stanford.edu/group/spice/RSP/RSP%20brochure.pdf

Application: http://iis-db.stanford.edu/docs/679/2014_RSP_Application.pdf (181.9KB)

For questions or more information, contact Naomi Funahashi, Reischauer Scholars Program Manager and Instructor, at [email protected].

(Honestly, If this weren't specifically limited to high school students, I would be signing up for it right now.)

Thanks for a great class, sixth period. You gave me some amazing feedback for a report due in my own classes. We'll watch some more anime in the future, okay? Send me requests if you have any.

In other news, Toyota-sensei is working to get me into your class as a substitute for the week she is away in Japan in May. There's some paperwork to get through, but if it works out, I'll get to mess with your heads for a whole five days straight. >:3 *cue evil laughter* But seriously now, we're gonna have a great time. Five days won't be enough to hit all the topics and activities I'd like to cover, so I need your input. What kinds of games do you enjoy the most? What things that you've been learning still confuse you? What parts of Japanese culture do you want to know more about? Consider all the various aspects that the topic of "culture" really contains:

Music
Religion(s)
History
Toys and Games
Holidays
Clothing
Food
Design
Architecture
Geography
Media

...and a heck of a lot more. So yeah, anyway, think about it and get back to me. This is your big chance to get exactly what you want out of Japanese class. じゃまた！

In retrospect, a mochi-and-sushi lesson always takes precedence over a literacy lesson. I should probably have planned that better. Anyway, lesson plan is still loaded and ready to go, and the target is dialed in: it's all you, Sixth Period. We're going to watch anime and work on our listening comprehension. If we get done with that in short order, we can move on to manga. 

また明日！