Old favourites among kanji teaching resources were revisited and brand new teaching methods shared at the 2011 Intermediate and Advanced Japanese Refresher Courses for Teachers, which were held at the Japan Foundation London from July 26^th – August 5^th.

This year’s course took the theme 「漢字は楽しい！！」- Kanji is fun – and was attended by a total of 26 non-native Japanese language teachers from a wide range of teaching backgrounds from primary school to university. Lead by Seiji Fukushima and Hiroko Tanaka, the Japan Foundation’s Japanese Language Advisors, the course gave participants the opportunity to deepen their kanji knowledge, examine kanji teaching resources and share their findings, and brush up on listening, speaking, reading and writing in Japanese.

On the final day of each course, the participants were able to put teaching methodology into practice by delivering a lesson in Japanese on various kanji. These lessons, which featured creative and enjoyable activities devised by the participants themselves, demonstrated the exceptional talent and passion that Japanese language teachers in the UK possess.

All participants enjoyed not only exploring kanji teaching methods, but also the opportunity to network and practice their Japanese with fellow Japanese teachers. Advanced Course participant Nimali de Silva, Japanese teacher at Katharine Lady Berkeley's School, commented, “There are so few opportunities to consider Japanese language teaching in particular, so this course is invaluable.” Regarding the Intermediate Course, Danielle Fenton of Heathfield House school said, “I am now desperate to teach more Japanese at my school and I feel a lot more confident in my ability.”

We would like to thank all participants for coming to the Refresher Course, and really hope to see them again at future events. お疲れ様でした！