These are some of the Japanese taster sessions that our volunteers in the Japanese Tasters for Schools (JTS) Programme have held in schools around the UK this year so far. We would like to thank all the volunteers for their extremely hard work on the programme!

If you would like to arrange a Japanese Taster Session at your school, or if you speak good Japanese and you would like to become a JTS volunteer yourself, click here to find out more about the JTS Programme.

Gonville Academy, 2nd December 2016
Primary academy in Croydon
Aims of taster: Part of an International Day
Activities in taster: Japanese greetings, numbers in Japanese, Japanese writing
Feedback: "Both teachers delivered very engaging lessons to the classroom, which resonated with the children after they left. The lessons were geared appropriately to the children taught, and involved cultural references which the children very much enjoyed. The lessons were very active, and all the children participated throughout the lesson. The children 2 weeks later still remember the facts and songs that were taught during the lesson." (Miss Melvin, Class Teacher)
After the taster... The school is looking into funding for Japanese lessons.

St Matthias Church of England Primary School, 22 November 2016
Primary academy in Worcestershire
Aims of taster: Part of a Japan Day. Additionally, the school’s Head Teacher took part in the Japan Foundations’ Group Tour Programme for Head Teachers in Japan.
Activities in taster: Introduction to Japan, Japanese greetings, numbers in Japanese, origami, introduction to Japanese kanji characters
Feedback: "We thoroughly enjoyed the day. The children had the opportunity to learn different greetings  - and how to count to 10. The volunteer was fabulous and showed classes a powerpoint all about Japan. I think the day will be very memorable to all." (Mrs Davies, Headteacher)
After the taster... The school is interested in starting Japanese lessons.

St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Whitstable, 18 November 2016
Primary academy in Kent
Aims of taster: School has links with Japanese student exchange programme in Canterbury
Activities in taster: Introduction to Japan, quiz about Japan, introducing Japanese numbers, making origami
Feedback: " The 2 volunteers were absolutely fantastic. They were enthusiastic and professional and all the children were incredibly engaged" (Mrs Underhill, MFL Coordinator)
After the taster... The school would like to explore the possibility of opening a Japanese club.

St Margaret's School, 17 November 2016
Independent School in Camden
Aims of taster: School interested in exploring the possibilities of extra-curricular Japanese
Activities in taster: Japanese greetings including bowing,  making origami cats and dogs, learning Japanese numbers
Feedback: "A perfect blend of culture and language" (Mr Webster, Principal)
After the taster... The school and the pupils would like to continue their Japanese studies

Newman Catholic College, 18th October 2016
Voluntary Aided Secondary School in Brent
Aims of taster: Part of celebrating languages initiative at school.
Activities in taster: Japan quiz, Japanese greetings, introduction to Japanese writing, Japanese numbers and practising with “bingo” game
Feedback: " "The sessions were planned well with variety of opportunities to learn about the culture, language, facts and all had an aspect of fun and competition which really help engage our learners.” (Mrs Pattel Burke, Head of MFL)
After the taster... The school has said that they would love to start Japanese lessons

Westdene Primary School, 13th October 2016
Community Primary School in Brighton
Aims of taster: The Head Teacher visited Japan in Autumn with the aim of developing links and introducing Japanese into the school
Activities in taster: Japanese greetings, Japanese self-introductions, making origami kabuto (samurai helmets), making origami book marks
After the taster... The school has been awarded funding through our Japanese Language Local Project Support Programme to help them launch Japanese classes.

St Vincent's Catholic Primary School, 5th October 2016
Voluntary Aided Primary School in Barnet
Aims of taster: School interested in setting up a Japanese learning for KS1 group of SEN children.
Activities in taster: Japanese greetings, Japan quiz, Japanese numbers, Japanese janken (rock, scissors, paper) game, making origami dogs
Feedback: "Was really well planned, delivered at a really good pace." (Mrs Yatagai, Class teacher and Interventions Manager)
After the taster...The school are considering launching a Gifted and Talented group for Japanese

St Michael's Primary School, 28 September 2016
Community Primary School in Reading
Aims of taster: Year 6 learning all about Japan as their theme
Activities in taster: Introduction to Japan, quiz about school life in Japan, Japanese numbers, Japanese writing, writing names in Japanese, learning to use chopsticks.
Feedback: "The pupils really enjoyed learning to write their names in Japanese, and continued practicing them. Some students are now able to write their Japanese names from memory."

Avenue House School, 23rd September 2016
Independent Primary School in Ealing
Aims of taster: Part of “Asia Day”
Activities in taster: Japanese greetings, Japanese numbers 1-10, Japan quiz, telling Japanese story of “Tanabata,” making origami.
Feedback: "The volunteers were very organised, full of energy and enthusiasm. They targeted the different age groups very well. The children were full engaged throughout the lessons. A wonderful experience for the children - learning the language ,learning about the culture and participating in hands-on activities with the Origami activity." (Mrs Monteforte, Geography Co-ordinator)
After the taster...The school looked into the possibility of starting a Japanese club

Castle Hill High School, July 21st 2016
Community Special Secondary School in Stockport
Aims of taster: The school librarian who organised the taster is learning Japanese herself and wanted to introduce it to the pupils
Activities in taster: Greetings in Japanese (with bowing), Japanese numbers 1-10, introduction to Japanese writing
Feedback: "[The volunteer]was fantastic with our students and I was amazed at how quickly some of them picked up words and expressions as well as writing their own names!"
After the taster...The school plans to offer extra-curricular Japanese to all pupils

Longsands Academy, July 15th 2016
Secondary Academy Converter in Cambridgeshire
Aims of taster: Part of the school Arts Week with a focus on Internationalism
Activities in taster: Japanese numbers, Japanese greetings, writing names in Japanese
Feedback: "[The volunteer] was extremely helpful on the day and interacted really well with our students. We are very grateful to her for coming to deliver such a varied session covering aspects of Japanese language and culture which engaged our students."
After the taster...The school has been awarded funding through our Japanese Language Local Project Support Programme to help them launch Japanese classes.

Heaton St Barnabas' CofE Aided Primary School, July 14th 2016
Voluntary Aided Primary School in Bradford
Aims of taster: Part of International Week at school
Activities in taster: Greetings in Japanese, numbers 1-10 in Japanese, Japanese bingo game, learning other useful Japanese expressions
Feedback: "It was a great session, very well-pitched and paced. [The volunteer] delivered the session with enthusiasm and made it very interactive.. .it capped off a great week studying Japan for our Year 6s."

Chaddesley Corbett Endowed Primary School, July 14th 2016
Voluntary Aided Primary School in Worcestershire
Aims of taster: The school intends  to replace French with Japanese throughout Key Stage 2.
Activities in taster: Greetings in Japanese, learning about Japanese school life, “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” in Japanese, making origami cats, learning Japanese numbers
Feedback: "Today's lessons were excellent. They were very well planned and included a lot of practical activity which really got the children engaged. [The volunteer] taught them interesting aspects of Japanese life and showed relevant photographs and props. The children were really interested and behaved very well. The quality of the questions they asked..showed the level of their interest. [The volunteer] was extremely positive and engaging. We were all really impressed."
After the taster...The school has been awarded funding through our Japanese Language Local Project Support Programme to help them launch Japanese classes. The Headteacher will be visiting Japan in the autumn.

The visit was also reported in the school newsletter, which said:

“Last Thursday, to fit in with our Japanese theme and Japanese language lessons next year, we had a Japanese language taster day. We were very fortunate to have a Japanese language specialist, Ceri Edwards, a volunteer from the Japan Foundation London, visit us for the day. Ceri taught KS2 lots of vocabulary including counting and doing mathematics in Japanese. We found out all about school life in Japan. In the pictures Year 3 were singing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes in Japanese! It was a very informative day and the children had a great time learning new skills which will be great foundation for our theme next year."

St Michael's Catholic College, July 4th 2016
Secondary Academy in Southwark
Aims of taster: In view of offering Japanese to the next Year 7
Activities in taster: Presentation about Japan, self-introductions in Japanese, describing likes in Japanese
Feedback: "The students really enjoyed learning about school in Japan." (Ms Vallade, Head of Faculty)
After the taster...Continue to be interested in starting Japanese classes

All Hallows Catholic School, July 12th 2016
Voluntary Aided Secondary School in Surrey
Aims of taster: Part of a cultural activities week
Activities in taster: Greetings in Japanese, Japanese numbers, name writing in Japanese, introducing about Japan
Feedback: "All students enjoyed it and particularly enjoyed writing their name in Japanese" (Mrs Sarrazin, 2nd i/c of MFL department)

St Anthony's Catholic Primary School, June 24th 2016
Voluntary Aided Primary School in Southwark
Aims of taster: The class is learning about Japan for a whole half-term as a cross-curricular project.
Activities in taster: Greetings with bowing, learning about the Tanabata “Star Festival” and making Tanabata wishes, learning Japanese numbers, self-introductions in Japanese
Feedback: "I would like to sincerely thank Kyoko for a wonderful session- the children loved it and learned so much! She was a fantastic teacher who had the children engaged and interested throughout. The children were all asking whether she would be coming back to teach them next week!”
After the taster... The taster was featured on the class blog here.

Ilford County High School March 21st 2016

Community Secondary School in Redbridge
Aims of taster: To promote language learning and exposure to different cultures, preceding the school’s international day celebrations later in the year.
Activities in taster: Greetings, self-introductions,  numbers 1-100 in Japanese with kanji characters, saying age in Japanese, colours in Japanese, making bookmarks, introduction to Japanese writing
Feedback: "It was an insightful experience for the students and they enjoyed every aspect of it." (Mr Ababio, Head of Department)

Laureate Community Primary School and Nursery  March 21st 2016
Community Primary School in Suffolk
Aims of taster: Part of the school’s 'Japan Day', following on from having read the book Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo throughout the term.
Activities in taster: Greetings, classroom expressions and self-introductions in Japanese, numbers 1-10 in Japanese with kanji characters, practising words from Kensuke’s Kingdom.
Feedback: "An excellent, fun and enjoyable morning" (Mr Wayland, Class Teacher)
After the taster...The school has enquired about resources for teaching primary Japanese.

Abbey Court Community Special School   March 9th 2016
Community Special School in Medway
Aims of taster: Part of the school’s Japan Day for Key Stage 3 students
Activities in taster: Greetings in Japanese, counting numbers 1-10, singing a Japanese song, introduction to kanji.
Feedback: " I would very much like to commend the Japan Foundation on what they aim to do. It was an amazing experience you facilitated to allow our special pupils the opportunity to learn some basic Japanese in their own safe and fun environment. [The volunteer] was brilliant and settled very well to delivering each session that fit our pupils perfectly." (Mrs Bright, Class Teacher)
After the taster...The visit was featured in the school newsletter, which you can download here (visit report with photos on p.9). You can view more photos from the visit here.

Hunton Church of England Primary School   February 26th 2016
Voluntary Aided Primary School in Kent
Aims of taster: Part of the school’s “International Day” and to support the school’s newly-launched Japanese classes
Activities in taster: Introduction to Japan, Japan Quiz, learning greetings in Japanese to the tune of “Frere Jacques,” learning Japanese numbers, origami
Feedback: "Very well planned, exciting, interesting, fun and most importantly appropriate for the ages and the ability of the children taught. The children now excited to learn more about the language and the culture." (Mrs Gibbs-Naguar, Headteacher)
A report, including photos and a videos, from the visit can be found on the school’s website here.
After the taster...This school now teaches Japanese lessons, funded by the Japan Foundation’s Local Project Support Programme.

Baylis Court School  February 4th 2016
Secondary Academy in Slough
Aims of taster: Part of the school’s PSHE day which involved learning about the wider community, combining Geography with MFL  to get students to think about the importance of learning a language.
Activities in taster: Self introduction in Japanese (including bowing and Japanese sign language), learning the numbers 1-10 in Japanese, introduction to the Japanese film “My Neighbour Totoro”
Feedback: " "Fantastic, very fun and enthusiastic and interesting"

After the taster...The school is interested in finding a teacher to run Japanese classes.

The Wyvern School (Buxford)   January 29th 2016
Foundation Special Secondary School in Kent
Aims of taster: Part of an art project looking at Japanese ceramics
Activities in taster: Greetings in Japanese, Japanese numbers, singing a Japanese song, writing Japanese characters
Feedback: "Very well planned and appropriate for the ages and the ability of the children taught. The children were very excited and talked about it for a long time after. It added an extra dimension to our topic on Japan." (Mrs Copeland, Art Teacher)

Riverside School, January 22nd 2016
Secondary Free School in Barking
Activities in taster: Greetings in Japanese, quiz about Japan, numbers 1-100 in Japanese, learning names in Japanese katakana characters
Feedback: "The students loved the taster. The delivery was very professional and the volunteers exceptional." (Miss Moseley, Head of Languages)
After the taster...The school now wants to set up an extra-curricular Japanese club

Carden Primary School   January 22nd 2016
Community Primary School in Brighton
Aims of taster: Part of a “Japan Day.” The school was also interested in teaching Japanese.
Activities in taster: Self-introductions in Japanese, making origami samurai helmets, writing names in Japanese
Feedback: "Both [volunteers] delivered a lovely activity that all that engaged all the children.”  (Mr McEwen, Head of KS2)
After the taster...The volunteer who ran the JTS taster now teaches a regular Japanese club at the school

Maria Fidelis Roman Catholic Convent School FCJ   January 11th 2016
Voluntary Aided Secondary School in Camden
Aims of taster: To explore the possibility of launching extra-curricular Japanese classes
Activities in taster: Introduction to Japan, introducing numbers 1-10 in Japanese, Japanese kanji characters, Japanese self-introductions with bowing, telling the Japanese story of Tanabata.
Feedback: "The lesson was very well received and as a result, [the volunteer] has come back to deliver more lessons for our pupils.”  (Mr Anthony, Deputy Headteacher)
After the taster...The volunteer who ran the JTS taster now teaches a regular Japanese club at the school

Husborne Crawley Lower School   January 6th 2016
Community Primary School in Central Bedfordshire
Aims of taster: The school are interested in all things Japanese, and are interested in teaching Japanese
Activities in taster: Greetings in Japanese, Japanese numbers, singing a Japanese song, writing Japanese characters
Feedback: "Very well planned and appropriate for the ages and the ability of the children taught. The children now want to learn Japanese and find out more about Japan" (Mrs Isaacs, Headteacher)
After the taster...The school has since expressed an interested in offering Japanese language classes.