The Japan Foundation London Language Centre has been successfully running the StepOutNet programme since 2006, and now has 80 members who carry out Japanese language taster sessions at schools throughout the UK. On Tuesday 24th June, 14 StepOutNet members came to the Japan Foundation for a training day. The day was designed to help StepOutNet members plan their Japanese language tasters, with the aim of ensuring all arrangements for the tasters run smoothly, and the taster sessions themselves are a success. After a complimentary light lunch, participants saw a presentation by assistant programme officer Alastair Warner on the organisation of taster sessions, and a report on the recent day of tasters at Silverdale Primary School in East Sussex (click here for more information on that visit). The next presentation by Japanese language advisor Shoko Middleton introduced some practical classroom ideas for tasters, and finally chief Japanese language advisor Yoko Udagawa gave the first of a planned series of presentations on Japanese grammar.

If you are a teacher interested in having a StepOutNet Japanese language taster at your school, please click here for more information. Fluent Japanese speakers please click here if you would like to become a StepOutNet volunteer.