Joy Noren
(1969-70)
I was an EFL instructor at LIOJ for one year from July 1969 to July 1970. As far as I know, I was one of the first group of ten Americans recruited by an LIOJ team at US universities to work full-time and live at the Institute in Odawara.
Those were the days of the audiolingual (listen and repeat) method, and after a few intensive days of repeating, teachers and students could all recite Lado's English 900 sentences backwards and forwards in our sleep! To this day, I am sure many of my former colleagues can still remember the old familiar sentences like "YOUR suitcase is bigger than MY suitcase"!
Mr. Harker, director of LIOJ , was a wise cross-cultural guide and great inspiration to the American staff. My favorite memory of Mr. Harker is the early morning fishing adventure he arranged. With great enthusiasm, he led all the sleepy staff and students down to the beach in Odawara before dawn to pull in huge fishing nets with the fishermen!
The sudden arrival of young 1960's American teachers caused quite a stir in 1969 downtown Odawara. I recall our group of teachers filling the entire counter at our favorite downtown sushiya, enjoying our time with the local people and practicing our limited Japanese as we tried ikura or kamaboko.
My Japan experience greatly impacted my career direction. I fell in love with Japanese culture and people. When I returned to the New York/New Jersey area, I completed my MA degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and worked in numerous adult ESL jobs. In 1982, I established Language Training Institute in northern New Jersey to offer professional ESL instruction to Asian professionals and their families. I am happy to say that Language Training Institute just celebrated its 20th anniversary! The Japanese community in New York/New Jersey is an integral part of the history of the institute.
February 2003
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