Jim Kahny
(1990- ), LIOJ Director 1996-
Before becoming director in 1996, I worked with four previous directors and two office managers at LIOJ, and held the positions of Community Program teacher, Community Program supervisor, Junior High (Team Teaching) Program supervisor, and Special Programs coordinator. Though written from a longer perspective, my essay will focus on LIOJ from 1996 to the present.
Since 1996, LIOJ's human resources have not changed much. Currently, we have a teaching staff of seven-a director, a program developer (PD), four in-house teachers, and one ALT; and a Japanese office staff of three-an office manager, an office chief, and a part-time staff member. The location of LIOJ has also remained the same: The LIOJ teacher's room/office/lounge occupies the corner of the second floor above the lobby opposite the front desk. Our five classrooms and student lounge are in the basement below.
By the spring of 1996, LIOJ had fully evolved from a school where teachers taught in, and identified with, a specific program into a school where teachers participated in all its disparate programs. PD Abet Carbonilla (Business) and I (Community) were the only teachers remaining who had originally been hired for a single program. Today, instructors teach classes in all our in-house programs, including the Community Program (CP), the High School Intensives (HSI), and the Business Communication Program (BCP), which are carefully integrated into the yearly calendar. The ALT teaches in the BCP, and the HSI, in addition to duties at three public junior high schools. The diverse schedule for teachers has obvious ramifications for hiring and training new teachers: LIOJ teachers must be capable of handling a busy workload (always the norm at LIOJ!), and equally comfortable and competent teaching phonics to elementary school children, presentation skills to business professionals, or a role play to a large group of high school students.
Five external factors have had the most impact on our programs. The first factor-far above all else-is the ongoing recession that has plagued Japan's economy through the 1990's and so far in the current decade. Company and household budgets are tight, and many would-be LIOJ customers are less inclined to spend money on training. The second factor is the increased competition for English language educational services in Odawara and around Japan. Language schools exploded onto the landscape in the last decade, and there are now more choices than ever for individual students and companies as the competition has become more firmly established. The third factor-which has had a mixed effect-is the recent world turbulence: the events of 9/11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, SARS. While overseas business travel is decreasing, along with the need for pre-departure English training, some high schools are looking for a place to bring their students as an alternative to a trip abroad. The fourth factor is the demographic shift that is taking place in Japan. The population is growing older, and the number of babies born in Japan is decreasing each year. Two of our HSI schools, including nearby Jyonai High School, will close in 2004, casualties of the declining birth rate. The fifth factor is the introduction of English education into Japanese public elementary schools in April 2002. This has been a catalyst in boosting enrollment in CP children's classes, in spite of the change in demographics. All of these factors have underscored the need for LIOJ to adapt by providing relevant programs and continuing to find the best teachers in order to remain in operation.
The Community Program is clearly LIOJ's "main" program today in terms of staff time and school income. Some students have studied here for a number of years, and teachers speak of them as if they are part of the LIOJ family. Although enrollment has held fairly steady over the last few years, this has been the result of redoubled efforts. In a major project, PDs Mark James and Daina Plitkins-Denning led the faculty in completely overhauling the CP curriculum for adults and teens. The document outlines LIOJ's aims to help learners develop skills (a) to understand authentic English; (b) to produce fluent, accurate English; (c) to actively and appropriately participate in communication using English; (d) to develop skills to manage their own learning; and (e) to understand other cultures. In addition, Jon Coller and Stephen Shrader led/are leading teachers through a rewrite of the children's curriculum, which includes a strengthened phonics component. Our current teachers dedicate a lot of time toward preparing interesting, imaginative, personalized lessons.
The Business Communication Program, resurrected in 1995 and now fine-tuned as a two-week residential course, continues to limp along. The curriculum borrows heavily from the reforms that were introduced when the BCP reopened as a three-week program in 1993. Job and company presentations are the culminating project of week one, and the St. Gerard simulation is the climax of week two. All faculty members teach in the BCP, with the PD, ALT, and director involved most heavily. The course is usually offered in May, September, and February, and runs concurrently with the CP, resulting in a busy two-week stretch for teachers. The class is held in the classroom next to the LIOJ lounge and faculty room, so students have constant contact with teachers, both in and out of class. Satisfaction among students in the BCP is consistently high; however, the course does not usually fill despite being offered only three times a year with a maximum of eight students per session.
I was asked to coordinate the first three-day High School Intensive course for students from Jyonai in 1992. From the beginning, this program struck me as a service that LIOJ and Asia Center could really do well together. Each "camp" brings groups of students from a single school to Asia Center for two or three days of activities in English. Over the years, teachers have enjoyed working with thousands of high school students in a residential setting, and have developed a menu of creative activities for the course, including (deep breath): American Sign Language, Crazy Olympics, Dance Lessons, Games-Games-Games, Going to the Movies, Horsing Around, International Role Play, I Spy, Jenga English, Lucky Numbers, Magic Lesson, Mr. Bean-glish, Music Station, !Ole! Spanish, Puzzlemania, Quiz Show, Shopping Spree, Telephone Calls, Travel English, Treasure Hunt, TV Commercials... Since 1996, the courses have run six or seven times a year, but in the current academic year we have ten scheduled; and for the past three summers, we've conducted programs in Nagano for junior as well as senior high students.
Since 1996, LIOJ's work in nearby public schools has shifted and expanded. Our twice-a-week participation in team teaching classes in two Matsuda town junior high schools ended in March 2001 after seven years. The following April-as a result of an introduction by former LIOJ office manager, Masami Takahashi-LIOJ began providing English classes in Hakone town elementary schools. From the start of the Matsuda program in 1994 and through my tenure as director, I have taught in public schools two days a week for 26 to 30 weeks a year. In April 2002, a new LIOJ team teaching position was added for Hakone town junior high schools. LIOJ teachers have taken part in other "outreach" programs involving young people, including monthly classes at Shiroyama Kindergarten, cultural assemblies for public elementary schools, extracurricular programs with local junior high students, and the Lions Club speech contest for high school students.
Our experimental Thailand-Japan Team Teaching Exchange, begun in 1993 in partnership with the Srinakharinwirot University (Bangkok) Department of Linguistics, continued through 1999. In all, sixteen Japanese teachers of English and seventeen Thai teachers of English took part in the program that introduced a non-native team teaching partnership to thousands of students in both countries. The program, which was scheduled for two weeks in August in Thailand and two weeks in October in Japan, was well-received by teacher participants, their colleagues, and their students, and seemed to change people's perspectives on a variety of issues. Several Japanese teacher alumni of the program followed up on their Thailand experience: Junko Yuki ('93, '96, Oita) participated twice; Teruhiko Takei ('94, Kanagawa) published a book on education in Asia in 2002; Hideo Shimamura ('95, Kanagawa) married a teacher he met in Thailand in 2002; and Terutoshi Goto ('99, Osaka) returned to Thailand to teach music in 2000. Sadly, the time and expense of recruiting even a few teachers in Japan, coupled with the demand for summer HSI courses, led to our decision to suspend the program.
In 2003, LIOJ hosts its 35th International Summer Workshop for Teachers of English, making it one of the oldest continuing conferences in Japan. The six-day Workshop faces increased competition from an array of teacher training sessions in Japan and overseas. The program is designed to be relevant for participants, most of whom are secondary school EFL teachers interested in brushing up on their English and getting ideas to use in their classes. These days, the program must also be budget-friendly on LIOJ. As a result, the number of invited speakers and international scholars corresponds to lower participant enrollments over the decade, and LIOJ has sought and accepted financial assistance from organizations such as Oxford University Press for overseas speakers and the Mitsubishi Bank Foundation for Asian scholars. Recent Workshop speakers from overseas have included J.D. Brown, Richard Day, Carolyn Graham, Colin Granger, Charlie Hadfield, Jill Hadfield, Alan Maley, Susan Stempleski, Barry Tomalin, Peter Watcyn-Jones, and Penny Ur; and, from within Japan, Kip Cates, Donna Fujimoto, Marc Helgesen, Kathi Kitao, Kenji Kitao, Aleda Krause, Yoko Matsuka, Sen Nishiyama, David Paul, and Rob Waring. Also, former LIOJ teachers Shari Berman, Bill Gatton, Kathleen Graves, Elizabeth King, Mike Kleindl, Lance Knowles, and Mike Rost have returned as guests for recent Workshops. LIOJ has established partnerships with regional ELT organizations for the Workshop, including MELTA (1999), FEELTA (2001), and Lao TESOL (2001), in addition to partners Korea TESOL (1996) and Thailand TESOL (1988).
To mark LIOJ's 30th anniversary in 1998, we organized a Symposium that was held on the eve of the 30th Summer Workshop. That same year, LIOJ also made a return to ELT publishing with the commemorative book, Perspectives on Secondary School EFL Education (POSSEE), a collection of chapters from "friends of LIOJ," including former teachers, Workshop presenters, and Cross Currents contributors. The entire faculty was involved in the project (Mark, Daina, Natalie Williamson, Lisa Brickell, and Laurie Sansone; as well as in-coming teachers Margaret Hearnden and Jaimie Scanlon), and I think everyone enjoyed the experience.
Mark created our homepage in 1997. Daina added a lot more information to it and worked with LIOJ student Toru Hara to have much of it translated into Japanese. Since then, Jon and Stephen (English) and office manager Kazumi Masuda and office chief Kazuko Mizukami (Japanese) have had the task of keeping it up to date. We can be found at www.geocities.com/lioj.geo.
LIOJ is an associate member of JALT. In the fall, we send teachers to the national conference, and we have often assisted with JALT's Asian scholars. Every June, LIOJ hosts a meeting of the Yokohama Chapter of JALT. Chapter president Yoshio Mochimaru makes a point of reminding participants that LIOJ is the place where JALT began. This June, LIOJ hosted a mini-conference with ten speakers for Yokohama JALT. LIOJ has also been involved with other training organizations: We support ETJ (English Teachers in Japan), and have started an Odawara chapter of the organization for teachers of young learners; and we back AYF (the Asian Youth Forum), which aims to bring together college-aged people from different Asian countries to discuss various issues.
Thirty years ago, Rowland Harker wrote in Cross Currents a sentiment we echo today: "While we trust that some day the educational system of Japan will develop to the place where a school such as LIOJ will not be needed, we hope to be of service for some years to come." The day that Mr. Harker spoke of has not yet arrived. Until it does, the responsibility of carrying LIOJ forward lies with the people who serve here. Through their efforts, LIOJ will continue to contribute to language and intercultural education-locally, nationally, and internationally. LIOJ at the dawn of the twenty-first century continues to operate through the efforts of its hardworking, multitalented teachers and staff; and in my time here, I have had the privilege of working with many outstanding people.
I would like to express my gratitude to the MRA Foundation of Japan for its support of LIOJ and for the opportunities that this institute has offered to so many people. Special thanks to Masahide Shibusawa for his faith in us to continue contributing to society these past several years, and to Keisuke Nakayama and Kiyoshi Kehara for their ongoing help. I am personally grateful to Bob Ruud, Nobu Seto, Sherri Arbogast, Warrick Liang, Don Maybin, Miyuki Ohno; as well as Ken, Abet, Kazumi, Mark, Daina, Jon, and all the dedicated LIOJ teachers I've had the opportunity to work with here. I would also like to acknowledge the current faculty and staff-Nicky Abrahamson, Stuart Abrahamson, Paula Landers, Diane McCall, Rika Nagaoka, Liz Partridge, along with Kazumi, Kaz and Stephen-who do an excellent job of representing LIOJ today.
In closing, I would like to pay special tribute to the wonderful students, participants, and colleagues in all LIOJ programs. They give each program its unique character and spark of energy-and they provide the reason for the school to exist.
July 2003
LIOJ Top |
Copyright (c) Language Institute of Japan (LIOJ) / 日本外語教育研究所 | Back |