Yoshiko Fujii Gaines (second from left) with TFLA winners
Yoshiko Fujii Gaines, full-time lecturer in Japanese at Baylor University, has been honored by the Texas Foreign Language Association (TFLA) as Japanese Teacher of the Year for 2016. The award was presented at the group’s fall conference on Oct. 15 in Austin.
“This award means a great deal to me because I feel that the work that I have put into for the promotion of the Japanese program and the world language education at Baylor was recognized,” Gaines said. “I have been blessed with wonderful students and I thoroughly enjoy teaching Japanese. I have started teaching a New Student Experience course in Japanese since last year, and I really enjoy seeing my freshman students grow as Baylor Bears.”
Gaines said she has involved her students in a number of extracurricular activities on campus to enrich their learning experience, such as taking part in a weekly conversation table over Japanese green tea and attending fellowship gatherings with guest speakers and Japanese food.
“I am also co-sponsoring the Japanese Honor Society College Chapter at Baylor, through which high-achieving students can work on their individual research projects and community outreach,” Gaines said.
Gaines, who joined the Baylor faculty in 2009, said that the TFLA award means a lot to her for the work she’s been doing as the president of the Japanese Teachers Association of Texas (JTAT).
“While serving as the JTAT president, and previously as JTAT secretary and the vice president, I have secured funding from the Japan Foundation to offer workshops for Japanese teachers in Texas,” Gaines said. “I have recruited Japanese teachers to present at the annual TFLA conferences, and at the very recent conference there were 10 presentations related to Japanese. I’m grateful that I am in the position where I can serve the Japanese teacher community in Texas. I feel that this award represents the teamwork of the Japanese teachers in Texas and I am very happy for that.”
———————-
Photo courtesy of Adrian Kasbergen, eQuality Video & Marketing Services
Hello, I want to study Japanese as additional language but don’t know where to start.I’ve looked through different forums and asked people who studied and I was recommended https://preply.com/en/skype/japanese-tutors Most of propose to learn with japanese teachers tutor online via skype. What can you tell about this? Will it be effective? Thanks.
Hi Jason, so happy to hear that you are interested in learning Japanese! If you are in Waco area, please stop by our Japanese program at Baylor University.
I am not familiar with Preply, but having a teacher, whether online or in person, is a big help. So even if you self-study, I would recommend having a regular meeting with a tutor.
If you live in the area where there is a Japan-America Society, you might want to look into their Japanese courses.
There are many online resources as well. Check out: https://www.tofugu.com/learn-japanese/ or https://minato-jf.jp/
Good luck!
Innovative information for all our knowledge and what is next?