Acting Director's Greeting
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Greetings!
June came with even more turmoil, but we managed to make it through. Although we saw a lot of devastating and sad incidents, I would rather emphasize on those good changes and progresses that are starting to happen in this society. As a transnational being, I need to learn more and more about the history of diversity in this country so that I could keep our programs meaningful in this current situation.
For this month, we are proud to continue Music Mondays with new performers as well as Wellness Wednesdays. For our new program, we will be launching Tokyo Dance Express with Yo Nakamura. As you see in the following details, we will start inviting artists directly from Japan, virtually. I hope you continue to enjoy all of our programs!
In terms of Japanese language education, we have been in touch with each local teachers’ association all over the country. We hear both good and bad news. While the collective efforts by teachers to adapt to the new reality are not only exciting but actively challenging, we cannot overlook the current and potential loss of resources for Japanese classes due to the Coronavirus. Our advocacy support is always with you and we are preparing several new projects to help learners, teachers, and schools. Please stay tuned and don’t hesitate to contact us anytime.
Sincerely,
Shimpei Ishii
Deputy Director
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MUSIC MONDAYS
VIRTUAL CONCERT
EVERY MONDAY
July 6 - July 27
12:30PM PT
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We will continue our Music Mondays program in July to bring some cheer to your lives through music! JFLA will be presenting LIVE performances via Facebook every Monday at 12:30pm, except for July 27. Talented performers will play their repertoire dedicated specially for you.
This month, we will feature Nori Tani and Friends (7/6), Goh Kurosawa (7/13), Kenny Endo (7/20) and Yusuke Morita (Live from Japan, 7/27 at 6pm).
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VIRTUAL LECTURE SERIES
WHO'S WHO OF JAPANESE DEITIES
Thursdays, July 16, 30 & August 13, 27
7:00PM PT (30 Min Session)
Admission Free, Registration Required
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Did you know that the famous Laughing Buddha is actually not a Buddha at all or that the meditative Buddha is only one type among a multitude? This digital lecture series will serve as an introduction not only to the categories of Buddhist deity, but to the iconography that will allow laypeople to identify specific figures.
Each lecture will run for 30 minutes with a five minute Q&A session at the end. There will also be a short poll-based quiz to test your knowledge and site recommendations for notable depictions of the highlighted deities. There are four lectures in this series; Lecture 1 (July 16) will be about Celestial Beings, Lecture 2 (July 30) Wisdom Kings, Lecture 3 (August 13) Bodhisattvas, and Lecture 4 (August 27) Buddhas.
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TOKYO DANCE EXPRESS
Through July 23rd
ON JFLA'S FACEBOOK & YOUTUBE CHANNEL
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During June and July, we will be delivering Japanese contemporary dance performance directly to your room virtually! Yo Nakamura, a marvelous contemporary dancer/choreographer, will be presenting a series of various approaches to your body and mind. In each performance, she will be doing different dances at different locations.
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WELLNESS WEDNESDAY
VIRTUAL MEDITATION WITH JAPANESE SINGING BOWL
Wednesday, July 15 & 29
12:30PM PT (15 Min Session)
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We would like to help during these trying times. Meditation with Japanese Singing Bowl will be offered via JFLA Facebook LIVE!
The singing bowl used for this program harmoniously combines the healing qualities of the Tibetan singing bowl and its Japanese traditional singing bowl. Relax and feel your stress dissipate into thin air as the sounds of the singing bowl lead you into a meditative state.
There will be one session starting at 12:30pm. Just go to JFLA's Facebook page (
www.facebook.com/JFLALC
). Stretch and refresh yourself with us at home!
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WELLNESS WEDNESDAY
VIRTUAL BILINGUAL YOGA AT LUNCHTIME
Wednesday, July 8 & 22
12:30PM PT (15 Minute Session)
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We would like to help during these trying times. Bilingual Yoga will be offered via JFLA Facebook LIVE!
No need to change clothes or use a yoga mat; you will be seated in a chair at home and receive an instruction from our instructor in bilingual (English and Japanese). Easy and relaxed!
There will be one session starting at 12:30pm. Just go to JFLA's Facebook page (
www.facebook.com/JFLALC
). Refresh and recharge yourself with us at home!
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JF NIHONGO
ONLINE Japanese Language Class
Fall 2020 in September
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Spring term has been successfully completed with a lots of happy faces and we will continue offering online courses this fall.
O
nline registration will start from August 1
st
.
Course listing and schedule will be listed on our website soon.
Stay tuned!
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Online Events Are Eligible For
Mini Grant for Japanese Arts & Culture
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Since COVID-19 has struck the U.S., many all events have been canceled. Many organizations and institutions are shifting from live events to virtual events held online. JFLA’s mini grant will also change to support such events. Examples of eligible online events include lectures, workshops, performing art concerts, exhibitions, and screenings, related to Japanese arts & culture. Expenses such as video recording & editing fees, AV equipment rentals, and studio rentals are covered by this grant. Successful candidates may be granted up to $5,000. Application and guidelines are available to download
HERE.
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JFLA Support in Response to COVID-19
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1.
Advocacy Support Letter
If your Japanese language program is in danger of being cut due to COVID-19, we will send a support letter to stakeholders (Superintendent, Principal, Dean, etc.).
(
September 15th
Deadline)
Grant Amount: up to
$1,000
We understand that many schools will be continuing distance learning (or blended learning) for the 2020-21 academic year. If you need to purchase new teaching materials (digital learning software, etc.) for the new teaching environment, your school will be eligible to apply.
Please contact
[email protected]
for details.
New!!
Application Period:
Now through
September 30, 2020
,
or until funding is exhausted
(whichever comes first)
In response to the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak, we have launched a
COVID-19 Relief Grant
(
up to $10,000
) for
non-profit
Japanese language programs
in the U.S.
which are facing
temporary financial difficulty
during the
2020-21 academic year
. To be eligible, applying institutions need to submit a
commitment letter
, besides Application Form, regarding the
continuation
of their Japanese language program on a long-term basis
after the grant support ends
and
BEYOND
. The stronger the commitment is, the better chance of your receiving the grant.(Our one-year grant support should be
beneficial
to Japanese programs not only while they are receiving our grant support but also
BEYOND
the grant period.) Please contact
[email protected]
for details.
________________________________________
We are also accepting applications for the following grant programs.
Grants for Nationwide/Statewide/Regional-level Events and Projects
(NOT for individual single institutional project)
Non-profit online/virtual events are eligible!
Deadlines:
September 1, 2020
Deadline:
Two months prior to the project start date
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Japanese Language Education Update 80
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How is everyone doing? It’s already July and I’m sure many teachers and students are starting to enjoy their summer vacation/prepare for summer school. At the Japan Foundation, Los Angeles, we are keeping busy with our weekly online Facebook Live events and new project ideas. During the summer, we will be sponsoring American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ) webinar series. The first webinar we sponsored was on Monday, June 22
nd called: “Teaching Writing Online: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji” by Ellen Bearn-sensei (World of Learning Institute, Appalachia Intermediate Unit, PA.) and it was full capacity! There were teachers who were unable to join the webinar and currently, it is uploaded on
https://www.aatj.org/classroom-resources. This webinar not only focused on how to teach writing but taught the participants on how to use the Zoom Annotation Tool. Using Zoom Annotation Tool allows students and teachers to have a more interactive experience online. We were able to also share some resources such as Hiragana/Katakana/Kanji Memory app, which JF provides for free through Apple Store and Google Play Store. We also have an E-learning website called Minato, which helps learners take free courses in learning Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji! The website has different types of courses such as beginners for Japanese so please check it out as well. We will continue to participate in the AATJ webinars and share useful resources pertaining to that specific webinar. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email [email protected] anytime. I look forward to hearing from you!
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