Job: Supervisory Academic Exchange Specialist – U.S. Department of State (D.C.)
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Via JET alum Carleen Ben. Posted by Jayme Tsutsuse (Kyoto-fu, 2013-Present), organizer of Cross-Cultural Kansai. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
Position: Supervisory Academic Exchange Specialist
Posted by: Office of Global Educational Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Location: Washington, D.C.
Type: full-time
Overview:
A position opening for a supervisory academic exchange specialist (GS-14) or “chief” for a new U.S. Study Abroad branch, located within the Office of Global Educational Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State. This position is described below and the full job announcement, including how to apply, is available at: https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/364303100. The job will close on Friday, April 4. Please contact our HR officer, Chartrina Andrell – email: AndrellCA@state.gov or tel: 202-632-9477 – with any questions regarding this position.
The Supervisory Academic Exchange Specialist directs the U.S. Study Abroad branch, located in the Office of Global Educational Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), at the U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. The U.S. Study Abroad branch (ECA/A/S/Q) administers the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program, the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship (Gilman) Program, and related exchanges and activities to support study abroad by Americans. In addition to program management, the Branch Chief will provide knowledge and expertise on a wide range of programmatic and policy issues affecting ECA programs that support U.S. study abroad and guidance on the promotion, expansion and diversification of U.S. study abroad overall.
WIT Life #264: Campaign
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WIT Life is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends along with her own observations.
Yesterday I went to see director Kazuhiro Soda’s documentary Campaign (選挙) at Japan Society, being shown as part of Richie’s Electric Eight: The Bold and the Daring (part 2 of the film series honoring Ritchie that I talked about in a recent post). It came out in 2007 and was screened at the Berlin Film Festival that year, and was loved by Ritchie who introduced it at a preview at Tokyo’s Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan. This fascinating, self-funded film follows Soda’s Tokyo University (東大) classmate Kazuhiko Yamauchi in becoming the LDP candidate in a by-election for a seat on the Kawasaki City Council, after relocating there from Tokyo for that purpose. Campaign tells the story of how Yamauchi is groomed as a promising newcomer for this well-established conservative party. The LDP is killing it with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his reform platform on the national level, but engaged in a close battle with the DPJ on the local level.
Yamauchi’s education extends to his wife Sayuri, a particularly interesting character in the film. He is instructed to refer to her as his “housewife” (「家内」 or kanai) as opposed to “wife” (「妻」 or tsuma), a term they both take umbrage against but become resigned to using. In addition, Yamauchi’s supporters within the LDP’s well oiled local political machine later encourages her to quit her job to focus on her husband’s political career, an idea that outraged her. Yamauchi urges her to Read More
JQ Magazine: JQ&A with Jim Breen of Monash University on WWWJDIC
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“I just spent several weeks in Finland and Sweden, where the level of English speaking is extremely good. No JET Programmes there. You can’t even argue that they are related languages—Finnish is just as foreign as Japanese, and probably has fewer gairaigo (borrowed words). How do they do it? By teaching it properly in the first place, with trained and qualified teachers.” (Courtesy of Jim Breen)
By Tim Martin (Fukui-ken, 2006-08) for JQ magazine. Tim is a neuroscience researcher and swing dancer based in New York City. He runs a blog called The Floating Lantern, where he writes about humanism and other things that matter. Lately he is trying to learn more about effective altruism and the science of applied rationality.
Jim Breen is the man behind a resource that probably every English speaker trying to learn Japanese has used: the massive WWWJDIC online dictionary. In the 1980s, Breen developed an interest in Japanese that led to him programming a Japanese dictionary for DOS as a hobby. While a professor of digital and data communications at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, Breen continued working on the dictionary, until eventually it bloomed into an interface that connects and cross-references hundreds of thousands of entries for words, names, and kanji.
Now a recognized authority on lexicography and the Japanese language, Breen continues to work on his “hobby,” and is pursuing a Ph.D. in computational linguistics. In this exclusive interview, JQ spoke with Breen to find out how it all began, his thoughts on language teaching and the JET Programme, and how he thinks technology will affect our experiences with foreign language in the future.
How did you develop your interest in, as you say on your website, “things Japanese”? Is there a specific part of Japanese culture or media that got you hooked?
I guess my interest in Japan over other foreign countries began around 1977 when my eldest daughter, then six years old, began to study the violin using the Suzuki Method. My wife, a musician and music teacher, had heard about the Suzuki Method from a lecture and demonstration, had been extremely impressed, and had expressed an interest in our children studying in the method. From that point on Suzuki began to play an increasingly bigger part of our lives as our second and third children began to study within that method. Also, my wife began to explore teaching in the Suzuki Flute Method.
None of this interest was particularly focussed on Japan itself. In 1980, I took most of the year off work to complete my MBA (I was a budding junior executive in Telecom Australia in those days). A fellow student in our classes had studied Japanese, and impressed me by translating some of the titles of pieces in the Suzuki books. Also among the visiting lecturers was a former trade commissioner in Japan, who spoke eloquently about the importance of Japan and the need for people trained in Japanese. I recall going home that night and saying to my wife: “I think I’d like to study Japanese eventually.” She didn’t think much of the idea, and I concentrated on other things like finishing my MBA and completing a music performance diploma.
In mid-1981, my wife said one day that she thought she really should go to Japan to study teaching Suzuki flute with Toshio Takahashi at the Suzuki headquarters in Matsumoto, as there was no one in Australia teaching Suzuki flute. I liked the idea, and we agreed to go the following December and January, which is Australia’s summer period when schools are closed. Our kids, then aged ten, seven and three, could easily miss a couple of weeks school in December. I arranged two months’ Long Service Leave from Telecom (LSL is a employee right in Australia after you have worked more than 10 years with an employer), and after struggling for a short while with Teach Yourself Japanese (all Kunrei-shiki romaji), I also arranged to have weekly Japanese lessons with Brian Drover, who trained as a Japanese linguist in the Australian army during WWII.
So, in late November 1981, five Breens arrived at Narita, made our way into Tokyo, were popped on a Chuo-sen train to Matsumoto by people from the Suzuki organization, and later that day found ourselves being greeted by a welcoming party from the Nagano Girl Scouts(!). (My eldest daughter was a Brownie, so we had set the international tom-toms working.)
We spent two months in Matsumoto living in two tiny six-mat apartments rented to us by the mother of some local Girl Scouts. My wife had piano and flute pedagogy classes, my kids had lessons in violin and piano (the former with Shinichi Suzuki himself), and I did the housework, shopped, minded kids, tried to study Japanese, etc.
I guess I don’t have any particular parts of Japanese “culture” I concentrate on—my tastes are rather catholic in this regard.
$10K in Matching Funds for Tohoku Relief Still Remains!
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If you’d still like to donate to the Taylor Anderson Memorial Fund (TAMF) in support of Tohoku relief efforts, there’s still time! $10,000 of matching funds remains but will no longer be available in a few days.
Donation website: http://www.globalgiving.org/fundraisers/jets-rally-for-tohoku/
The JET/JET Alum community has already come through to an inspiring extent, raising $23,968 for the TAMF through Global Giving. This is already beyond prior expectations, and the Anderson family (which on Thursday attended a showing of “Live Your Dream: The Taylor Anderson Story“at the Council on Foreign Relations which included State Department and Japanese Embassy representatives as well as a strong JETAA DC crew) has been extremely appreciative.
But if you haven’t had a chance to donate yet or you feel like making another donation, please know that for the next day or two matching funds still remain.
Thursday’s showing of “Live Your Dreams: The Taylor Anderson Story” at the Council on Foreign Relations. Those pictured include Andy Anderson (middle), Paige Cottingham-Streater (middle-left), Jim Gannon (right) and JETAA DC’s Joanna Blatchly, Leigh Ann Mastrini, Rebeka Solem, Joy Young, and Paul Champaloux.
Job: Au Pair USA Orientation and Training program – Au Pair USA (NYC)
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Via JET alum Carleen Ben. Posted by Jayme Tsutsuse (Kyoto-fu, 2013-Present), organizer of Cross-Cultural Kansai. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
Position: Orientation Assistant
Posted by: Au Pair USA Orientation and Training program
Location: New York, NY
Overview:
The Au Pair USA program at InterExchange seeks an assistant to help with the administrative tasks of the Au Pair USA Orientation and Training program along with some additional special projects. The Au Pair USA program welcomes hundreds of au pair participants to the United States each year on a J-1 cultural exchange visa. This position is an ideal fit for anyone interested in gaining further knowledge of international cultural exchange programs, working in a multicultural environment, and conference event planning and execution.
The Orientation Assistant is responsible for helping the Participant Service Manager, who is directly in charge of running the InterExchange Au Pair USA Orientation and Training Program. The Orientation Assistant helps prepare for arrivals, works with newly arrived au pair groups, assists with classroom trainings and is the liaison between the au pairs and the New Yorker Hotel staff. InterExchange is searching for someone familiar with the excitement of arriving to a new country to start a study abroad or cultural exchange program.
During arrival weeks, up to 70 international au pairs arrive to New York City to begin our five-day Orientation and Training Program. At the end of the orientation week the au pairs travel to their host families to begin a year of living in the U.S. The Orientation and Training Program, like the entire Au Pair USA program, is regulated by the U.S. Department of State. We believe the Orientation and Training Program should be instructive, safe, fun and informative.
Hours: 20 hours – approximately every other week.
Dates of Employment (approximate): ASAP – October 10, 2014, with a possibility to continue through the end of the year.
Pay: $15/hour
Visit the job listing for more information and to apply: http://www.interexchange.org/au-pair-usa-orientation-assistant
Job: Enrollment Advisor – University of Nicosia Global Semesters (NYC)
Jobs Comments Off on Job: Enrollment Advisor – University of Nicosia Global Semesters (NYC)
Via JET alum Carleen Ben. Posted by Jayme Tsutsuse (Kyoto-fu, 2013-Present), organizer of Cross-Cultural Kansai. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
Position: Enrollment Advisor
Posted by: University of Nicosia Global Semesters
Location: Manhattan, NY
Type: full-time
Overview:
The University of Nicosia Global Semesters has an opening for an Enrollment Advisor in Manhattan, NY. Global Semesters is the education abroad unit of the University of Nicosia, one of the largest English-language research universities in the Mediterranean. As a member of the enrollment team, reporting to the Enrollment Manager, this person will be responsible for responding to new student inquiries via inbound and outbound telephone/email, as well as assisting enrolled participants with program-related questions, application procedures and other tasks as they prepare to study abroad on a Global Semesters program.
Job: Translation Opportunity – JA>EN (on-going)
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Posted by blogger and podcaster Jon Dao (Toyama-ken, 2009-12). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Overview:
[Steve’s Note: Received from TransPerfect following a chat with CLAIR’s Matt Gillam since both of their offices happen to be on the same floor in the same building! I know of at least one JET alum who has worked for the company btw. I’m sure there are others.] Read More
Job: SThree Internationalist Recruitment – Trainee Consultant (Tokyo)
Jobs Comments Off on Job: SThree Internationalist Recruitment – Trainee Consultant (Tokyo)
A JET-relevant listing from JET alum Vijay Deol (Kyoto-fu, Ujitawara-cho, 2002-04) who who is a Managing Director for SThree, which, he notes, has hired other JET alums as well. Posted by blogger and podcaster Jon Dao (Toyama-ken, 2009-12). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Trainee Consultant
Location: Tokyo
Overview:
• To understand and match the needs of clients and candidates
• To manage the end to end recruitment cycle including job lead and candidate generation, candidate qualification, interview/offer process through to after placement service
• To provide quality tailored recruitment solutions in line with Brand Winning Proposition Read More
Job: J-E Interpreter Needed ASAP (Nashville, TN)
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Thanks to JET alum Cameron Manning who works in the Nashville Consulate for passing this along. Cameron, who was contacted by ABS, said: “ABS Language Services needs an interpreter in the Nashville, TN area. The interpreter needs to be fluent in Japanese, but it’s not necessary for them to be a native speaker.” Posted by blogger and podcaster Jon Dao (Toyama-ken, 2009-12). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Japanese/English Interpreter
Location: Nashville, TN
Overview:
ABS Language Services has an urgent need for a Japanese interpreter. The interpreter does NOT have to be certified, as ABS is an ATA and BBB certified agency. Read More
Volunteer: Director of Member Engagement – Global Language Network (DC)
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Originally posted to JETAA DC Google Group by JETAA DC Volunteer Chair Paul Schuble (Hyogo-ken, 2008-11). Posted by blogger and podcaster Jon Dao (Toyama-ken, 2009-12). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Director of Member Engagement
Location: DC
Salary: Volunteer
Overview:
The Global Language Network, a nonprofit dedicated to offering volunteer language classes in over 60 languages, is looking for a volunteer to take on a leadership role and head up their Language Liaisons program.
This is a single position and it looks to require a solid time commitment, but it also sounds like a great organization and awesome opportunity. Read More
Let’s Talk Japan is a monthly, interview format podcast covering a wide range of Japan-related topics. Host Nick Harling (Mie-ken, 2001-03) lived in Japan from 2001 until 2005, including two great years as a JET Program participant in Mie-Ken. He practices law in Washington, D.C., and lives with his wife who patiently listens to him talk about Japan . . . a lot.
In this episode, I speak with Ambassador John Malott, President emeritus of the Japan American Society of Washington, DC about the inaugural Cinematsuri Japanese Film Festival (March 23-27). In addition to discussing what it takes to organize such an event, we cover recent trends in Japanese cinematography and introduce some of the best new films from Japan.
Enjoy!
Nick
If you have not already done so, be sure to “Like” the podcast on Facebook, and follow the podcast on Twitter @letstalkjapan. Additionally, please consider leaving a positive rating and/or review in iTunes.
【RocketNews24】Government form allows Japanese romantics to officially declare their love
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Posted by Michelle Lynn Dinh (Shimane-ken, Chibu-mura, 2010–13), editor and writer for RocketNews24. The following article was written by Casey Baseel, a writer and translator for RocketNews24, a Japan-based site dedicated to bringing fun and quirky news from Asia to English speaking audiences.
Generally, Japanese culture tends to handle emotional expression a little less directly than in English-speaking countries, especially where romance is concerned. In particular, couples in Japan aren’t nearly as likely to regularly say “I love you” as their Western counterparts are or be seen smooching in public.
In certain situations, though, these roles get flipped. For example, while most Westerners would feel awkward making the explicit statement, “Please be my boyfriend/girlfriend,” in Japan that exact phrase, tsukiatte kudasai, is a pretty common romantic milestone, and something that many actually expect their partner to say in order to explicitly recognize the nature of the relationship.
Now, couples can even have their affection officially recognized, as lovers in Japan can submit government documents certifying their love for each other.
Job: Program Coordinator, Northeastern University (Boston, MA)
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Via JET alum Carleen Ben. Posted by Jayme Tsutsuse (Kyoto-fu, 2013-Present), organizer of Cross-Cultural Kansai. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
Position: Program Coordinator
Posted by: College of Professional Studies, Northeastern University
Location: Boston, MA
Type: full-time
Job Duties:
The N.U.in Program is a unique opportunity for freshmen accepted for Spring Admission to Northeastern University. Participants study with one of our international partner institutions around the world during the Fall semester and enter Northeastern University in the Spring. Partner universities or institutions abroad provide academic courses to the participants while N. U.in staff provide on-site leadership and support services.
The Program Coordinator will take proactive steps to serve the N.U.in participants and parents in collaboration with Northeastern University colleagues and international partners with a constant dedication to operational improvements and the implementation of a high-quality program. Overall, the Program Coordinator will develop necessary steps to promote success for the N.U.in participants and the N.U.in Program, while maintaining the mission of NU Global and Northeastern University.
Job: Research Assistant- MIT-SUTD Collaboration (Cambridge, MA, and Singapore)
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Via JET alum Carleen Ben. Posted by Jayme Tsutsuse (Kyoto-fu, 2013-Present), organizer of Cross-Cultural Kansai. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
Position: Research Assistant
Posted by: MIT-SUTD Collaboration
Location: Cambridge, MA, and Singapore
Type: full-time
Job Duties:
The MIT-SUTD Collaboration is seeking a research assistant in the field of education, with a focus on student leadership. Specialization in STEM education is preferred. The position combines research and teaching. The ideal candidate would have a background in education policy and/ or management, or relevant fields. He or she must be flexible in working both at Cambridge, MA, and Singapore. The duration of the appointment will be for the summer. Location: Cambridge, MA; Singapore Major Areas of Responsibility include:
- Co-develop and co-run an 8-week leadership workshop at SUTD in the summer of 2014.
- Work alongside a team of other researchers in crafting a research portfolio on educational innovations by the MIT-SUTD Collaboration.
- Be part of a team that works on developing leadership programs for the MIT-SUTD student community.
Job: Study Abroad Program Advisor – UNLV Reno
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Via JET alum Carleen Ben. Posted by Jayme Tsutsuse (Kyoto-fu, 2013-Present), organizer of Cross-Cultural Kansai. Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
Position: Study Abroad Program Advisor
Posted by: University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC) at the University of Nevada, Reno
Location: Reno, NV
Type: full-time
Job Duties:
The University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC), headquartered at the University of Nevada, Reno, is seeking energetic candidates to contribute to a dynamic and growing organization in a full-time administrative faculty (professional) position at our Central Office in Reno, NV.
The Program Advisor reports to the Student Information Department, and is responsible for providing advisement to US and international students; maintaining accurate program information; managing student events; advising prospective and enrolled study abroad students; problem resolution; visa assistance; and supervision of a student employee, as needed.
