tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-365743272011-10-29T08:10:04.485+09:00A support website for the Nara JET Midyear 2008 Keynote and the 2006 Keynote speeches and workshops.Marc Sheffnernoreply@blogger.comBlogger121100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36574327.post-34423072250789469412008-10-30T15:49:00.005+09:002008-11-03T17:45:53.469+09:00

my keynote speech today. Thanks to those of you who made comments and asked questions. One young man pointed out the value of movies to learn about target culture and cross-cultural communication (he mentioned Tampopo - definitely worth seeing if you haven't yet, or re-seeing if you have). You can email me by clicking on the "Email" link on my profile page, or leave a comment on this page.

Marc Sheffnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36574327.post-29881988884047686022008-10-26T11:32:00.002+09:002008-10-26T11:34:52.674+09:00

My handout for my keynote speech on Oct. 30th has been sent to the Institute. It forms the draft for my talk, which draft I am continually adding to. You can access it here on Google Docs.

Marc Sheffnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36574327.post-72465620528071508082008-10-21T21:07:00.004+09:002008-10-21T21:23:05.802+09:00

I've been invited to once again give the keynote address at the Nara JET Programme Mid-year seminar, October 30th, 2008, at the Nara Prefectural Institute for Educational Research. I'm writing my handout now, and will upload it to Google Docs when it's ready.View Larger Map

Marc Sheffnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36574327.post-1163908971622804702006-11-19T13:00:00.000+09:002006-11-19T13:02:51.630+09:00

As was blogged here, there has been a recent spate of bullying-related suicides by high schoolers in Japan. I recommend this book, Japanese High Schools, by Dr Shoko Yoneyama, a sociologist at Adelaide University.

Marc Sheffnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36574327.post-1162742096935387482006-11-06T00:50:00.000+09:002006-11-06T00:54:56.943+09:00

There's a great site I often use, and point students to, for information about Britain and British customs and history: it's the Woodlands Junior School website. Check out the Bonfire Night pages.

Marc Sheffnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36574327.post-1162732412228630252006-11-05T21:04:00.000+09:002006-11-05T22:31:50.816+09:00

Reading the paragraph on Edward Hall reminded me of the strong frustrations that can come out of such cultural differences. This is what is so fascinating about the subject, to my mind. It's not just that "cultures are different". Yeah, so some people eat with knives and forks, some with chopsticks, some with their hands: big deal! So what?? Yawn. The big deal comes when you actually go to one of

Marc Sheffnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36574327.post-1162639588462754942006-11-04T20:16:00.000+09:002006-11-05T20:52:15.113+09:00

Edward Hall is an anthropologist whom I mentioned in my presentation, and one of whose books Hidden Culture is recommended in the sidebar of this blog.Today I found this paragraph about him in an EFL textbook that focuses on cultural identities:Edward Hall has spent his life studying cultural differences, but Hall doesn't study traditional food, clothes, art, or music. Instead, he is interested

Marc Sheffnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36574327.post-1162563661266986842006-11-03T23:15:00.000+09:002006-11-03T23:21:01.273+09:00

Today I came across an example of collectivist cultural values versus individualist cultural values.A Japanese man told me today he was engaged to be married. This man has a younger sister. The man's father passed away about 10 years ago. The man's sister got married about a year ago. The man himself waited until his sister was married before getting married himself, as (he said) he felt this was

Marc Sheffnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36574327.post-1162258195576957012006-10-31T10:17:00.000+09:002006-10-31T10:30:30.043+09:00

I plan to put up a summary of the keynote speech within a couple of weeks or so (why so slow? See below). I also plan to publish the entire text of the speech, including additions and editions based on questions and feedback received. The speech will be available online, and possibly published elsewhere as well.The reason for the delay in putting even the summary online is that I am engaged on a

Marc Sheffnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36574327.post-1162218345406765972006-10-30T22:34:00.000+09:002006-11-01T05:35:19.860+09:00

Thanks again to all.Just want to echo Marc's words of appreciation to all who participated in the Nara JET Mid-Year Seminar 2006. I was blown away by your creativity, the level of participation in groups, and your ability to function cooperatively. Thanks for making my first Mid-Year Seminar on this side of the podium such a rewarding experience.The 'Troubleshooting' workshop posters were

Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01266200087080263595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36574327.post-1162187772631905432006-10-30T14:37:00.000+09:002006-10-30T14:56:12.640+09:00

A big thank you to all of you who attended today's keynote speech, especially those of you who asked questions and who gave me written feedback. I will read it and post about it on this blog within the next day or so.Steve Nishida is also a contributor to this blog/website and will have a post up soon.Meanwhile, you can email us. Our email addresses should be visible if you click our usernames in

Marc Sheffnernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36574327.post-1161752480073161182006-10-25T13:43:00.000+09:002006-10-30T00:48:05.876+09:00

This blog is for the Nara JET Mid-year conference, October 30th-31st, 2006 in Tawaramoto, Nara, Japan. This is intended to be an online collaborative space where participants can interact with the keynote speaker, Marc Sheffner, and workshop coordinator Steve Nishida, both before and after the event. Got some stories, anecdotes, requests, comments, feedback?Already got your own website or blog?

Marc Sheffnernoreply@blogger.com