An Outstanding Japanese Language Program

/ Blog, In the News, Teacher's Corner / By

NML Benefactor Marian J. Okada Highlights Outstanding Japanese Language Program at Waipahu High School in Waipahu, Hawaii, on Oahu

By Marian Okada and Laura Murray

Ms. Marian Okada, who has been a benefactor of the National Museum of Language, was invited to the public Waipahu High School on Oahu as a potential donor to the Japanese language program there.  She was amazed at the level of preparation of each student, who read remarks in Japanese, as well as the beautiful student-designed and created Japanese stone garden built on the school campus.  Their teacher, Will Smith, is the dynamo behand this great program, that includes student exchanges with sister entities in Hiroshima and Hokkaido.  Next year two Waipahu students will go to Japan to study.  She reported that it was great to see a public school with diverse students push foreign language studies.

The teacher, Will Smith, is a native of Ohio who was introduced to the study of Japanese while in Japan on a JET (Japan Exchange and Teaching) program, which is funded by the Japanese government.  He only intended to stay in Japan for one year, but he became so interested in Japanese language and culture that he stayed the maximum of three years on the JET program.  The skills he developed in Japanese led him from Ohio to Hawaii, where he initially found jobs in the private sector, and eventually to Waipahu High School.  After demonstrating his Japanese language skills to another teacher, he was offered a job on the spot to teach Japanese.  He has stayed there teaching Japanese for 18 years, continually inspired by his students.

Based on his own experience as a foreign student in Japan, initially Mr. Smith hoped to take his students to Japan for educational trips, but it turned out that the cost was prohibitive for most of his students.  One of his innovations that has enabled his students to have contact with native Japanese peers without leaving Hawaii has been hosting hundreds of students from Japan who visit Hawaii under the Japan School Trips program for two-week familiarization tours, to come to Waipahu High School for day-long programs with the local students.  The Japanese schools sending the students to Hawaii make donations to the Japanese department at Waipahu High School.  These funds cover travel costs for a few Waipahu students per year to visit Japan for two-week homestays with a Japanese family.   

Mr. Will Smith is truly a model of creativity and dedication to his students.  Photos of the Japanese stone garden he and his students built are a tangible symbol of the impact one amazing teacher can have. 

Demo Title

Demo Description

My first Popup

This will close in 20 seconds

Fanni is Radnóti's wife
Located near the Tang capital city of Chang’an, site of the modern city of Xi’an in Shaanxi province, in central China.
Soldiers of that time commonly wore a white head cloth, similar to what is still worn by some peasants in China today.  The implication is that the conscripts were so young that they didn’t know how to wrap their head cloths, and needed help from elders.
Before China’s unification under the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C. there were several competing smaller kingdoms.  Han and Qin were two of these kingdoms. Han was located east of famous mountain passes that separated that area from the power base of the Qin dynasty, with its capital in Chang’an. The Qin dynasty itself only lasted about 15 years after unification due to its draconian rule, but soldiers under Qin rule retained a reputation as strong fighters.
The area of Guanxi, meaning “west of the passes”, refers to the area around the capital city of Chang’an.
This is an alternative name for a province in western China, now known as Qinghai, which literally means “blue sea”.  Kokonor Lake, located in Qinghai, is the largest saline lake in China.  
Before China’s unification under the Qin dynasty in 221 B.C. there were several competing smaller kingdoms.  Han and Qin were two of these kingdoms. Han was located east of famous mountain passes that separated that area from the power base of the Qin dynasty, with its capital in Chang’an. The Qin dynasty itself only lasted about 15 years after unification due to its draconian rule, but soldiers under Qin rule retained a reputation as strong fighters.
Oulart Hollow was the site of a famous victory of the Irish rebels over British troops, which took place on May 27, 1798. The rebels killed nearly all the British attackers in this battle. (Source: Maxwell, W. H. History of the Irish Rebellion in 1798. H. H. Bohn, London 1854, pp 92-93, at archive.org)
The phrase "United Men" is elaborated upon in the Notes section below.

Ghetto

An Italian word meaning “foundry.” It originally referred to a part of the city of Venice where the Jews of that city were forced to live; the area was called “the ghetto” because there was a foundry nearby. The term eventually came to refer to any part of a city in which a minority group is forced to live as a result of social, legal, or economic pressure. Because of the restrictions placed upon them, ghetto residents are often impoverished.

"You’re five nine, I am do-uble two"

A reference to the year 1959 and the year 2020.

"The Currency"

Meaning US dollars - this is drawing attention to the fact that Cuba is effectively dollarized.

"Sixty years with the dom-ino stuck"

This sentence is a reference to the Cold War notion that countries would turn Communist one after the other - like dominos. Cuba was the first domino, but it got stuck - no one else followed through into communism.

رحلنا

رحلنا, or "rahalna," means "we have left."

Habibi

Habibi means "my love."

Ra7eel

Ra7eel, or "raheel," means "departure."

3awda

3awda, or "awda," means "returning."

أهلاً

أهلاً, or "ahalan," means "welcome."

a5 ya baba

a5 ya baba, pronounced "akh ya baba," means "Oh my father."