JF/BAJS/BATJ Spring Symposium: (Re)Defining and Promoting Japanese Studies in the UK

How can Japanese studies lecturers and language teachers collaborate to help strengthen Japanese Studies programmes at UK universities?

Co-organised by the Japan Foundation London, the British Association for Japanese Studies (BAJS) and the British Association for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language (BATJ), this two-day symposium brings together Japanese studies and Japanese language staff to discuss ways that they can work closer together to (re)define and promote the field of Japanese Studies in the UK.

The symposium consists of keynote presentations and panel discussion sessions exploring the following topics:

1. Understanding the ‘hook’:

a) What ignites students’ interest in Japanese studies and draws them into studying Japanese language and culture at University level? (E.g., academic research, employment, leisure interest).

b) Has there been any change in students’ profile for the last 10 years?

c) Understanding what students want and need, and how to best respond to them

2. Identifying current trends in the curriculum of Japanese Studies programmes across UK. In particular:

a) How to best use Japanese language materials in Japanese Studies classes/modules

b) How to fully integrate the year abroad into the programme (and what happens if students cannot go)

3. Crystallising the future direction for a better partnership between Japanese Studies lecturers and language teachers