Related Activities

The CML provides Japanese language teaching for business clients in either small groups or on a one-to-one basis. It also provides translation and interpreting services. Since 1994, the CML has run a Development of Postgraduate and Language Assistants in Language Teaching (DOPLA) programme. This annual teacher training course for foreign language assistants and postgraduate teaching assistants is run by CML in collaboration with the University of Birmingham Staff Development Unit and the School of Education.

Japan Societies/Club Activities

There are two Japan related societies at the University. The Birmingham Sakura-kai consists of Japanese people on campus. The Student Japan Society is comprised of both Japanese and non-Japanese members who are interested in Japan .

Both societies meet regularly for social and cultural purposes and provide language/academic support to each other.

Future Developments

The Japan Centre (a part of Institute for Asian Studies) has closed and all Japan related modules are offered through the Centre for Modern Languages, School of Humanities .

Previous Engineering with Language (Japanese) degree programmes have ended. The situation concerning these is currently being reviewed with the hope of introducing new Engineering programmes with a year in Japan .

The Asian Studies with Japanese degree was curtailed when the Institute for Asian Studies closed in 2004. Japanese has been fully incorporated into Humanities degree programmes namely, BA Modern Languages, BA Modern Languages with Business Management and BA Modern Language with TEFL.

Japanese is now part of the Oriental Languages and Culture section, together with Chinese, within the Centre for Modern Languages.

Problems

n/a