Modern Languages Commons^™

Walt Disney And China: How Glocalization Shaped Shanghai Disneyland, Becca Maclellan

Modern Languages, Philosophy and Classics Theses

This thesis applies the glocalization theory to a comparative study of the Disney theme parks in the United States and Shanghai, China. It argues that Walt Disney’s glocalization through integrating Chinese culture into the Shanghai Disney theme park brought commercial success to the company. Additionally, it also set up a good example for other businesses interested in global expansion.

Aatj’S Role In Diversity And Inclusion: An Opportunity To Transform Into A Well-Integrated Organization, Suwako Watanabe

World Languages and Literatures Faculty Publications and Presentations

According to the survey results, 57% of the survey respondents said no to the question, “Is the Japanese language educator community in North America diverse one?” (Mori, Hasegawa, Park, and Suzuki, this volume). This result suggests that the American Association of Teachers of Japanese (AATJ) as a professional organization needs to improve diversity within the field. What is a more important question is whether or not our organization and its membership as a whole embrace the value of diversity and put it into practice in every aspect of their profession on a daily basis. The survey results make it clear …

Useful And Effective Worksheets To Enhance Communicative And Reading Skills For Japanese Language Learners, Masako Nunn

Q2S Enhancing Pedagogy

The purpose of this project is to create useful and effective worksheets to accord with the current textbook (Genki I, published by the Japan Times) in the aim of enhancing Japanese language learners’ communicative and reading skills. Therefore, this project includes the following worksheets in learning Japanese language in accord with the current textbook, Genki I (2^nd edition) to enhance communicative and reading practice. This package includes the following: 1) worksheet; 2) worksheet answers; 3) vocabulary worksheet; 4) three PowerPoints with voice recorded; 5) reading supplement- PowerPoint with vocabulary and sentence practice; 6) reading supplement with auditory aid; 7) …

Writing Instruction In China: Challenges And Efforts, Rongrong Dong, Danling Fu, Xiaodi Zhou, Buyi Wang

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

This qualitative study examined the current writing instruction in 1-12 level education with the data collected in three Chinese cities. The data from the Interviews of teachers and teacher-educators at different levels and from classroom observations at upper elementary to high schools in three metropolitan cities across China provide insights into 1-12 writing instruction in contemporary China. To further reveal the efforts taken by writing teacher under China’s high-stakes testing culture, this paper also presented a case study of an exemplary 10th grade writing teacher, who took tremendous efforts in nurturing true readers and writers in his classroom under the …

Daoism And Dialogism: A Dialogue Between China And The West, Xiaodi Zhou

Bilingual and Literacy Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, I explore Chinese Daoist theoretical connections with modern conceptions of dialogue and Western theories of psychology (Murase, 2008). I investigate and compare these lines of Western thinking (Strang, 2004) with classical Chinese thought (Zhang & Chen, 2009), noting the complexities in each. I discuss and disseminate how the Daoist principle of yin yang may be related to the dialogic understandings of Bakhtin (1981, 1984a, 1986, 1990, 1993). I also contend that the Western field of psychology, particularly the work of Carl Jung (2014), has incorporated Daoist principles of yin yang in its conception and practice. I argue …

Conversational Chinese Ii Chn 122, Joanna Burkhardt

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Conversational Chinese Iii, Joanna Burkhardt

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

Conversational Chinese Iv Chn 124, Joanna Burkhardt

Library Impact Statements

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Program Structure On Language Acquisition And Intercultural Competence: A Comparative Study Of Study Abroad Programs In Kunming, China, Samantha Bergman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

According to the Project Atlas study conducted by the Institute of International Education, China is the world’s third most popular study abroad location. With over 390,000 international students currently studying in China, there are more opportunities for cultural exchange and mutual understanding than ever before. However, there is still relatively little existing research on how different study abroad program structures impact students’ Chinese language skills and cultural literacy.

This study examined the impacts of experiential learning and intensive language study abroad program structures on students’ language acquisition and intercultural competence development. Two study abroad programs based in Kunming, SIT China: …

Confucius Institute Fall 2014 Publication (Report), Dr. Wei-Ping Pan Director

The Confucius Institute Publications

No abstract provided.

Review Of: Japanese And Continental Philosophy: Conversations With The Kyoto School, Michiko Yusa

Modern & Classical Languages

The aim of this anthology of seventeen essays, clearly set forth by the editors’ introduction, is “to promote dialogue between Western and Eastern philosophy, and more specifically between Continental philosophy and the Kyoto School” (p. 1). This venture is guided by the conviction that philosophy is ultimately “a quest for liberating wisdom” and not just an academic exercise (p. 15). This book comes as a timely response to today’s globalized environment, which is fast becoming one-dimensional, flat, and uniform, and in which human beings are unwittingly reduced to mere “numbers” for the profit of faceless corporations.

Review Of: Asura's Harp: Engagement With Language As Buddhist Path, Michiko Yusa

Modern & Classical Languages

Asura's Harp: Engagement with Language as Buddhist Path by Dennis Hirota is a book that grew out of lectures given by the author at the Fürst Franz-Josef and Fürstin Gina Memorial Philosophy Lecture series in Liechtenstein (p. 153). Herein the author examines the significant role that language plays in the religious practice of the True Pure Land Sect of Japanese Buddhism (hereafter referred to as Shin Buddhism), founded by Shinran (1173-1263). Hirota's original audience being those present at his lectures, this book directly engages Western intellectuals, Christian and non-Christian.

Review Of: Aspect In Mandarin Chinese: A Corpus-Based Study, Edward J. Vajda

Modern & Classical Languages

The authors of this study pursue two goals. Citing examples from a large corpus of texts rather than relying primarily on native-speaker intuitions, they provide a fine-grained account of how aspect operates on both the lexical and sentential levels in contemporary Mandarin Chinese. Based on this description, they propose a number of refinements to currently existing general theories of aspect. The accompanying discussion revisits such important issues as the difference between aspect and Aktionsart, situation aspect vs. viewpoint aspect, contextual levels of analysis, and the notion of time vs. space in definitions of event boundedness.

Review Of: A Grammar Of Mangghuer: A Mongolic Language Of China's Qinghai-Gansu Sprachbund, Edward J. Vajda

Modern & Classical Languages

One of the least remarked aspects of the Mongol conquest is the dissemination of Mongolic languages to various corners of Eurasia. Like the far-flung remnants of a supernova, some of these are still spoken today. Keith Slater's book is a detailed synchronic description of one such language, called Mangghuer, which has received little attention from Western linguists before the appearance of this study.

Review Of: Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar, Edward J. Vajda

Modern & Classical Languages

This concise yet detailed treatment of Standard Mandarin Chinese focuses almost entirely upon diverse aspects of phrase and sentence construction. It is not a basic learner's grammar with a graduated presentation of material. Lacking any introduction to the phonology or writing, this book is intended for those already familiar with some form of Chinese orthography.

Review Of: Awesome Nightfall: The Life, Times, And Poetry Of Saigyō, Michiko Yusa

Modern & Classical Languages

A quarter of a century ago William LaFleur published his book on Saigyō, Mirror for the Moon, which the present work, Awesome Nightfall: The Life, Times, and Poetry of Saigyō, thoughtfully and masterfully supersedes. In the first part of the book, "The Life and Times of Saigyō," the author succinctly incorporates many of these findings and relates Saigyo's poems both to historical events and to his personal life experience (pp. 1-70). The second half of the book contains LaFleur's translation of over 150 poems by Saigyō, all of which appear to be taken from his earlier book.

Review Of: The Phonology Of Standard Chinese, Edward J. Vajda

Modern & Classical Languages

San Duanmu's eclectic, clearly written approach to the sound pattern of Standard Chinese (or putonghua, China's official lingua franca used by hundreds of millions) could easily serve as an undergraduate text, yet his presentation is rich in theoretical proposals. Explanations are based on a variety of perspectives, from traditional views of the phoneme to feature geometry and optimality theory (OT), each concisely introduced so that the discussion is easy to follow, even for the novice. The result is a flowing, integrated approach that addresses-and solves-some of the thorniest perennial problems in Chinese phonology.

Review Of: Women Living Zen, Michiko Yusa

Modern & Classical Languages

This is an anthropological study, carried out with love, care, and attention to detail, of the Japanese Sata nuns. Why would modern (Japanese) women want to give up the comforts of modern life, part with their beautiful hair-a powerful symbol of womanhood-and become monastics? What are their self-perceptions and their daily lives like? Arai ably answers these questions. She first takes the reader on a journey through the history of Japanese monastic Buddhist tradition, which began when three women were ordained sometime around the year 590. She then clarifies the modern academic arguments surrounding Dogen's view of women's capacity for …

Review Of: L'Lo E Il Tu, Michiko Yusa, Massimiliano Tomasi

Modern & Classical Languages

L'lo e II Tu is an Italian translation of Nishida KitarO's 1932 essay, "Watakushi to Nanji" (I and Thou), with an introduction by the translator, Renato Andolfato. The translation is followed by an essay by Giangiorgio Pasqualotto, the author of II Tao della Filosofia (1989), who teaches at the University of Padova. The present book grew out of Andolfato's graduation thesis of 1994 for the University of Venice. Since Nishida's "I and Thou" has never been translated until now, this is a welcome addition to the field of Nishida Studies. The book tells its readers something about the scholarly interest …

Review Of: Emerging From Meditation, Michiko Yusa

Modern & Classical Languages

This volume contains an English translation of Okina no fumi (Writings of an Old Man) (1746) and Shutsujo-kogo (Emerging from Meditation) (1745), by Tominaga Nakamoto (1715-1746), preceded by the translator's Introduction and followed by a Note on the editions used, the Conventions adopted in translation, a Bibliography, and Indexes of writings and characters for titles of writings and other names. Pye's translation assertively brings onto the Western academic stage a free and critical thinker, Tominaga Nakamoto-an unexpected but by no means unusual product of Tokugawa Japan, as Pye makes clear in his Introduction-who has hitherto been given very little attention …

Review Of: The Complete Guide To Everyday Kanji: A Systematic Approach To Mastering The 1,945 Jōyō Kanji As Well As 1,257 Common Compounds And Reading Japanese Financial Newspapers: An Innovative And Integrated Approach To Enhancing Reading Competence In Business Japanese, Michiko Yusa

Modern & Classical Languages

These books, both assisted by grants from the Japan Foundation, are welcome additions to the library of fast-growing Japanese language materials. Both volumes show the enormous time and effort that the authors put into them. The Complete Guide to Everyday Kanji, a carefully arranged reference to the 1,945 joyo- kanji, presents every kanji with on- and kun-reading(s) as applicable, a concise etymology and English meaning(s), and one or two words, either by themselves or in compounds.

Reading Japanese Financial Newspapers is a textbook, suitable for the students of intermediate to advanced Japanese. This book cannot but be a fruit of …