Saw these clouds driving home one day, just leaving Fairfax. Looks like Japan! Can you see it?   

 

 

 

 

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This page is a work in progress. Check back for updates!

 

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Please take a look at the tabs on the side of this webpage for more information.

 

Room Number: 4220

 

Email: ckolesar@phoenixunion.org

 

Tutoring Hours: During Campus Advisory and by appointment

 

Quizlet Page Link: https://quizlet.com/class/594423/

 

Remind Links are listed on the side pages.

 

Club Sponsor: Japanese Club

 

Textbook: Adventures in Japanese 4th Edition (Volumes I, II and III)

 

Affiliations: Member of American Association of Teachers of Japanese, Arizona Association of Teachers of Japanese Member, former Az Matsuri Steering Committee Member, Tankokai Member (Japanese Tea Ceremony affiliate, Urasenke School of Kyoto), DEA, Arizona Gakuen School, Dual Enrollment Instructor through South Mountain Community College

 

Teaching Philosophy:

 

As I am a self-study of Japanese coming into it as a second language and I have experience in tackling a language by myself. I believe in training students to be competent and life-long learners of language. Many of my students are very self-motivated and want to achieve fluency. In my class I want to foster skills with students in language acquisition and mastry so they can enjoy the fruits of being bilingual (or multilingual) and hopefullly use Japanese one day as part of their career.  I also believe in having authentic language experiences, which is why I am very involved with the local Japanese community and Japan.  In the past I have worked with the Japanese Consulate of LA, not only to study in Japan myself, but to do a student exchange program called The Kakehashi Project. Arizona also has a lively Japanese-American community with a rich cultural history. Students participate in the Arizona Matsuri annually as well as the Arizona Japanese Speech Contest.  I also facilitate a trip every two years to Japan through EF Tours, not through the district, to give students the experience of being in Japan and using their language skills.  I follow the ACTFL National Language Standards and philosophies of real-world communication and am a proponent of the IB Learner Profile.  I believe in many Japanese cultural norms, like respect, being polite and diligent and these are the aspects I try to instill in students through making my classroom as authentic of a Japanese cultural experience as I can. In class, we bow to each other every day and train in Japanese etiquette. I believe that all students can learn language and simply need to be taught how to best study according to their needs. I hope your student can join us on this amazing journey of learning a new language and culture.

 

 

 

General Links:

 

 

Phoenix Sister Cities: Himeji, Japan 

 

Japan Consulate of LA

 

Japan Foundation

 

Arizona Matsuri

 

Japanese Friendship Garden of Phoenix

 

Japanese Tea Ceremony School-Urasenke of Phoenix

 

NHK News-English

 

World Language Standards

 

IB Language B Guide

 

Study Site Links are found on their own tab!