Japanese course for third form pupils

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32524, 6 February 1971, Page 17

Japanese course for third form pupils

One of the South Island’s first courses in the Japanese language for third form high school pupils will begin in Christchurch soon.

To be conducted by Shirley Boys’ High School, the new course is designed to offer an option to Latin for third formers.

The .only other school in the South Island considering such a plan is Kaikorai Valley High School, in Dunedin. Parents of this year’s thirdformers at Shirley Boys’ High School who would normally have taken Latin were approached by the principal of the school (Mr M. Denholm) last week, and he said that there was a heavy demand for the Japanese option. The Japanese language course would be extended each year until it was offered

to all form levels in the school, Mr Denholm said. The classes, initially of 40 pupils, will be taken by Mrs R. Graham. She has studied Japanese with the Workers’ Education Association under a teacher in Japanese for the Department of Education (Mr M. Friedberg) and she has also done extra-mural Japanese studies with Massey University.

The District Senior Inspector of Secondary Schools (Mr R. U. Roy) said that the traditional study of Greek and Latin no longer had appeal to secondary pupils. “And French as a modern language is not very appropriate to New Zealand, particularly when one considers the importance of Japanese to this country’s commercial development,” Mr Roy said. Mr Denholm also agreed that a widespread continuity in the teaching of the Japanese language would not be achieved until the new Asian languages department at the University of Canterbury and other groups were able to provide a reservoir of trained teachers. “However, we will be making extensive use of Japanese nationals to assist our programme as it will be based on an oral interpretation rather than a written one,” he said.