2 ms·

That's just the PBS stuff everyone knows about. Back in the 90's and 00's, PBS had a show called "Irasshai" [1] aimed at high school students. It was a complet

That's just the PBS stuff everyone knows about. Back in the 90's and 00's, PBS had a show called "Irasshai" [1] aimed at high school students. It was a complete two year Japanese language education class filmed in conjunction with Georgia Tech. They produced 140 30-minute lessons and produced two 500 page text books and teacher lesson plans. Study materials, homework, tests - everything. It typically aired at 4 AM, so they asked you to set your VCR to record. If you couldn't do that, they could mail you the entire VHS boxed set of episodes. But that's not the cool and powerful part. They actually let you register for classes and conference call in with an actual teacher. Twice to three times a week with class sizes of 4-6 students. Everyone took turns reading, answering questions, practicing dialogue. All year long. There were tests and grades, and regular 1-1 proctored verbal exams. It was incredible. The entire program was offered for free. It was one of the coolest ways to learn Japanese and it was incredibly effective. This was such an amazing program for high schools that typically only offered Spanish lessons. And now that's gone. [1] https://www.gpb.org/irasshai https://www.gpb.org/irasshai

WalterBright 1y ago
Thank you for the link. The videos are there on the web site, not gone.
- mulmen 1y ago
  The videos may be there but the program is gone.
syndeo 1y ago
Wow. I would've absolutely done that had I known about it. (I was in high school in the very late 2000s/early 2010s, so perhaps I was already too late, but yeah, wow.) Thanks for that link though, a commenter says the vids are still there. (I'm too busy learning Chinese at this point though, I'm afraid!)
drdec 1y ago
What is the case for funding this via a public television station instead of via schools? We already have infrastructure and a wider reach for education in schools? Wouldn't the money have been better served creating a Japanese language program in Georgia high schools?
- jkaplowitz 1y ago
  This benefited interested people nationwide, not only in Georgia but certainly including Georgia, and without disrupting local school’s already tight budgets in ways that their local decision makers would find hard to afford.

WalterBright 1y ago

Thank you for the link. The videos are there on the web site, not gone.

mulmen 1y ago
The videos may be there but the program is gone.

syndeo 1y ago

Wow. I would've absolutely done that had I known about it. (I was in high school in the very late 2000s/early 2010s, so perhaps I was already too late, but yeah, wow.) Thanks for that link though, a commenter says the vids are still there. (I'm too busy learning Chinese at this point though, I'm afraid!)

drdec 1y ago

What is the case for funding this via a public television station instead of via schools? We already have infrastructure and a wider reach for education in schools? Wouldn't the money have been better served creating a Japanese language program in Georgia high schools?

jkaplowitz 1y ago
This benefited interested people nationwide, not only in Georgia but certainly including Georgia, and without disrupting local school’s already tight budgets in ways that their local decision makers would find hard to afford.