Sasakawa Fellowship Fund for Japanese Language Education 10th Anniversary (1995 – 2005)

Japanese Language Learning Game Competition

2005 marks the 10th anniversary of the existence of the Sasakawa Fellowship Fund for Japanese Language Education (NZ). We are celebrating our birthday in a number of ways. This notice signals the launch of a competition for the best original Japanese Language Learning Game.

Closing date will be Friday 23 September.

The game can be on-line, a board game, or any other media the designer wishes.

There will be 4 categories:

1. Years 7 - 8;
2. Years 9 - 10;
3. Years 11 – 13;
4. Open (tertiary, teachers etc).

Schools / tertiary institutions will be permitted to submit up to a maximum of three entries per institution (not per category), thus may need to make pre-selection.

Entries may be submitted by an individual or group. This should be explained in the covering letter attached to the game (available here WORD DOC or PDF).

Games submitted become the property of the Sasakawa Fellowship Fund for Japanese Language Education and will not be returned to the designer. Suitable projects may be considered for further publication and distribution, therefore designers will need to be aware of copyright issues in relation to the component parts of their games. It is essential that everything included in the material:

  • Is the designer’s own original work; or

  • If it is derived or quoted from other work, has had formal written permission obtained for its use and has its source acknowledged.
    (Note that it can be a complicated procedure to secure copyright permission so designers should consider whether the item in question is really necessary.)

Entries submitted need to be completely ready for use and should therefore include detailed instructions on how to play the game, and a statement of the target audience.

(Note: You may find it helpful in the material accompanying your game to use the following format:

  • What is the purpose of the game?

  • Topic

  • Goal

  • Skills addressed

  • Format (ie pair, individual, groups of 3, whole class etc.)

  • Required resources or equipment

  • How to play the game

Entries must also be accompanied by the attached covering form completed in full.

Prizes
In each category, a first prize ($1,000), second prize ($500) and third prize ($250) may be awarded.

Selection will be based on:
• Originality
• Presentation
• Quality of the learning experience involved
• Likely appeal to stated target audience
• Clarity of instructions

Short-listed entries will be trialled by students of Japanese at appropriate levels.

Closing Date
Entries must reach the Programme Co-ordinator by the end of term 3 (23 September)

Further notice
Reminders about this competition will be emailed to those of you on NZJNET closer to the closing date. If you are not on NZJNET, please consider joining as it is the primary route used by Sasakawa, and others, to inform teachers about new opportunities available. The traffic is not high (never more than 10 – 15 messages a week) so it is not an e-mail list that clogs up your system. Joining is simple: Send a message to: nzjnet-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. A message asks you to confirm that you want to join. Simply hit reply and send. No text is required in the e-mail.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries about this competition. My e-mail address is: N.E.Collins@massey.ac.nz. 

We look forward to seeing some exciting games from you and/or your students.

Yours sincerely


Naomi Collins
Programme Co-ordinator
Sasakawa Fellowship Fund for Japanese Language Education
www.sasakawa.co.nz