The trigger was that our university was selected for the Top Global University Project, known as SGU1) , but even before that, we had been thinking about providing self-study materials for our students to learn Japanese before coming to Japan. This is because our university has almost entirely made English the official language, and many students arrive in Japan without knowing Japanese. I also heard that some students feel difficulty traveling domestically from the airport to our university since our campus is not located in the city.

I see, that's great (laughs). In particular, Series 1 is aimed at zero-beginner learners. As I mentioned earlier, there are international students who enter the country without knowing any Japanese, as well as faculty members, so the aim was to create an opportunity for them to learn useful phrases and expressions for their new life, whether before arriving in Japan or right after.

The production period for Series 1 was just under a year. Discussions began in January 2015, and since the school year starts in October, we aimed for a September release. Filming and editing were handled by the video production company VECKS. There was a bit of a gap before Series 2; it was already the latter part of SGU, but due to the popularity of Series 1, there were calls for a Series 2, and production was decided in the summer of 2022. With a target release in March 2024, the production period is about a year and a half.

As a feature, each episode is self-contained, making it easy to watch casually. Additionally, the series consists of 10 episodes, with the story revolving around a single main character, making viewers want to watch the next episode. The scenes in Series 1 focused on everyday life. A colleague who is a member of the production team investigated problems encountered by beginner students and selected frequently reported issues such as "use of transportation," "shopping," and "restaurants." Additionally, we considered incorporating elements related to Japanese culture and customs.
Series 2 was aimed at students who know a little Japanese, as Series 1 was really survival Japanese. Each scene was chosen with the entire flow from entrance to graduation at the International University of Japan in mind, centered around student life.

The important points were which scenes to include and which expressions to choose. That was challenging as well. For Series 2, I intended to include things like "visiting a Japanese person's home" and "job hunting," but considering there are also students living with children, we thought it would be necessary to include scenes encountered in kindergartens and elementary schools. However, we struggled with the idea that expanding it too much would complicate things, and ended up with what we have now.
Additionally, since it is aimed at zero beginners, the Japanese used by the main character consists of relatively easy-to-remember simple phrases. However, for the lines of the Japanese casts surrounding the main character, we have made them as natural as possible.
During filming, when the shop clerk said, "This line is difficult because I'm not used to saying it," we asked them to please use their usual expression. In the pharmacy scene from Series 1, there was also a request from the pharmacist to include "a piece of advice," which we adopted. That part was challenging and interesting; it was tough to change the lines and content, but we think it was worth it.

Yes, the main character asked students who said they wanted to participate from among those who could speak Japanese to some extent. The students who cooperated, the shop staff, and the hospital staff were all real, so to speak (laughs), they were locals. We didn't provide any acting guidance; of course, we did give the student playing the main character a recording of the model voice in advance and had the main character practice until the last minute, but the director from the production company said, "Since this is a video for learning, let’s focus on clearly conveying the words and content rather than acting," and it felt like everyone was mindful of that.

Series 1 is currently used in two courses. One is the intensive Japanese course right after arrival in Japan before enrollment. The other is a course within the university's Center for Language Education and Research. The university operates on a three-term system, and while students could not take Japanese classes in the first term, those who still wanted to study Japanese and felt it was important were offered the "Japanese for Zero Beginners" course in the second term, which is where it is being used. Series 2 is complete but still new, so we are currently exploring how to use it.

After all, familiar stores and places come up, so students can easily relate and imagine situations, thinking, "Oh, I've seen this before!" In class, it's noticeable that they actively practice saying, "I wanted to know this!" suggesting that it is helpful.

Yes, before the release of Series 1, we had the opportunity to undergo Japanese teacher training in Vietnam, where we received some comments. Aside from the overall impression of "it's interesting and easy to understand," We also received opinions such as "it's easy to remember because it's a short conversation," "it's good that there's a practice section in the latter half," and "it might be good for those who don't understand Japanese yet." So, it was nice to see that it was as intended. Additionally, we heard that there are courses abroad like "Living in Japan," and there were suggestions about wanting to showcase aspects of Japanese culture and circumstances, as well as feedback on those finer details.

It's not quite advice, but initially we created it with self-study in mind; however, as we have increasingly used it in the classroom, we would be happy if teachers could utilize it in a way that suits their settings.
As I mentioned earlier, the Japanese spoken by the Japanese cast in this teaching material is not adjusted for learners and includes sentence patterns and vocabulary beyond the beginner level. We have previously attempted to conduct lessons using this material in classes with differing levels. There, by using dictation handouts prepared for different levels, we received feedback from students of various levels that they learned something new, indicating the potential for using such lessons.
We have also prepared a script in PDF and Word formats, assuming that there may be individuals who cannot read Japanese characters, and it is provided in two versions: "Japanese version with Kanji, Kana, and Furigana"2) and "Roman character version."3) However, in this romaji edition, we have decided to represent "arigato" in a form that is closer to pronunciation, such as "arigatoo." If the educational institution prefers "arigatou," please feel free to change it accordingly.
Also, regarding Series 1, since it was produced ten years ago and the content is outdated, for example, convenience store bags used to be free, but now they are paid, and about chopsticks, are they still free? (laughs) If there are any points that are concerning, we would like you to update them appropriately during the class.

After watching the latest Japanese teacher interview, I felt that Mr. Hatano's "Nihongo Overlapping" and "Speech Training System for Japanese" were really great.
Actually, we also developed an app called "Ganbatte Shadowing" about ten years ago, and it can produce pitch and audio curves in a similar way, so I thought, "Oh, isn't this a competitor?" (laughs). We also wanted to provide evaluation scores, but that was a difficult part for us, so it's really great that it can now be done online. Our app has a lot of materials for practicing conversations and monologues, so I would be happy if you could give that a try as well. If you run out of materials and want to practice with new audio sources, we think it would be good to use Mr. Hatano's "Nihongo Overlapping," where you can upload your own materials.

Many people start learning Japanese with interest at first, but it can also be a long journey where they may face setbacks along the way. However, we live in an era with various contents, apps, and tools available. At our institution, in addition to shadowing apps, we are also developing a character learning app called "Ganbatte Kana." We hope they will actively use these resources and continue their studies.