On Wednesday, November 16th, the Tokyo English Life Line will hold a free Suicide Prevention Workshop for teachers. This is an opportunity for you to be better equipped to recognize warning signs that may warrant intervention. As of today, there are still spaces available in the workshop. It will be held at the Wesley Center in Minami Aoyama, which is a 10-15 minute walk from AGU’s Shibuya Campus.

EVENT: Suicide Prevention Workshop
WHEN: November 16, 2011 · 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
WHERE: Wesley Center (Click HERE for a map)

To reserve a spot, or for more information about the workshop, contact Vickie Skorji at lls.assist@telljp.com.

You may download the 2012 academic year schedule by clicking on it!

Born in Mississippi in 1956, Steve Gardner is an accomplished blues musician and photographer, having studied photojournalism at the University of Southern Mississippi and blues from the “School of Hard Knocks.” After working as a photojournalist in the States, he came to Japan, where he has freelanced for Japanese magazines as well as for Time and Newsweek. The interest in the blues that he found in Japan led him to create a picture book on Mississippi and the blues, Rambling Mind (1994). His first CD, “Rambling With The Blues” (2002) is this book’s musical counterpart. His latest CD, which he recorded in New Orleans, Louisiana, is “Walkin’ the dog” (2008). Through his music, and stories, Steve Gardner will take us on a journey to Mississippi and show us where the blues came from — both geographically and spiritually.

EVENT: Open Lecture
WHEN: October 27, 2011 (Thursday) 1:15 PM -- 2:30 PM
WHERE: Sagamihara Campus, Room D-316

IE Core and Seminar teachers, as well as teachers of Reading I or II, should feel free to bring their classes to this special event. Professor Strong has distributed corresponding teaching materials to Core teachers. If any other teachers are interested in these materials, please let us know.

Volunteer work has many benefits. It can make you feel more a part of society and it can help you prepare for entering society by giving you useful job skills and general social skills. There is a unique volunteer opportunity in the neighborhood of Aoyama Gakuin University’s Shibuya Campus at the Tokyo English Life Line (TELL), an English version of the service offered in Japanese under the name Inochi no Denwa, a sort of crisis counseling for people who are psychologically/ emotionally troubled. Before you can be on the line there’s a lengthy, but valuable, training. You can learn more about yourself at the same time you learn how to listen deeply to others.

I hope you can find the time to attend the TELL “open house” this Saturday in order to learn more about the organization and the role you might be able to play in it.

EVENT: Life Line Services Open House
WHEN: June 17th 2011 · 7pm – 9pm
WHERE: Wesley Center (Click HERE for a map)
DESCRIPTION (Written by the Lifeline’s director, Jason Chare):

In the days following the March 11th Earthquake and Tsunami, TELL’s Life Line received calls from people across the country and even outside of Japan experiencing severe anxiety. Callers struggled to find accurate information amidst the sensationalized coverage by the media, the exodus of foreigners from the country, the closure of international schools, and calls from panicked relatives back home, all of which significantly added to increased levels of anxiety and worry. Stressors over the subsequent weeks have placed considerable mental strain on the whole country.

Throughout this difficult period, it has been especially important for the Life Line to continue operating and be available to callers, because an unmanned line can add to the sense of instability and panic. Despite the challenges of blackouts, transportation issues and the relocation of some volunteers, the Life Line continued to run uninterrupted throughout the disaster, thanks to the increased efforts of our telephone counselors.

In order to continue supporting the community however, it is vitally important that we  train new counselors, especially in the light of recent events. Each year, TELL runs two Telephone Counselor Training programs, and we are inviting suitable candidates to join the Fall program that begins on September 17th. Held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings  from 6:30 – 9:30pm, the program runs through to December 3rd.

“The course really empowers you on your personal journey,” said a current telephone counselor.
“You grow in confidence knowing that when you finally fly solo you will be
well prepared and that you have learnt skills that you will always be able to call on in any area of your life.”

To better illustrate what the Life Line does and what it means to be a Telephone Counselor, TELL is holding its first-ever Life Line Services Open House on June 17th from 7pm ~ 9pm at the Wesley Center in Minami Aoyama. What does it take to be a Telephone Counselors? Who can apply? What kind of calls do you get? This is your opportunity to hear all about it, ask questions, and decide if the Life Line is something you’d like to get involved with.

Whether you are a university student, teacher, business person, or stay-at-home spouse, the skills you learn in the training will have benefits in all areas of your life, such as how to effectively listen and communicate. Please come and find out more about what is involved and talk to us about the Life Line.

For more information, call the Business Office at (03)4550-1191 or visit www.telljp.com.

Some of you might be thinking about doing some sort of volunteer activity to relieve the hardships of those still suffering in the northeastern part of Japan due to the earthquake and tsunami. Please refer to the Foreign Volunteers Japan blog in order to find some ideas. The opportunities are not limited to foreign volunteers.

Cheers,
Joseph Dias

On the behalf of the English Department and the IE Program committee, we would like to express our deep condolences for those lost in the March 11th earthquake and tsunami, and our sympathy to their families and friends. It is our hope that sufficient resources will reach all those left homeless or injured by the calamity. The last three weeks have been trying for us all, compounded by the tense atmosphere engendered by the nuclear plant crisis. No doubt, if you haven’t already done so, you may wish to explore various ways that you can help with the relief effort by accessing a list of options offered on the Tokyo English Lifeline’s website.

Although other universities in the Kanto area have decided, for various reasons, to delay the start of the academic year until May, we will begin ours as scheduled, from the second week of April. You may download the schedule for the 2011-12 academic year at: http://tinyurl.com/4wb5vmj. Teachers may view the IE Orientation schedule at: http://www.aogaku-daku.org/498-2/.

We sincerely wish you all the best in the coming academic year. Considering the circumstances, it may be difficult for us to concentrate on our classes. Hopefully, we can start the year with a renewed awareness of the importance and fragility of the people around us and make every moment count.

Joseph Dias & Gregory Strong
IE Program Co-coordinators

Many language teaching organizations, such as TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) and JALT (Japan Association of Language Teaching) are making use of Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking services to better connect with their members. Here’s a Facebook community page recently created for the Lifelong Language Learning Special Interest Group of JALT. Feel free to explore it.