Pioneer of Japanese at UNE retires

January 30, 2007

One of the mainstays of Japanese language teaching at the University of New England is retiring after more than a decade at the university.

Dr Sato Van Aacken joined UNE's Department of Asian Languages, as it was then known, in 1995. Since then she has coordinated units in Japanese for beginners through to advanced learners.

Among Dr Van Aacken's achievements at UNE were the development of a computer program to help people learn Japanese and the negotiation of exchange programs with four Japanese universities. Dr Van Aacken also negotiated $800,000 in scholarships funded by the Japanese government, which have enabled 60 UNE students to study in Japan since 1996.

The computer program Dr Van Aacken designed, "Tokidoki Japanese", is still used to teach Japanese to undergraduate students at UNE.

The convenor of Japanese at UNE, Associate Professor Hugh de Ferranti, said Dr Van Aacken had been a pivotal figure in Japanese language teaching at UNE.

"The shape of the Japanese curriculum at UNE today is largely the result of Sato's efforts in writing, revising and rejuvenating materials for all the mainstream units," he said.

"We are lucky to have had someone of her enthusiasm and ability driving the program for so long."

The exchange programs Dr Van Aacken negotiated were "crucial to the success of UNE students who continue their Japanese study at high levels and achieve fluency", he said.

For her part, Dr Van Aacken said an important change to UNE's Japanese curriculum in recent years had been a new emphasis on Japanese culture as well as language.

"Since Hugh joined us in 2003, he has focused strongly on both culture and language, and that has been very good for the program," Dr Van Aacken said. "Culture is the hardest part to teach outside of Japan, but it is essential to students' understanding of Japanese language."

After completing her BA at Keio University Dr Van Aacken taught Japanese in Tokyo. She received her MA from the University of Hawaii and her PhD from the University of Wollongong. She has taught Japanese for the Foreign Ministry of Japan, the University of Maryland and the Nebraska State Education Department. After migrating to Australia, she worked at the University of Newcastle, Flinders University and Adelaide University, before making the move to UNE in 1995.

Dr Van Aacken is leaving Armidale to move to Melbourne, where she has family.

Posted by Leon Braun at January 30, 2007 03:22 PM