Ms. Noriko Coyle (K-12 category)
Professor Masako Douglas (Post-secondary category)
Please join us congratulating the 2012 AATJ Teacher Award recipients, Ms. Noriko Coyle of North Penn High School in Pennsylvania and Professor Masako Douglas of California State University, Long Beach. The AATJ Teacher Awards recognize outstanding teachers who have demonstrated excellence in teaching, advocacy, and leadership in Japanese education both locally and nationally. AATJ presented the awards to the winners at the AATJ Awards Luncheon during the ACTFL Annual Convention held in Philadelphia, PA, at the AATJ Luncheon on Saturday, November 17, 2012.
Ms. Noriko Coyle, North Penn High School
Ms. Coyle, as the only teacher in her school’s Japanese language program, is an “ideal World Language teacher,” who has been dedicated to student learning in and outside of classroom by providing students with a well-balanced curriculum, motivating materials on Japanese language and culture, and continuous support. Having started teaching Japanese in 1999 as a single Japanese course, she has expanded the program to a three- tiered sequence of Japanese 1, 2, and 3 (Honors). She established a Japanese National Honor Society chapter in her school district, and inducted seventeen seniors in 2012. She has also been encouraging her students to take the National Japanese Exam. She has expanded the impact of Japanese into her local community through promoting an international exchange program.
Professor Masako Douglas, California State University, Long Beach
Professor Douglas, who is recognized as a “valuable resource” in Southern California, is an “excellent teacher, researcher, and contributor to the development of Japanese language education in the U.S.” Receiving excellent reviews from her students, she constantly tries to offer what is best for her students. In 2007, her advanced course was selected as an example of World Languages Best Practices by the College Board. She has contributed to our profession through her research projects and presentations, AATJ’s JOINT program, and workshops on various topics including CBI, differentiation, and teaching kanji. She has played a central role in the field of JHL, founding the JHL-SIG in AATJ, offering teacher training workshops, publishing a JHL textbook, and advising JHL Saturday schools in Southern California.
