As part of a series of events run by the Japan Foundation Mexico Cultural Center, under the theme of "Considering the Diversity of Learners," we held a training session for Japanese language teachers on "Universal Design Fonts" and "Communicative Layout."
UD fonts are becoming more widely recognized and used in the Japanese language education world. At the workshop, we introduced lesser known points about using UD fonts, such as stroke order fonts, and introduced ways for users to maximize the appeal of UD fonts.
For a limited time, we are streaming a video of the training seminar held at the Japan Foundation Mexico Cultural Center! If you would like to learn more about the features of UD fonts and how to use them, you can watch it for free by filling out the form below.
*If you would like to hold a similar training session or use the training video above in your classes, please contact us using the form below. Our staff will consider organizing a training session that meets your needs. (Application period: until February 28, 2023)
Introducing some of the contents of the training video
● Introducing the features of UD digital textbook font
● Introducing the key points of layout
Workshop Report
Participant impressions
I already knew about UD fonts,You can learn things you didn't know before, such as stroke order fonts., was very helpful.
UD Digital Textbook Font has been used for flash cards and classroom presentations until now,It is important to consider what you want to communicate while taking advantage of the characteristics of UD fonts, and how you can use them to achieve that.I had been using the same font without understanding any of the points presented in this session, such as: I was very surprised to learn that even with the same font, you can change the size to make it easier to read, or change the thickness of the letters, and emphasize what you want the reader to see.
The Japan Foundation Mexico, which organized the training sessionJapanCultural Center by Professor Goro Satocomment
The training series "Considering Learner Diversity" was planned with the aim of helping participants realize that there are learners with a wide variety of characteristics in this world, and that one day they may be teaching such learners.
It seems that in Mexico's Japanese language education community, an increasing number of teachers are creating teaching materials using UD Digital Textbook Font, but I think that many of them are using it without knowing the characteristics of this font or the benefits of using it.
I myself have previouslyTeacher training hosted by ABK Gakkan Japanese Language SchoolI learned a lot from participating in this program and it changed the way I think about fonts, so I hope other teachers can have a similar experience.
One training participant commented, "I usually only care about the content of the teaching materials, so I realized it's important to be mindful of the format.""As someone involved in helping various people learn, and as a member of society, I was made keenly aware of the need to broaden my horizons." We received comments such as:
As the training participants create teaching materials every day,Choose fonts from the learner's perspectiveI hope that it will be like this.
Changes in materials for training participants
- The illustration and the beginning of the text are aligned, giving the overall impression a cohesive look.
- By increasing the font size of "gentle" and "strict" and making the weight (thickness of the letters) thicker, it is now easier to understand what the document is trying to convey.
- Proper line spacing makes the text easier to read.
- By aligning the letters vertically and horizontally, it is now possible to understand what each one represents without having to connect them with lines.
We asked participants about UD fonts
Do you think UD fonts are useful when learning Japanese?
I thought it would be able to respond to the diversity of our students.
Students from outside of kanji-using countries who are learning beginner-level Japanese are sensitive to even subtle differences in fonts.
twistIt is important to ensure that reading is stress-free and smooth, and that it does not interfere with learning.I think so.
Until now, we have used the hiragana characters "sa, ki" and the kanji character "hachi"If the font is different, learners may not be able to understand or read the same characters.Some students always write the protrusions that form when they place the brush when writing. I have explained the differences between fonts and that it is not necessary to write the protrusions, butIt seems like there would be less confusion if we just showed UD fonts from the beginning..
We would like to thank all the Japanese language teachers from Latin America who participated in the training session. We hope that the appeal of UD fonts and key points for using them, which only Morisawa can share, will be of use to teachers who support Japanese language education.
For a limited time, we are streaming a video of the same content as the training seminar held at the Japan Foundation's Mexico Cultural Center, which many participants found useful!
If you would like to know more about the features of UD fonts and how to use them, you can watch the video for free using the form below.
*If you would like to hold a similar training session or use the training video above in your classes, please contact us using the form below. Our staff will consider organizing a training session that meets your needs. (Application period: until February 28, 2023)
The UD fonts introduced at the training session, which are also useful in Japanese language education, are available through the MORISAWA BIZ+ service (55 UD fonts available for 330 yen per month).
For details on MORISAWA BIZ+Here
If you would like students or teachers to use UD fonts or would like to consider introducing them to your school organization, please contact us using the form below.
Want to know the benefits of introducing an organization?Here
When introducing UD fonts to a school organization, if requested, we can also provide UD font training for teachers, Q&A sessions, and consultations on teaching materials, as described in the article.