A new Japanese educational web series produced by Ohio State Japanese professor Mari Noda is now available online. (Watch the trailer here.)

 NihonGO NOW!, a 12-part video series based on textbooks by the same name, takes a “performed culture approach” to language instruction. The series uses performance as a unit of analysis and learning, depicting personal relationships, scenes, situations, sounds, personal perspectives, and other elements with which learners can empathize.

Noda, a professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, is also the lead author on the NihonGO NOW! textbooks series which is slated to be released in July. The material, published by Routledge, supports beginning-level courses, two to three years of regular instruction at the college level.

Award-winning Japanese film maker Hiroki Ohsawa directed the web video series, which has won awards from several international film competitions. The series received financial support through federal Title VI grant dollars from Ohio State’s East Asian Studies Center.