Japanese Program Georgetown University

10/19/2026

Look what we just received from J.LIVE Talk! 😍🎉The official finalist announcement for our very own George-san! 💙🩶🐶

November 15, here we come! がんばって、ジョージさん！🙌🎉👏 George Rogers

10/19/2026

🎉 HUGE congratulations to George Rogers on being selected as a FINALIST in College Category I of J.LIVE Talk, the national Japanese speech competition! We are SOOOO proud of you, George-san! 💙🩶🐶 What an amazing accomplishment!

The final round will take place on Sunday, November 15, at George Washington University! Let’s all cheer him on and show him lots of Georgetown love and support! 💙🩶

GO, GEORGE-SAN! You got this! Woo hoo! 🙌🎉👏 George Rogers

10/15/2026

10/15/2026

Midterm season must have arrived! 😅We had a smaller turnout than usual at our Japanese Language Table today, but it was nice to have a chance to chat with everyone! 🥰

Omori-sensei was surprised to see Rig-san, who graduated in 2020! The embarrassing part? She had to ask him, 「お名前は？」😭 But as soon as he told her, she remembered him! 🤣 Omori-sensei sent his photo to Sato-sensei, who recognized him IMMEDIATELY! She even dug up a photo from 2019 and sent it to me! 😳 Seriously, Sato-sensei is making Omori-sensei look bad! 🤣🤣🤣 Anyway, Rig-san is back at Georgetown to pursue a graduate degree! It was so great to see him again! 💙

And a little sneak peek for next week! 🍙 We will be doing at our next Japanese Language Table! Stay tuned for details! 😍

10/12/2026

Congratulations to George Rogers IV (CAS U2) and Yinzhe Liu (BSFS U3) on being selected as semifinalists in Category I and Category II, respectively, at J.LIVE Talk❗️

Let’s show our support and cheer them on as they advance to the final round of this exciting competition‼️

The Final Round will take place on Sunday, November 15, at George Washington University.
https://eall.columbian.gwu.edu/jlive-talk-2026-semifinalists

10/10/2026

Kafalas-sensei, Sato-sensei, and Omori-sensei represented the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures at the inauguration of Eduardo Peñalver as Georgetown University’s 49th president! What a wonderful experience! President Peñalver delivered an inspiring speech, sharing his vision and goals for Georgetown, with a little humor mixed in, too! 😄 We are excited to see how many of his ideas and goals will become reality in the years ahead!

The choir and orchestra were fantastic as well! Omori-sensei was especially excited to spot Nancy-san singing in the choir! 😍 Unfortunately, she completely forgot to take a photo with Nancy-san afterward! 😭 Apparently, she was too busy checking out all the food! 🤣🤣🤣

We also enjoyed the reception afterward, where we ran into Kaneda-sensei and had a nice chat! And the food was delicious! Of course, we got especially excited about the desserts! 🤣 There were adorable Georgetown cookies, and Sato-sensei was particularly excited to find pastries that looked just like empanadas! They were filled with guava and were delicious! 😋 We also discovered that Kaneda-sensei is a regular at the empanada stand at the Georgetown Farmers Market, just like Sato-sensei! Who knew empanadas would be such a big topic of conversation at a presidential inauguration?! 🤣🤣🤣 What a special experience! We are so glad we decided to participate in this historic occasion! 💙

One little mystery, though. Omori-sensei somehow managed to lose her Vicennial Medal! 😱 She was allowed to walk with the other Vicennial Medalists, but where on earth did her medal go?! 🤣🤣🤣

10/05/2026

Mori-sensei was the keynote speaker for the Japanese sessions at the FLAVA (Foreign Language Association of Virginia) Conference! 🎉 Her talk, “Reading in Japanese as a Second Language in the Age of AI: Connecting Theory and Developmentally Appropriate Reading Practices,” gave us so much to think about, especially how we approach reading instruction as AI becomes part of language learning. It also led to some great discussions!

The other presentations were excellent too, with lots of practical ideas we can actually bring back to our classrooms. And of course, one of the best parts of FLAVA is getting to spend time with so many wonderful teachers and friends from the DMV area! 🥰

Apparently next year’s conference will be at Kalahari Resort, which has a HUGE water park. 🤣 I’m already entertained by the thought of a bunch of foreign language teachers going down the water slides! 😂

And we had some raffle luck! Omori-sensei won the Día de los Mu***os cat she had her eyes on(plus chocolates! 😆), and Mori-sensei won a water bottle. No raffle prize for Sato-sensei, but she got to have dinner with her son, Julien, and his girlfriend afterward, which seems like a pretty good win! (And Omori-sensei tagged along too! 🤣) Such a fun weekend! ❤️

10/02/2026

It was wonderful to welcome Catherine Wu (BSFS Class of 2026) back to the Japanese Table! A May graduate, Catherine will be heading to Korea next year to teach English. She also brought delicious treats to share with us! Wishing her all the best on her next adventure!

10/02/2026

A creative afternoon at the Japanese Table! We explored the art of Japanese calligraphy and enjoyed seeing everyone’s beautiful creations. Take a look at their wonderful artwork‼️

10/02/2026

JET Program Information Session at Georgetown University!
Join us for a virtual information session with a JET Program Coordinator to learn more about the program, available positions, and the application process.

Date: Thursday, October 8, 2026
Time: 4:00–5:00 p.m.
Location: Virtual (Zoom)
Registration: Scan the QR code on the flyer.
Application deadline for the 2027 departure: Mid-November 2026

For more information about the JET Program, visit jetapplication.com or jetprogramusa.org.