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Since the May 1985 submission of a report done by a Research Meeting Concerning Promotion of Japanese Language Education titled "Concerning the Training of Teachers of Japanese Language", in which concrete contents for teacher training were spelled out, the efficient pre- service training of Japanese language teachers has been conducted. According to a survey by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. as of November 1991, 74 Japanese language teacher training courses had been established in the faculties of national, local public and private universities i 11 in postgraduate courses and 12 in junior colleges. These institutions conduct theoretical and practical studies in the area of Japanese language education, along with studies in related spheres. The number of trainees stood at 12,714 as of 1991. (Concerning training courses for Japanese language teachers at national universities, cf. Table I-2-7 .)

Table l-2-7 Training Courses for Japanese Language Teachers at National Universities

Besides these, there are 68 Japanese language teacher training courses in various forms at institutions other than universities.

The Japanese Language Teaching Competency Test has been carried out under the sponsorship of the Japan International Education Association since 1987, in order to assure the competency of Japanese language teachers and to improve the level of Japanese language education. This examination is to test and certify that the examinees' knowledge and ability are adequate to qualify them as experts in 'their field. This exam, administered for the sixth time in January 1993, was taken by 6,846 candidates, 1,272 of whom passed it successfully.

The National Language Institute's Centre for Teaching of Japanese as a Foreign Language has been providing various types of in-service training programs for those presently engaged in teaching Japanese as a foreign language, so that they may gain the special knowledge and skills necessary to improve the quality of their instruction. These programs include long-term training programs meant to foster those who will play central roles in Japanese language education, and a mutual training network for Japanese language teachers which is designed to provide teachers presently engaged in teaching with access to a network for assistance with problems that they may encounter in the course of their everyday teaching activities. Approximately 400 teachers participate in these programs annually.