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YDM - achievements and history

Companies
  • Nissan Motor Co

    Atsugi Technical Center

    Headquarters (Skill Training Division)

    Kanagawa Oppama Plant

    Tochigi Utsunomiya Factory * 1

    Mexico Factory * 2

    Nissan Europe (Netherlands)

  • Pasco Co.

    Main office (Japan)

    Manila branch office (the Philippines)

  • Japan Britannica
  • Nippon Pigment Co.
  • Aoyama Law Office
  • Venezuela National Shipping Co. (Headquarters)
  • Compaq Inc.
  • Sharp Co.
  • Hitachi Co.
  • Toray Co.
  • Yaohan Co.

    * A 3-month YDM Japanese intensive course was established at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Tochigi Plant in Utsunomiya with the supervision of the Ministry of Labor run "Central Vocational Ability Development Association".
    The ability to take a one-year curriculum at Cornell University in the United States was greatly praised. (February 1990)

    * At Nissan Motor's Mexico plant, a YDM Japanese language course was opened for 200 local employees to boost the local penetration (localization) of the company. (1990-1991)

    * YDM was selected for the Japan Foundation's list of Japanese teaching materials donated and distributed free of charge to Japanese language educational institutions around the world.
    In the same year, YDM was introduced in the August issue of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs monthly newspaper "Apic" and distributed to Japanese embassies around the world. (1989)

    * The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan delegates Nobuko Yokoyama as a cultural lecturer to America and Hong Kong. (1992)

    * Practical demonstration of YDM at the Institute for Language and Culture Research 40th Anniversary Symposium (November 1989)

Government Institutions
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • Ministry of Labor (Central Vocational Ability Development Association)
Educational Institutions
  • Kano Gakuen School
  • Tokoha University
  • Chubu University Women's College
International Exchange Organizations
  • Organizations belonging to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
    • The Japan Foundation
  • Shizuoka International Exchange Association

Overseas achievements

At Nissan Motor's Mexico plant

YDM History

  • 1988 - Setup of Japanese Education Center
  • 1989 - "See, hear, understand - Nobuko Yokoyama's Japanese"
    • Published in 7 volumes.
    • Started a Japanese teaching method course at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
    • Pasco Co. (in Manila, the Philippines)
    • Opened a Japanese teaching course。
  • 1990 - Nissan Motor Co. / Tochigi Plant Japanese teacher training course and 3-month intensive Japanese language course for Asian trainees (See "Project Examples").
    • Japanese teaching method courses st Tokoha Gakuen University and Yomiuri Bunka Center (in Ginza/ and Shinjuku).
    • Sealed a sales contract with Japan Manpower Co., Ltd.
  • 1990-1991 - A Japanese language teacher training course was held at Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.'s Mexico plant, and a Japanese language course was held for two months for local Mexican employees (see "Project Example").
  • 1992 - Nobuko Yokoyama (President) dispatched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Stanford University and Willamette University in the United States as a cultural lecturer.
  • 1993 - Setup of YDM Language International Holding Ltd. together with Yaohan Co.
  • 1993 - Nobuko Yokoyama (Representative Director and President) was dispatched to Hong Kong as a cultural lecturer by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.横
  • 1993 - Nobuko Yokoyama - receives an award from the "Soroptimist International of the Americas (Tokyo-Azuma)
  • 1995 - Cease the contract with Yaohan Co.
  • 1996 - YDM Language International Inc.（YDMランゲージ･インターナショナル･インク）設立。
  • 1997 - Introduced Japanese teacher training course and Japanese language course at Nissan Europe (Amsterdam, Netherlands).
  • 2001 - NPO YDM Association is established.
  • 2003 - Developed Japanese language teaching materials for WBT (Web Based Training) system at NTT Resonant Co., Ltd.
  • 2006 - Produced DGBOOK at DG Communications Co., Ltd.
    • "See, Listen & Learn - Japanese Grammar by conversation" Vol. 1-4
  • 2006 - Produced DGBOOK at DG Communications Co., Ltd.
    • "See, Listen & Learn - English Grammar by conversation" Vol. 1-4

Publications

  • 1989 - "See, Listen & Learn - Japanese with Ms. Yokoyama" (7 volumes and 6 cassette tapes)
    • * Renamed Yokoyama Direct Method "Illustrated Japanese Conversation," "Practical Japanese Conversation," and "Practical Japanese Dictionary."
    • "See, Listen & Learn - Japanese with Ms. Yokoyama" - Teaching method video (6 tapes)
  • 1991 - "See, Listen & Learn - English with Ms. Yokoyama" - Teaching method video (6 tapes)
    "English Conversation through Pictures" (4 volumes / 8 cassette tapes)
    • * Later renamed to Yokoyama Direct Method "Illustrated English Conversation"
  • 1992 - "Japanese Conversation for Foreign Workers" (with cassette tape)
    • "Japanese <> Korean, Thai, Urdu"
    • "Japanese <> Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish｣
    • "Japanese <> English, Indonesian, Persian｣
  • 1993 - "Japanese for the Thai working in customer service"
    • "Japanese for the Thai working in customer service"
    • "Japanese for the Koreans working in customer service"
    • "Japanese for the Chinese working in customer service"
  • 1994 - "See, Listen & Learn - Chinese with Ms. Yokoyama" (4 volumes / 16 cassette tapes)
    • * Later changed title to Yokoyama Direct Method "Illustrated Chinese Conversation"
  • 1996 - Yokoyama Direct Method Japanese Learning CD-ROM (demo version)
  • 2003 - Publishing the book Language is culture The story of "Mr. Yokoyama's Japanese"
    • Author: Nobuko Yokoyama / Publisher: YDM Language International Inc.
  • 2003 - WBT (Web Based Training) system - manuals
    • Author: Nobuko Yokoyama / Publisher: YDM Language International Inc. / Seller: NTTR Co.
  • 2006 - DGBOOK, Japanese series
    • "See, Listen & Learn - Japanese Grammar with Ms. Yokoyama" (Vol. 1-4)
    • Author: Nobuko Yokoyama / Publisher: YDM Language International Inc. / Seller: DGC Co.
  • 2007 - DGBOOK制作　英語制作
    • "See, Listen & Learn - Conversational English with Ms. Yokoyama" (Vol. 1-4)
    • Author: Nobuko Yokoyama / Publisher: YDM Language International Inc. / Seller: DGC Co.

Japanese language education project
(Example of implementing "Yokoyama Direct Method" in a real workplace)

Step 1: Teach the YDM teaching method to people who have never taught Japanese to company employees.

Step 2: Thetrainees who learned the Japanese teaching method in Step 1 teache Japanese to foreigners in their company, for a total of 300 hours for 2-3 months.

【Teaching materials】
1."Yokoyama-style Japanese Direct Method" (7 text volumes / 6 cassettes)
2."Introduction to kana for beginners"

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PROJECT 1

Time and location
Step 1: January 10, 1990, at the Nissan Tochigi Plant
　　　Students: 8 Nissan Motor Company employees (former engineers) over the age of 60
　　　Lecturer: Nobuko Yokoyama
Step 2: From February 19, 1990 to May 16, 1990, at the Tochigi Plant in Japan
　　　Students: 17 overseas trainees (Asian trainees sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
　　　Lecturers: eight employees of Nossan Motor Co. who attended the course in Step 1

Result:
　　　・A total of 5,395 words and 2,869 kanji characters were taught in class
　　　・Students could master basic Japanese.
　　　・The students were then able to receive factory training in Japan and Portugal for 20 months.

PROJECT 2

Time and location
Step 1: November 14th, 1990 - at Nissan Motor's plant in Mexico
　　　Students: 10 Japanese plant workers
　　　Lecturer: Nobuko Yokoyama
Step 2: November 15th, 16th - These 10 teachers will teach Japanese to a group of 5 Mexicans per class, and will teach Japanese to 200 Mexicans for 2 months.

Result:
　　　・200 Mexicans have mastered the basics of Japanese.
　　　・They then underwent three months of specialized training at a Japanese automobile factory, rafts returned to Mexico, and supervised production lines of 5,000 Mexican workers.