The World Languages Institute (WLI) has developed a unique online version of "Japanese for Executives," its popular certificate program in Japanese language and cross-cultural training.

The 16-week program, "E-Business Japanese," is scheduled to begin in early March. It will enable participants to acquire basic conversational skills and develop the intercultural competence necessary for business executives to interact successfully with Japanese colleagues here and in Japan.

Although this program will be online, the institute has for years offered on-site language and cross-cultural training to employees of local companies, most recently Delphi Automotive Systems in Lockport and McGard Inc. in Orchard Park.

Mark A. Ashwill, director of the World Languages Institute, says the online course may be the only one of its kind in the country.

"Since most of the course is Web-based and therefore not constrained by time and physical space, participants theoretically can come from anywhere in the country," Ashwill says. "Our initial focus, however, will be regional and limited to 20."

He says the course combines the best of low- and high-tech features in pursuit of its learning objectives. It uses a state-of-the-art, online course-delivery system (i.e., Blackboard) that is both multimedia and interactive, as well as a proven telephone-tutoring system that requires participants to complete "call-in" assignments on a weekly basis.

The program also will make extensive use of the Internet as a resource, a means of disseminating information in text and digital form, and a forum for communication.

Participants will devote an estimated 160 hours to the course, he says, including time spent working online, reading, completing "call-in" assignments and attending workshops.

While most of the work will be done online, participants will meet in workshops held on-campus at the beginning and end of the program, as well as during the program after each unit of study is completed. In addition to a language textbook with accompanying software, the program will use business culture and general cultural texts.

The primary instructor will be Keiko Kuriyama, the WLI coordinator of non-credit Japanese programs and a doctoral student in the Department of Linguistics. Kuriyama will be assisted by Kimio Tanahara, a doctoral candidate in linguistics, and Shiho Igano, an undergraduate major in computer science.

Mitsuaki Shimojo, assistant professor of Japanese, will serve as the project's faculty advisor.