South’s Japanese Program is the home of many unique events including sushi workshops and exchange programs, Amanda Moritz, Instructional Supervisor of World Languages, said. These unique opportunities, with support from the World Languages Department, are mainly run by one person, Japanese Teacher Mai Bryans, more commonly referred to as “Bryans Sensei”. While teaching six levels of Japanese courses and sponsoring Japanese Club, Bryans is making her mark on South’s Japanese program, Moritz added.
The Japanese program was established in 2005 by Yasuko Makita, former Japanese Teacher, who expanded the program over the last 20 years, Moritz said. Although she is in California, she stills assists with the program. Bryans became the Japanese Teacher at the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year and has worked to uphold the foundations of the program while also personalizing it, adding flares of culture and making the language accessible, Moritz said.
Bryans has helped immerse her students in reading, writing, listening, and speaking Japanese, senior Freya Perderson, Japanese Club President and student in Bryans’ AP Japanese Language and Culture course, said. Bryans also maintained the Japanese exchange program,
Pederson added.
“Bryans stepped up and she’s done a good job of not only maintaining the program, but also improving it by being really engaged,” Pederson said. “She’s very involved and does a good job teaching us.”
Alongside managing lesson planning and being a support to the program, Bryans sponsors events like a sushi workshop, which involves
hosting a private chef and catering company to teach students the basics of sushi making, Bryans said. Also, Bryans is trying to organize a Kanji event in April to offer students the opportunity o compete with another school and increase interest in studying Japanese. Many of these events are made possible through the Japanese Chicago Chamber of Congress (JCCC) grant, a prestigious grant that provides funding for the events offered by South’s Japanese program, Moritz said.
“All of the experiences bring the language to life and bring culture into the classroom in a way I don’t think other schools are doing,” Moritz
said.
Bryans works incredibly hard to incorporate culture into her classroom and share her cultural experiences with students who are eager to learn Japanese, Bryans said.
“There are many students who like Japan but they don’t know what’s authentic, what’s real Japan, so it’s really fun, sharing my ideas or my perspective,” Bryans said.
The opportunities offered to Japanese students at South are unmatched to many schools in the area, but they are only made possible through
the efforts of Bryans, Moritz said.
“What I think is special about our program here at South is that Bryans, since Makita, has made it incredibly accessible to students,” Moritz said. “Bryans has created a classroom that is available and open for everyone.”
