ABSTRACT
This chapter describes how the leadership of a small, independent language school, Orange Coast Gakuen (OCG), tried to fundamentally change its approach to teaching the Japanese language. 1 OCG is located in Orange County, California, roughly halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, and was established in 1975 by Japanese immigrants, making it one of the oldest Japanese weekend schools in the region. The school holds classes for four and a half hours on Saturday mornings, and has a 39-week school year that begins in early August and ends in mid-June.
