This project has been funded by the National Institute of Multimedia Education, (NIME) Makuhari, Japan, through the Japanese Ministry of Education, whose support is gratefully acknowledged. Many of my colleagues and the staff at NIME helped and supported the project in various ways.

Crucial support was given at the start of the project by National Foreign Languages Research Center at The Ohio State University. I am particularly grateful to Prof. Diane Birchbichler, the Director of NFLRC, whose interest and support enabled the tutorial to take its first shape.

Also crucial to this project was the technical team we assembled through Neoplan Inc.(http://www.neoplan.co.jp) Their technical expertise and ability to handle a cross-cultural learning situation that sometimes resembled that described in the site contributed greatly to the project. Thanks especially to OKADA Akira, manager and all-around trouble-shooter; MASAKI Tomohisa, our technical developer, whose talent is especially evident in the Flash segments; and HINOURA Takeshi, our graphics designer, whose creativity (and humor) were inspiring.

Content Creator, Producer & Developer Jane BACHNIK NIME Tutorial Designer & Content Consultant Thomas K. O'CONNOR NIME Principle Content Consultant Barbara ITO E-World, Japan Technical Manager OKADA Akira Neoplan, Inc., Japan Technical Development MASAKI Tomohisa Neoplan, Inc. Graphics HINOURA Takeshi Neoplan, Inc. Photography KAKU Seiji Neoplan, Inc. Web Development LEE Hyung-Hye NIME TAKEUCHI Yumiko NIME USUI Emiko NIME TADA Noriko Neoplan, Inc. ARAI Hanae NIME IWASAKI Akiko NIME Student Contributors 15 students abroad in Japan whose homestay notes appear in Part 3. Student Actors Mark HOSANG, & other students at The Institute for International Education of Students. Special thanks to IES, Tokyo Center, for providing various assistance. NIME Actors Particular thanks are due to colleagues who appeared in the site, as "otoosan," "okaasan," or in other guises. Particular thanks are due to YONEYA Eiji, AOKI Fusae, OTSUKA Yusaku, YOSHIDA Takayo, and MIO Tadao. Student Evaluators Focus Group, IES Tokyo Center, Fall 2003 Content and Tutorial Evaluation Charles J. QUINN, Jr. The Ohio State University NODA Mari The Ohio State University Prototype Development Diane DAGEFOERDE The Ohio State University Elizabeth FARRAR The Ohio State University Faculty Advisory Research Group HIROSE Yoko NIME MORI Mariko Kyoto University, Japan Stephen NUSSBAUM Waseda University, Japan Anthony OGDEN IES Tokyo Center, Japan OTSUKA Yusaku NIME SATO Sekiko Tohoku University, Japan Douglass SCOTT Waseda University, Japan Karen SHIRE Duisburg University, Germany SUGIMOTO Taku Chiba Institute of Technology, Japan TOKUI Atsuko Shinshu University, Japan WAKITA Riko Fukui University, Japan YAMAJI Hiroyuki NIME YUAN Fujie NIME

Copyright ©Jane Bachnik, 2004