Supporting Children with Foreign Culture Backgrounds
Children’s Japanese Language Class
With the inflow of foreigners settling in Japan, the increasing number of children who have been raised in foreign cultures continues to become a greater social issue. Here at the Association for Nakano International Communications, due to the large number of elementary and junior high school students joining the regular Japanese Language Course, we created the Tuesday children’s class in 2004 and the Thursday children’s class in 2008 with the help of our volunteers. Elementary and junior high school students who attend schools in Nakano City study Japanese language twice a week. Also, children who graduated from a junior high school in their home country and are preparing to enter a Japanese senior high school, study Japanese language twice a week.
ANIC fills an important role in the community by providing a place for school age children to study Japanese.
Summer Vacation / Spring Vacation Children’s Japanese Language Class
Intensive classes are conducted for elementary and junior high school children during long breaks from school, namely summer and spring vacations. More than 30 children participate every year. They study very hard during the hot days in order to acquire as much Japanese as possible while they have a break from regular school work.
On the final day of the Summer Vacation Children’s Class, there is a “We did it!” party. Each child gives a speech using the Japanese they learned.
For spring vacation, there is a “Congratulations on entering the next grade!” party. Students who, after considerable effort, have entered senior high school or university cheer on the younger students.
Adapting to Japanese Language, Japanese Language Instructors Dispatch
ANIC provides Japanese language support for elementary and junior high school age children who need assistance and are attending schools in Nakano City as per request of the Nakano City Board of Education. We recommend volunteers from our association who meet certain requirements to the Nakano City Board of Education as Japanese language supporting instructors, and they teach Japanese at each school for a maximum of 80 hours.
In other situations, the volunteers act as an interpreter at child and parent meetings or examinations when necessary.
Japanese Language Class for Junior High Students Preparing for Senior High School
For junior high school students preparing for the high school entrance exams, mastering Japanese is essential. After receiving permission from the respective junior high school’s principal, instead of going to school, students may be allowed to join our association’s Japanese Language Course (Tuesday morning and afternoon classes) in order to spend as much time as possible studying Japanese.
