International Education Program

International Friendship Department

The 14 th World Meeting

at Nanbu elementary school　

“A window on the world”

All the pupils (920 persons) attended. Detailed number of pupils is 450 for 1,2,3 graders (15 classes) and 470 for 4,5,6 graders (15 classes).

NIA staffs and lecturers held a preliminary meeting to make arrangements about the agenda in the principal’s office.

The opening ceremony began with pupils’ spirited “Yosakoi” dancing in the auditorium.

Following the greetings by the principal and the NIA president, the lecturers introduced themselves, and then they were asked various questions by pupils. Some pupils put an eccentric question that induced all to burst into laughter.

In the last of the opening ceremony, a song　”Sato no Aki” by all pupils echoed in the auditorium.


Details of the teaching

The United Kingdom

The lecturer gently introduced UK country and the national flag of UK.
Folding big paper into small memo book was one of the teaching programs.
It was a very friendly class.

Thai

The pupils attentively got explanations of the national flag of Thailand, Thai language, and the weather of Thailand. They were taking notes on the form “interchange class open to the world” that the lecturer handed out.

Peru

The lecturer began by asking “Where is Peru on the globe?” and “How long does it take from Japan to Peru?” The answers were various. The pupils were attracted to hear that Peru is on the opposite side of the earth from Japan and it will take about 23~28 hours by plane. 　 Peruvian song in gymnastics and vivid handy-crafts were introduced, and the pupils showed an interest in each.

China

There are four kind of accent in pronunciation of Chinese. The vocal exercises were done. After that the lecturer taught what kanji is used to express “Coca Cola”, “Mc’donald”, and “Doraemon”. How was the pupils’ response?

Bangladeshi

Details of Bangladeshi were introduced as follows. The land area is 0.4 times as large as Japan. Bangladeshi has a population of 130 million (as large as Japan has) putting it in seventh place in the world. The population density of Bangladeshi is the largest in the world. Bangladeshi is one of the pro-Japanese states. The nation’s capital is Dacca. The principal religion is Islamic (90%). The educational system is comprised of 5 years of elementary school, 4 years of junior high school and 2 years of senior high school.

Turkey

The lecturer is from Istanbul and obtained a doctor’s degree in environment engineering in Okayama University. So he is very familiar with Japan. Turkish food, economy and history were introduced. The pupils were impressed to know that most of Turk is pro-Japanese.

Malaysia

Showing the map, the lecturer introduced Malaysian culture, language, and industry. She explained that the weather of Malaysia was mild all the year, and there were a lot of Japan’s overseas enterprises in Malaysia. After the introduction, the pupils studied some greeting expressions and sang a familiar song in chorus in Malaysian language.

Mexico

The lecturer introduced Mexican culture, food and the weather of Mexico. The land area is 5 times as large as Japan, and the population is 0.85 times as large as Japan. The pupils were surprised to hear that many Mexican children quit school before graduation because of the severity in school life and promotion. And they were glad to hear that Mexican children were very fond of Japanese animation.

Pakistan

Pakistan has a population of 173 million and the land area is 2 times as large as Japan. The nation’s capital is Islamabad. Most of Pakistani is Islamic and does not have meals in the day time of Ramadan. After Ramadan people enjoy Eid ul-Adha. About four hundred of Japanese stay in the biggest city, Karachi. Most of them have been transferred from Japanese company. Pakistani is proud that mango in Pakistan is the most delicious in the world.

Russia

The lecturer wears vivid Russian costume. Showing the calendar, she introduced the seasons and scenery in Russia. Russia is the largest country in the world and the land area is 45 times as large as Japan. The pupils were surprised to hear that the low temperature, -20~-30℃ was common in Russia.　

Hong Kong

The lecturer wears Hong Kong’s native costume. Hong Kong was returned from UK to China 15 years ago. Hong Kong has a population of seven million and is an important position of Southeastern transportation. Do you know the meaning of “one country, two systems”? The pupils just marveled at the lecturer’s lots of explanations. Trying on Hong Kong’s costume and playing Hong Kong’s children’s play, the pupils had a pleasant time.

Brazil

Brazil has a population of 190 million and the land area is 23 times as large as Japan. Brazilian consists of many races such as the white, the Indio, the black, and the Japanese. Many Japanese-Brazilian live in this country. Children of Brazilian living in Japan have to study at school while they learn Japanese language. That may be hard.


After the class, the pupils became friendly with the lecturers and had lunch together.

The 14 th World Meeting that was carried out by all the members (lecturers, pupils and teachers) would be a very good learning by experience.

After the World Meeting, the talks were held between about 30 teachers in Nanbu elementary school and NIA staffs for about one hour.
The following questions were asked by teachers.

The following questions were asked by teachers.
1. How do you appoint Japanese language teacher? What qualification is needed?
2. How do I participate in foreign language course?
3. What is the balance of number between student and host family in the home stay program?
4. Where can I get information on rice-cake making event and Kimchi making class? How do I apply for?
5. We would like to know the data on foreign children living in Noda.