International Education Program

International Friendship Depertment

International Education Program

Yamazaki elementary school

　
　

The 8 th World Expedition

Theme: Let’s interchange with people in the world

The international education program in Yamazaki elementary school was held on Thursday, November 24, 2011, to find the difference between foreign country and Japan, and that there are a lot of way of thinking and sense of values, through exchange with foreign lectures. Three foreign lecturers from three countries (Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Peru) were invited and three NIA staffs joined. Yamazaki elementary school was founded in 1980. It has 12 classes, 377 pupils in total. This time, 3 classes, 60 fifth-grader pupils attended the program.

Yamazaki elementary school

Three lecturers (Hong Kong, Malaysia, Peru)

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 one day.
The pupils seem to have heard about Inca Empire and Andes civilization.
The pupils sang songs “a holly night”, “twinkle, twinkle little star”, and “cuckoo” in Spanish. After that prints of “Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca” were handed out. The pupils enjoyed guessing right what is drawn.

Hong Kong

The lecturer passionately introduced Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, and has a structure of “one country, two systems”. How was pupils’ response?
The pupils sang a song “the song of numbers” in Cantonese.
The pupils practiced speaking some simple greeting words (good morning, good afternoon, good bye, thank you, etc.) in Cantonese.
The pupils experienced a different culture by trying on colorful Hong Kong’s costume.

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.
The pupils practiced speaking some basic greeting words (thank you, good afternoon, good bye, etc.) in Malaysian language.
The pupils learned how to play Malaysian “Jan-ken” that is the game of “water, bird, pistol, rock and board”. Bird beats water because bird drinks water. Pistol beats bird because bird is shot with a pistol. Water beat pistol and rock because pistol and rock goes under water. Board beats water because board floats on the water. Rock beats board because rock crushes board.
Finally, the pupils sang a familiar song in chorus in Malaysian language, and tried on a native costume. It was a pleasant class.


The international education program that was carried out by all the members (lecturers, pupils and teachers) would be a very good learning by experience.

This program would be fruitful if the pupils would find that there are a lot of countries which have their own climate and cultures, and that mutual understanding is possible.