Community "Nihongo Kyoshitsu" Activities Report, vol.13

The regional Japanese language education coordinators of the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation "TSUNAGARI" are visiting Japanese classes in Tokyo and introducing them in the Community "Nihongo Kyoshitsu" Activities Report.

 

In our 13th report, we are introducing the Itabashi Culture and International Exchange Foundation.

About Itabashi ku

Itabashi City came 8th in a nationwide ranking of places where it is easy to bring up a child with both parents working (2022), and was ranked 2nd in Japan in a survey of nursing care and measures for the aging population (2020). It was also ranked 8th in Japan in a survey of SDG progress (2023), and is well known as a place where anyone can live with ease, regardless of their generation or lifestyle.

Its Central Library, opened in March 2021, is a beautiful facility integrated with a lush green park. It is visited by more than 800,000 people a year, and has become a new landmark.

Population (as of August 1, 2024)　　　 577,802

Foreign population:　                             35,587

 

 Itabashi Culture and International Exchange Foundation

The Itabashi Culture and International Exchange Foundation holds a Japanese Language Class for Beginners, in which people can learn Japanese through a six-month course with classes twice a week, and a Conversation Salon that enables people to learn while enjoying conversations with conversation supporters once a week.
For this report, I visited the Japanese Language Class for Beginners.

 

For their studies, the learners are split into three classes based on their level.

 

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Class A
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Class B
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Class C

 

Each class has around 15 learners, with the lessons being held in a lecture format. One supporter takes the lead and runs the class, with the other supporters (around five people) providing assistance.

All of the supporters have completed a training course held by the Itabashi Culture and International Exchange Foundation, and they take it in turns to act as the leader who runs the class.

 

Class A, the lowest level class, uses the first half of “Minna no Nihongo I,” while Class B, the next level up, uses the second half; Class C, the highest-level class, uses “Marugoto Elementary 2 (A2) Katsudoo” for their studies.

 

During their break, both Japanese and the learners' native languages filled the room as the learners held friendly conversations with each other. The lesson restarted with the same fun atmosphere, but after this the learners listened attentively to the words of the supporters in an atmosphere totally different from the break; they quickly used the sentence patterns they learned in class to practice their Japanese.

 

Thoughts on our visit...

I saw the learners help each other when they didn't understand something, and thought that the class format was great for studying together.
The supporters had thoroughly prepared for the class, and I could feel all their enthusiasm.

 

by AS

 
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