Dear Ipal children’s Japanese classes

What got you interested in Japanese learning guidance?

As the number of foreign residents increase, the needs of Japanese language guidance for international kids are growing as well. However, since kids not only have many differences in mother tongue, ability in language, and cultural background they also differ in their level of development and basic academic skills, so it is difficult to take the same class with adults. Therefore, we resulted in opening a specialized class for children in 2011.

What kind of Japanese guidance is there for children?

The project our association carries out are mainly these following three.

Ipal children’s Japanese classes

Spring vacation, summer vacation

2 hours/day × 4 days ※Example of summer in 2020

We teach Japanese and other subjects while keeping pace with each child by teaching them one by one. Furthermore, we offer activities to deepen interaction between the participants. By having this activity during the long vacation, children can get ready for transfers in the future. Besides, children who have started school can learn Japanese continuously.

Japanese language guidance at elementary school & junior high school

From the board of education of prefecture and municipals’ request, we are dispatching volunteers for Japanese guidance and subject teaching support. By doing so, we are supporting the target children and students to acquisite Japanese needed in daily life (it is implemented within our association’s budget). In addition, we are holding information exchange meetings by gathering the related staff.

Interpret volunteer dispatch project

Certainly, we accept the requests from the educational field, and we also accept requests from guardians, and dispatch volunteers for interpretation or to teach Japanese and other subjects (The dispatch requester bears the expenses).

We are aiming the foreign childrens to acquire basic academic knowledge and create a comfortable environment through these projects by providing the children opportunities to acquire Japanese skills needed in daily life and other subject’s education, plus we provision their whereabouts in the local community to enable them to live long in Japan (For example, going up grades or getting a job).

What kind of support request do you receive from school and local governments?

As written before, we receive requests for Japanese guidance, translation, et cetera. In relation to Japanese guidance and education for life adaptation in the educational field, the board of education should be corresponding in the first place. However, considering the limitations of the budget, we are taking responsibility and supporting them.

Do you get any consultation from guardians about children’s education?
If so, what kind of concerns do you receive to be exact?

We carried out a consultation meeting targeting guardians once each season during the implementation period of Japanese children class to arrange a place to discuss the concern guardians carry. The contents of a consultation is as follows.

Problems regarding acquisition of Japanese

Don’t have any organization to learn Japanese even though they need to study Japanese intensively since they just came to Japan.
Realized that the Japanese guidance right after they came to Japan was not enough. Is there any place to get support even from now?
What can I do to have the kids use Japanese at home?

Financial problem

Even though their child is hoping to go into a private full-time school, we can only afford a public part-time school.

Questions regarding Japan’s education system

What kind of preparation does it require at the stage of entering elementary school?
We want some information about junior high school’s entrance examination.

Problems regarding aspects of learning

Even though they can manage to speak daily conversations, they don’t have enough ability to understand the subjects in Japanese.
Don’t have concentration.

If there was an international child in our same class, is there anything we should do?

Since the cultures and customs differ by country, we think it is important to understand and accept the differences. Even if their Japanese ability is not enough, by using easy vocabularies and expressions called “Easy Japanese”, there are a lot of cases that they come to understand. Moreover, we think it crucial to convey that we are concerning and wanting to know about them through words and attitudes. The international kids must be feeling anxious and lonely being in the foreign country, so we think you would especially try to care about them.

What are the points you struggled and improved through connection with the Board of Education and schools?

For the kids who just arrived in Japan and have never learned Japanese, they need the first step to tell the important information in their mother tongue, another step to start doing the Japanese guidance, and the last step to support other subject’s education by using easy Japanese. They each need the appropriate support necessary to each step. However, there are some cases that we cannot provide the support that is thought to be best for them from the gap of recognition between the people involved(such as parents, schools, the board of education, volunteers for guidance, and children themselves). It is important to take communication, share the information and corporate to achieve the goals among those involved, but it takes a lot of time to create such an environment that it can’t be dealt with easily.