- Language
- Difference in appearance and culture
To start with, we contemplated why international children tend to be isolated in class. For the cause for this, two factors written above can be given. Among the two, we predicted that the language is the most significant factor that affects communication. This is because we can’t get mutual understanding if we can’t even convey the words. However, we don’t have any evidence to prove this prediction, so we can’t tell you this is true for sure. Therefore, we moved on to the next verification.
To observe the effect to communication if we can’t understand the language
Observe the free-talk online
- We made some groups composed of one foreign nationality student and five Japanese nationality students participants whose age is between 15 to 18 to simulate a situation in class
- In advance, we explained the setting of “the time when a foreign nationality student transferred to a normal Japanese class “ to the participants, and had them communicate online as they like for ten minutes
- We originally classified the participants English level by High-Middle-Low, and observed all nine combinations of communication made. （For more details, click here）
Analysis of the questionnaire for the participants
- After the free talk, all participants answered the questionnaire on the Google form.
- We analyzed the free talk from impressions and answers to questions such as "Do you think you enjoyed the role of transfer student?"
Lastly, we would like to summarize what we could do to address this issue. First of all, we think that getting you to know about this problem is the solution Itself. In the current situation the term "International kids" is not common, so it is important to raise awareness of this issue. Also, if you are close to or know children who are international kids, please reach out and help hand to them. If you are in the same class, I hope that the content posted on this site will help you, such as actively communicating and so on. Even if you don't have international kids close to you, you can recognize the existence of "International kids" through this site and we’re hoping that we could make a society where we can respect the circumstances and existence of the other party.