Our/Chuo’s International Students Visit An Elementary School

On October 21, international students from Chuo visited Hino Dai-Hachi Elementary School, interacting with first to third graders. The visit came about as a result of a request from the elementary school to offer children an opportunity to deepen their international understanding through interaction with international students.

Nine international students from China, Malaysia, Belgium, South Korea, England, France, and Switzerland participated in the visit, along with three Japanese students who also took part to help with communication.

International students began by introducing themselves, as well as giving information on the best places to visit  and the traditional food and culture in their country. They welcomed a lot of questions from the first graders, while the second graders showed them how to play Japanese traditional games. Third graders performed a Japanese Yosakoi dance, in which the international students also joined in. In each class, they enjoyed having school lunch together with children, after which they appreciated listening to wind instruments played by students of Misawa Junior High School, and were very satisfied with their excellent performance.

The international students were amazed at the differences between Japanese and their own country’s elementary schools. They were pleased that children closely listened to their talks, and their experience of being able to introduce their own country gave them a sense of accomplishment, saying that it was such fun that they wanted the opportunity to experience it again.  They also remarked that the children were really lovely.

It was very meaningful  for the international students to be given a day away from the university to interact with people in the community.