【Cross Cultural Exchange Report】 How much do you know about Japan? Can you introduce it to your friends abroad?
- EN-TRY運営
- 4月22日
- 読了時間: 5分
"EN-TRY World Exchange" is an online cross cultural exchange program that connects nurseries and preschools around the world. On August 23rd, Australian children interacted with Japanese children in an online live event! Before the live event, they learned a lot about Japan, and shared photos of their experiences with us. Kimono, rice dumplings, cherry blossoms...Japan is full of wonderful things!
■Do tou know about Japan?
Ready Set Grow Out of School Care in Australia and after school care program in Japan connected online for the first time, asking each other questions and playing an English game called Simon says.
It's not often that you get a chance to talk and play with friends who live in a different country. So if you suddenly tell them "you're going to be playing with kids from Australia," most of the children don't really get it.
That's why at EN-TRY, we place great importance on the preparations we make before the live show.
First, they learn about the concept of the world. They learn that there are many countries besides the one they live in, with different languages, foods, cultures, and many people living there. Then, they become interested in and enjoy learning about things like, "What kind of country is Australia?" and "How does it compare to Japan?" Then, by exchanging video letters, they learn each other's names and dreams for the future, which makes them feel closer to each other. Through these exciting and enjoyable activities and teaching materials, children's worlds will expand.
Similarly, children overseas are also learning a lot about Japan. They try their hand at calligraphy, wear kimonos, imitate the tea ceremony, and more! The Australian teacher sent us photos from the experience, which we will show in the last of this article.
When you find out what children overseas are learning about Japan, you realize that there is a lot of Japanese culture that is not being conveyed to children, even though we live in Japan.
Here are some comments from Japanese preschool teachers:
"The children asked me about temples and shrines, but when I thought about it, it was difficult to explain..."
"Even if I wanted to teach children overseas about Japan, I realized that I had to know about Japan first."
It's true that even if we live in Japan, there aren't many opportunities to learn about Japan.
Sometimes you only notice something when you see it from an overseas perspective.
For example, did you know that the expression "a raccoon dog slapping its tummy" is unique to Japan? This was a question that a Japanese preschool asked in an animal gesture quiz during an exchange with a preschool in New Zealand. The New Zealand children were confused when they saw the friends in Japan slapping their tummy with both hands.
This is a commonly used expression in Japan called "Tanuki no hara-drum (Raccoon dogs' belly drums)" or "Tanuki-bayashi (Raccoon dogs' musical cue)," and while there are various theories, it is said to be based on an old legend that it is the sound that racoon dogs make when tricking people. The teachers were surprised by this, and while the onomatopoeia and gestures used to represent animals vary considerably from country to country, learning about these differences led to new discoveries. The expression "Raccoon dogs are tricking people" is a familiar concept to those who grew up in Japan, but it is also unique to Japan.
Preparing for exchanges with overseas students is an opportunity to spark an interest in Japan.
There is still a lot that children don't know about Japan, the country they live in.
Why not take inspiration from what children overseas are learning about Japan and go looking for new discoveries about Japan?
■Learning about Japan
Here is an email sent to Magoo (our original character) by Ms. Cheryl, a teacher at Ready Set Grow Out of School Care.
Hi Magoo,
I have attached some photos of some of the activities our children have done as part of this program. We are happy to share them with the Japanese schools if that is possible.
We decided to do the program because we felt that this would be an awesome opportunity for our children to get to know other children in different parts of the would and to think about the ways that different people can be the same in many ways. We felt this is something they would not normally be able to access and that it would help promote respect for diversity, cultural awareness, and also help them to feel proud of their own identity.
We have used all your learning materials and also sourced some of our own e.g. we watched some videos about how to wear a kimono. The children were amazed at some of the things that they didn't realize were Japanese - such as Karate, judo, manga, and karaoke. We made sushi and dango. One of our children found out that his name is Japanese in origin - Makoto. We had a lot of fun practicing our Japanese words.
Playing 'Simon Says' and discussing it with the children afterwards really helped them to see from other's perspectives as they were bragging a bit about how good they were. We encouraged them to consider that the Japanese children had not played before, and that the instructions were given in English. We asked them to consider if they would beat the Japanese children at a game where they were playing for the first time and where the instructions were not in their own language
Arigato (Thank you in Japanese)
The photos below were sent to us by Ms. Cheryl.
■Conclusion
At EN-TRY World Exchange, the live exchange where you actually exchange words with children from overseas only a few minutes long. However, by becoming interested in the world, foreign countries, and Japan in advance of the live exchange, learning, imagining, and thinking, the world will expand in ways you could never have imagined.
Even after the exchange, we received some happy comments from the children, such as "I want to study English!" and looking forward to their English classes, and their range of interests has broadened, such as "I want to try more foods from around the world" and "What other kinds of insects are there in Australia?"
Ms. Cheryl also commented that "It would help promote respect for diversity, cultural awareness, and also help them to feel proud of their own identity. It promotes respect for diversity and cultural awareness, and also helps them feel proud of their own identity." We believe this is thanks to the enthusiastic cooperation of the teachers, who thoroughly implemented Magoo's teaching materials and enlivened the children with various ideas, and we are very happy that they made the most of this rare opportunity.
For those preschools that have not yet implemented this program, why not try it out and broaden the world of your children and teachers? We look forward to seeing you together with teachers from all over the world!
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