Intensive Japanese Course for international students culminates in poster presentations

Eighteen international students representing sixteen nationalities completed their Institute for Liberal Arts' Intensive Japanese Course with poster presentations, which were held at Hisao & Hiroko Taki Plaza on July 10.

The presenters showcased their progress with informative presentations on the culture, history, and geography of their respective home countries. While explaining everything in Japanese, they used various props such as national flags, coins, banknotes, and traditional costumes to get their message across. Some also used computers and tablets to display videos and other materials to the audience. This semester’s Intensive Japanese Course students represented Afghanistan, Argentina, Belize, Columbia, Egypt, El Salvador, India, Israel, Mexico, Mongolia, Peru, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, the United States of America, and Yemen.

Making up the audience were Executive Vice President for Education Jun-ichi Imura, supervising faculty members, fellow lab members, past Intensive Japanese Course students, language instructors, and other students and staff from Tokyo Tech.

Approximately 120 fifth and sixth graders, and their teachers, from Senzokuike Elementary School also joined the event. Tokyo Tech's international students had visited the school recently to deepen international exchanges, and the youngsters happily returned the favor. Other listeners included two members of the Kanagawa Systematized Goodwill Guide Club (KSGG), a volunteer group that guided Tokyo Tech's international students around the historical city of Kamakura as part of the Intensive Japanese Course.

After the presentations, the students of Senzokuike Elementary School, under the guidance of Principal Satoshi Ito, thanked Tokyo Tech for the invitation and shared their views on the talks they had just heard.

Tokyo Tech's Intensive Japanese Courses, held twice a year, are aimed mainly at Japanese government-sponsored international students looking to progress to graduate-level studies. Other students are also invited to join if capacity allows.

These courses aim to develop Japanese proficiency among beginner-level students who have just arrived in Japan. By the end of the course, each international student will have acquired sufficient language skills to make an oral presentation in basic Japanese. ILA's Japanese Section functions as "a hub for meeting and learning" for students from different cultural backgrounds, and a safe place where international students can exchange information about life in Japan.

Encounters with Japanese culture and people are important components of the courses. International students visit places such as Kamakura City and Sona Area Tokyo, an experienced-based learning facility for disaster prevention. Intensive Japanese Course students also conduct active exchanges with elementary school students in Tokyo's Ota City.