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- From: goodgutgut@xxxxxxxxx
- Date: 31 Jan 2006 10:47:10 -0800
Japanese students adjust to new language, teaching style
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- After a difficult week trying to learn a foreign
language from teachers with vastly different styles from back home,
about 600 Japanese students in Ohio look forward to Saturday -- for
more school.
As Honda Motor Co., its suppliers and other Japanese companies transfer
workers to operations in the region, Japanese students have become a
fast-growing segment of English-as-a-second-language classes.
At the same time, their parents want them to keep up with Japanese
language instruction in case they're transferred back to Japan.
A program that started in one family's basement in 1979 -- when Honda
opened its plant in nearby Marysville -- has grown into the Columbus
Japanese Language School.
The parent-run school has all-day Saturday classes for elementary
through high school students in two schools in suburban Worthington.
Students come as far as 88 kilometers to attend.
There are about 90 such schools in the United States serving some
50,000 Japanese children, according to Tokyo-based Japan Overseas
Educational Services.
"In order to enter prestigious secondary schools and high schools, the
students have to maintain age-appropriate Japanese-language ability
even while they are in the U.S.," Saburo Iwasa, of the Overseas group,
told the newspaper.
The day starts with calisthenics, a comforting reminder of school days
back home, where uniforms are identical down to the book bags and the
teachers are much stricter. Students work on repetitive drills to learn
the complex written language -- memorizing 1,850 distinct characters by
sixth grade.
"The U.S. system pays great attention on individual difference of
learners and lets students learn from various angles," said Makoto
Morioka, one of 35 teachers. The Japanese system "respects harmony, and
students are taught not to disturb 'group dynamics."'
Families pay $55 a month per child through the ninth grade and $20
monthly for each high school-level class. The employers and Japanese
Ministry of Education also support the school financially.
Most of the teachers are parents or college students, and supplement
the part-time income with other jobs. Morioka also teaches
English-as-a-second-language in Worthington middle schools, and teaches
Japanese at Columbus State Community College.
While the drills are strict, the students often feel more comfortable,
especially since they can speak in Japanese.
"Here, I'm open. I can be natural," said Ken Kawai, who attends sixth
grade in the nearby suburb of Dublin, a district with 270 Japanese
students.
The students also work hard to adjust to classes at their weekday
schools. It can take 18 months or more for the children to get a good
grasp of everyday English and six years to catch up academically, Iwasa
said.
"We're asking these kids to do a lot, and most of them rise to the
occasion," said Elana Hohl, a coordinator for the Dublin
English-as-a-second-language program.
It's not only a difference of language, but of culture. The Japanese
system demands respect and avoids conflict, while Americans stress
individuality.
The students say the teachers are much different.
"In Japan, they can yell or scream," said Natsuki Kuno, 16. "They are
strict."
Her 18-year-old sister, Mizuki, said the niceness of American teachers
can leave her skeptical.
"Teachers say all the time, 'You're great. You're doing so good,"'
Mizuki said. "I think, 'Really?"'
Still, students say they're starting to make friends.
Sisters Shihomi and Fumina Kiyonaga moved with their family three years
ago.
They say classwork can be an opening to make friends.
"In Algebra 2, I had knowledge on it in Japan," said Fumina, 15. "I
always had an A in the class. So everybody came up to me during group
work.
"But that helped me with speaking English."
Shihomi, 16, said she's gotten over some of her initial shock at
American culture.
"American people burp (in) front of people and throw things to each
other," Shihomi said. "I was totally shocked.
"But as I became more acclimated to the U.S., my views changed a lot,"
she said. "Burping is still vulgar and bad, but I can stay with it.
Throwing things -- I do this sometimes and my parents notice it all the
time. I know that's bad, but I just can't stop doing that." (AP)
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