We received a letter from California, where one of our students is studying under the TOBITATE NEXT JAPAN project.
This is Kenji Shiimori, learning in USA under the TOBITATE NEXT JAPAN project. I chose a short two weeks stay at ELS in the University of La Verene, in Los Angeles. I am learning about multi-cultural understanding and English Education in the country of USA, a melting spot where people gather from around the world.
One week has passed since I came here, and now I am getting used to the way of living in USA. I feel fresh every day, experiencing so many new things!
During this week, I was able to learn deep about multi-cultural understanding, since my host family was Mexican and they speak Spanish and English in the house! They told me some stories about the life of Mexicans, and some Spanish too. Also the class on multi-cultural understanding has helped me to learn a lot with many discussions and free talks with classmates comprising Chinese, Koreans, Taiwanese, Saudi Arabians, Americans, and others! I also had a chance to talk with students from Germany, Brazil, etc. The students here are from various age groups, from their teens to their 40s. One Chinese student told me his dream. He said he wanted to change the distribution system and economic situations in China after leaving the graduating school here. I respect him very much for having such a big dream.
Learning here, I have come to have an idea that the English Education in Japan is very weird. In Japan, English Education focuses on grammar, words and reading. On the other hand, the education here focuses on listening, speaking and discussion, which I think is regarded as an Active Learning. Of course we learn about grammar and words, but since teachers put a high value on output rather than input, trying to communicate is the most important thing to do in the class. Surprisingly, this type of education is also standard in other countries, such as China and Korea. I even cannot help but think that only Japan focuses on input. Talking with students from my generation, I have realized that Asians and Europeans can smoothly express their thoughts in English. The only problem with their English, I think, is that they have strong accents. That is why I strongly feel that Japanese English Education system is weird.
From this trip, I learned to see myself as a person living in the world, not only in Japan, and Japan in the world. I learned so many things only in a week! I feel sad when I think there is only one week left, but I will do my best to make my stay more meaningful for my future.
Thank you for reading!