Monday, February 2nd, Childcare Exchange Plaza Kururun(Kurume City) Faculty of International Studies of Culture Department of International Studies of Culturemountain Saki Lecturer Kaori and students conducted a We held a reading event of English picture books and nursery rhymes.
The purpose of this event was to encourage local children and their parents to deepen their interest in diverse languages and cultures by providing an opportunity to become familiar with the sounds and rhythms of English.
On the day, the students took the lead in reading English picture books and carrying out activities using nursery rhymes. The students carefully planned their voices and actions so that the participants could enjoy English naturally. The children moved their bodies to the rhythm and joined in the songs, experiencing English expression in a relaxed atmosphere.
The students had been working hard in preparation for the event through their seminar studies. They analyzed the vocabulary and expressions used in multiple English picture books. Furthermore, by comparing the English and Japanese versions, they gained a deeper understanding of the differences in expressions that arise during translation and the unique characteristics of each language. In the process of compiling the results of these analyses into a poster presentation, they developed the ability to view the language used in picture books from multiple perspectives. Using this knowledge, they selected picture books and songs that would appeal to children and created the event program.
Looking back on the activities, Higashinao (Ogori High School), a second-year student, said, "By repeatedly practicing reading picture books aloud and singing English nursery rhymes, it was a valuable opportunity to hone my speaking and expressive abilities. Through the advance study, I discovered many things about what approaches are effective in English education for young children. Above all, I was able to see firsthand how much fun the children were having on the day, which gave me a great sense of accomplishment."
[Department of International Studies of Culture]
