From Monday, October 20th to Saturday, October 26th, five third-year students visited Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to participate in an overseas Japanese language teaching practicum at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Faculty of International Studies of Culture Junichiro Sakai.
During the practical training, our students taught classes for students taking Japanese language courses at the university, putting into practice the teaching methods they had learned in lectures and seminar activities.
During their stay, they also visited the 250km-long Cu Chi Tunnels to learn about "War and Peace Studies," one of the purposes of their visit, through the history of the Vietnam War. They also attended lectures at the university and participated in cultural exchanges with local students, which gave the students a deeper understanding of their role not only as Japanese language educators, but also as "cross-cultural communicators" who convey and understand culture and history.
Ayaka Mizoguchi (Aotoyo High School), a third-year student Department of International Studies of Culture reflected on her activities, saying, "In preparation for my teaching practice, I conducted mock lessons starting in April and did my internship at a Japanese language school in Fukuoka so that I could give better lessons. While I was in charge of a beginner's class, I made sure to involve the students in the lessons by reviewing grammar and vocabulary, as well as by setting up pair activities and opportunities for presentations. There were times when I couldn't get my point across well, but when the students understood and smiled, I felt the joy of teaching. Also, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, so it was a very good experience to visit Vietnam and learn about Vietnamese history and war and peace, which was one of the purposes of my internship."
[Faculty of International Studies of Culture]
