Posts published in “Japan”

The Idioms that Changed Me

August 25, 2022

By Minori Tanaka

When I was first in my year of high school, I did not do my assignments every time and I did not listen to class. After I finished club, I always went to karaoke or played around station with my friends until midnight. Every time I went home at midnight, my mother scolded me. When I think about it now, I was a very stupid student. But one day of my second year of high school, when I went to the library in the high school, I saw a book. The book is written about two idioms. These idioms become changing me, because it changed my behaviors in high school, motivated me in different situations, and helps me to inspire others.
     “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”. This idiom means that no matter how difficult the road, if you have the will to do it, you will be able to open it. This idiom resonated with me. When I saw this idiom, I thought about myself. I ought, “My lifestyle is so very shameful. I can’t go to university as I am now.” At that time, I went to English school. So, I started thinking that I wanted to go to university, and then I wanted to study English. This incident was a miracle.
     “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it”.
When I felt painful, I saw this idiom every time. Sometimes, I was criticized by the teacher. The teacher often told me “You cannot pass the university, because you are stupid. But I remembered this idiom and did my best. I get encouraged when I see this idiom.
     Finally, I passed this university in March. Now, I do many assignments very hard every time. Also, I advise high school juniors to study for entrance exam. In addition, I try everything that I want to do. The person that I was four years ago and the person that I am now are very different person. Recently, there are some people who not confident in themselves. Even if they want to do it, some people think that they can’t, and eventually they give up. Me too. Originally, I was a person who gave up every time. I might be able to do it, but I always gave up. However, if people have a strong will, it should be surely come true. “Action is the foundational key to all success”. All action is no waste.
     I never thought that some idioms would change my life so much. If people feel painful, they may want to look up some idioms. They make people relaxed and positive. I changed my life by finding two idioms that “Where there’s a will, there’s a way” and “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it”. No one people can’t do it. If people have will, they can do anything. If I had not come across these idioms, I would not be there now. Now I am thankful that I have come across these idioms.

Gender Inequality in Japan

August 25, 2022

By Mana Kawabe

Recently, discrimination between men and women both heterosexual LGBTQ people is a problem. It is gender inequality. There are two main issues for gender inequality in Japan: women’s social roles and acceptance of LGBTQ people but reasonable solutions are possible.

First, nowadays, there are a lot of households in which partner work all over the world. Currently, “women’s success” is also the core of Japan’s growth strategy, but the number of double income couples is increasing due to the success of women, and men’s participation in household chores is also attracting attention. In Japan, usually women do housework and childcare. A lot of men think housework and childcare are women’s work. As a result, women’s burden is heavy. As a result, some people don’t want to get married because the participation rate of housework and childcare is low it puts a burden on them. In addition, since the number of double-income households increasing and the participation rate of households in housework and childcare is low, priority is given to work and there is no time to spend on childcare, so the birthrate is declining. Especially in Japan, it is not possible to balance work and housework. Linnai Company, Limited is trying to find out the domestic affairs of double income couples in the world, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Germany. As a result, it turns out that Japan tends to have less time for housework and couples than other countries, and it is not possible to balance work and housework well. In terms of work, Japan has the longest time, 9.19 hours a day. It turns out that Japan has the shortest time for couples, 1.31 hours, compared to other countries. It was also revealed that the country with the largest number of people who do not share housework

Second, people in the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning) community face discrimination. Recently, such people are increasing all over the world. And it is changing to the idea that it is natural. But, after all, there are many people who cannot easily accept it. For example, there are many people in the world who are men but want to wear women’s clothes, women who are in love with women of the same sex, and people whose gender does not apply to either, but these people are not accepted in many societies, including in Japan. And Japan is behind in the system to accept LGBTQ. In Japan, there was an incident in which a male student killed himself when he was outed to be gay. Same-sex marriage is now possible in 31 countries and regions, including Europe, the Americas and Oceania and so on. There is a partnership system in Japan, but it is completely different from marriage.
These issues of inequality for women and LGBTQ individuals should be resolved.

The first issue insider double-income household and childcare. It should change work style. For example, the company’s boss should give guidance so that husband can get home on time without overtime and understanding of the workplace for men’s housework and childcare. Then, if they go home early, they will have more time to do homework and childcare. In addition, it is necessary to change men’s war of thinking. Also, it is important not to do or ask for perfect housework. Not everyone is talented at housework, and they may be fired after work. It is important to create an environment that makes it easy to do housework.

The second issue is the discrimination against LGBTQ. Japanese students should be educated about LGBTQ among elementary and junior high school students. I think it will be easier to accept if students acquire knowledge early. According to the Marriage For All Japan, the result of the questionnaires was that more than 70% of people agreed with same-sex marriage. Most importantly, recognizing same-sex marriages will allow same-sex couples to attain equality under the law and be officially acknowledged. These actions will help eliminate prejudice and discrimination in society towards sexual minorities, which comprise over five percent of the world’s population. Finally, sexual minorities will be able to maintain their personal dignity and live in a society where they feel protected.

From these things, we should stop distinguishing by gender. And Japan should have more flexible ideas and be able to assert each person’s opinions and, both in housework and in relationship pairing ideas without hesitation. Possible solutions are incorrect for others to decide what they must do and what they must do with the gender they were born from.

Abacus for After School Activity

August 24, 2022

By Kiho Shimokariya

Today, many children do after school activities. Doing after school activities to learn what they don’t learn at school can help enrich children’s future lives. Of course, time spent in childhood is very short and precious. Therefore, parents need to carefully choose effective after school activities for their children to take. In many activities, we should let our children learn abacus. Some may think that learning abacus is outdated in this age of IT. Learning abacus not only helps them to calculate, but also to develop many other skills. Learning abacus not only improves their ability to calculate, but also to develop many other skills. It’s very important for improving academic skills, social skills, and a quality of life. There are some reasons why leaning abacus is important, including academic and social development and improving a quality of life.

Learning abacus can improve academic performance. The abacus has a time limit. Students concentrate on looking at small numbers, decimal points, and commas, and make instantaneous decisions. They also concentrate on listening to the teacher’s voice so as not to miss anything. Concentration is required because if you do not concentrate on your fingertips, you will touch the beads that you should not touch. This helps to improve ability to concentrate. The concentration skills acquired through abacus will enable our children to focus on their classes at school, and once they understand the content of the class, they will naturally enjoy studying and improve their academic skills.

Also, children can improve social skills through learning abacus for after school activity. There are many students who attend abacus classes. There are many opportunities to interact with students who are not in the same grade who you would not normally have the chance to interact with. Children become friends by teaching each other, and they also become good rivals through examinations. They will also be able to pay attention to their surroundings, because if they move not quietly, someone’s abacus board will disturbed, and if they speak or make noise during the reading arithmetic, they will not be able to hear the teacher’s voice reading out loud and will interrupt the practice. By acquiring the skills necessary to interact with others in these ways, social skills can be enhanced.

The development of concentration and social skills through learning abacus for after school activities can greatly improve the quality of children’s future lives. Life can be greatly enriched by having a hobby that we enjoy. Especially if we want to enjoy a good life in your old age, we need to have a hobby that we can get into. There is reading, playing a musical instrument, cooking, and so on, all of which require concentration or can be improved by concentration. Hobbies that involve cooperation between several people needs communication skills a lot. Social skills also allow us to interact with others through our hobbies.

Some parents may say that there is no need to learn abacus since calculators and computers do the calculations nowadays. However, as mentioned above, learning abacus has many other benefits besides improving calculation skills. They are essential to our lives and provide a satisfying effect.
In conclusion, there are many benefits of learning abacus for after school activity. Learning abacus helps improve academic skills, social skills, and a quality of life. Parents should let children to learn abacus for after school activity.

The Use of Honorifics With Non-Japanese

November 7, 2020

By Keilyn Henneberry, Gotsu Senior High School

Japanese children are taught from a young age to respect others by using honorifics. However, non-Japanese who live in Japan, such as ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) and international students, are not taught the same rules. This could lead to serious problems for Japan’s society and International relations. The honorific ‘san’ is the most common honorific to be used in Japan, for teachers, it is ‘Sensei’. However, while ALTs are taught to use these, they are not taught to expect them to be used with them.

I noticed the ALT at my school was not being treated like other teachers. She is spoken to by only her first name, without an honorific, by both teachers and students. Teachers use honorifics to other teachers even when they are not around. However, when they mention the ALT’s name, they don’t use honorifics. From that behavior students learn not to use honorifics for ALTs.

One classmate, an international student from Taiwan, was called on by the teacher without honorifics even though the teachers always used honorifics with Japanese students. In classes, all students are called on with honorifics such as ‘Suzuki-san’. However, international students are referred to by first name without honorifics by both teachers and students. Teachers always use honorifics with their students, so why not with international students? In addition, my own brother who is a Japanese American was called on by his teacher without the honorific ‘san’. This is not only a problem towards international students but also non-Japanese and mixed-race children growing up in Japan.

Additionally, my own father, who is a professor at a university, deals with this on a regular basis. His students often call him ‘Henneberry’ instead of ‘Henneberry Sensei’ or ‘Mr. Henneberry’. This illustrates many university students continue this behavior which they learned in primary and secondary school.

In most cases, when Japanese people don’t use honorifics, it is with family members and close friends. This is a form of intimacy referred to as ‘Yobisute’ in Japanese. However, can we call it intimacy when Japanese teachers speak with non-Japanese colleagues without honorifics?

I had an opportunity to talk about this topic online with a group of English teachers and ALTs working all over Japan. Every single one of them had experienced this at least once in their lives in this country, and most of them experience it on a regular basis. One ALT shared her experience at her school, where there were two ALTs. While the other ALT was referred to as Sensei, she was not. She was told that the Japanese teachers assumed it would be too difficult for students to pronounce her last name, so the Japanese teachers did not offer the students the opportunity to use honorifics with her. Therefore, students were instructed to use her first name only. However, she eventually succeeded and convinced the teachers that they were taking a learning opportunity away from the students. The students now use her family name with the ‘Sensei’ honorific.

Each of us can stand up to this issue. For example, when my brother’s teacher called him ‘Henneberry’ and not ‘Henneberry-san’, he ignored the teacher until the teacher said ‘Henneberry-san’. Just like the ALT above, my brother stood up for himself to be referred to with the correct honorific. However, this is not enough to resolve this national problem.

To solve this issue, first, people must acknowledge that this is happening in our society. A lot of people are not even aware of this issue. When I spoke about this to my friends, they were surprised that this was even a problem. This problem has been hard to recognize because of a lack of cross-cultural understanding. It was easier for me to recognize this issue because I have two cultural backgrounds; my mother is Japanese, and my father is from the USA. I see American culture through Japanese eyes and I also see Japanese culture through American eyes. Therefore, this lack of honorifics with non-Japanese stands out clearly for me.

However, ALTs are not fully aware of the honorifics culture in Japan. They are taught to use honorifics when speaking with Japanese people, but not taught to expect honorifics to be used for them. Therefore, they do not realize that they are being spoken to in such an intimate or disrespectful manner. They must be taught to expect the honorifics ‘san’ or ‘Sensei’ to be used with them as well.

This issue will have negative effects on Japan’s society and following generations. By not addressing this issue, Japanese people will continue this cycle of “accidentally” disrespecting non-Japanese. As such, MEXT (Ministry of Education, culture, sports, science and Technology) must change the educational system on how to teach Japanese honorifics to ALTs and people coming from different countries. They must be taught to speak to Japanese people with respect and to expect the same in return. In addition, teachers and students must be taught to use honorifics with ALTs and non-Japanese. Why do non-Japanese people have to fight for such respect, when Japanese people do not have to? Without policy change, this problem will not go away. We all must learn to be better. We must all learn to speak to each other with respect, regardless of race or natural origin, and MEXT should establish policy changes to ensure this.

U-Shimane Go Online

U-Shimane Go Online

July 13, 2020

U-Shimane Go Online

by Mariko Eguchi

After the Ministry of Education in Japan suddenly issued a notice on March 24, 2020, allowing the Japanese universities to go online, professors and students as well as administrators are experiencing a new mode of teaching and learning.

Despite Japan being technologically advanced, the education sector still favors the traditional methods of delivering knowledge: the teacher explaining ideas in front of the blackboard in a classroom. However, the default teaching was denied due to the serious health risk posed by the corona virus pandemic. It was impossible to stick to the familiar teaching style. Nonetheless, the decision to go online was very confusing to everyone.

The teachers and students of the University of Shimane experienced for the first time a shift from face-to-face education to online education. Except a few courses, all the classes are taught either synchronous online teaching or asynchronous on-demand teaching. Both teachers and students have a lot to say about this new mode of education. The followings are students’ perspectives toward their online experiences.

Learning effectively without stress

By Reina Yamane

Recently, a lot of university’s professors give some lectures on the network because of the coronavirus. I think online education is good because students can learn comfortably without stress.

First, we can take a lecture at home. This solves the risk of being late to the classroom, because we do not need hurry in the morning to catch a bus. It is so comfortable for me to stay home all day.

Second, online study is easy for some students to present their opinions to other students. If someone is called on during class in the classroom, she should speak in front of everyone, but some students may feel pressure, and she might not be able to say anything.

However, online participants can comment in the chat box, speak using a microphone, send stickers during online lessons. In online lessons, students don’t have to worry about what others think about themselves.

It is true it is hard to meet friends face to face, but I can contact other classmates even when we are apart. When someone feels lonely, we can meet during online classes and hear the voice of others. It brings a sense of security.

Saving money and energy

By Yutaro Mitsu

Online education has good points. First of all, as you do not need to go to school, financial burden of going to school is reduced. For example, expenses such as gasoline of a motorcycle or the bus fare became needless. Students can save transportation cost.

Also online education saves the physical strength. Going to school is tiring because students live downtown, but the university is located on top of a hill. Staying at home is more comfortable.

Difficulty in online communication

By Ruura Fukunaga

Japanese colleges currently use online class to prevent coronavirus infection, but online class is not necessarily a good way for teachers and students. In my view, the face-to-face class in the classroom is better for several reasons.

First of all, teachers and students are not well-prepared for online lessons, because they experience online class for the first time. So, we must learn to use computers. I often hear teachers and students, “It is hard to do classes through computer.”

In particular, it seems hard for teachers to prepare online lessons. Furthermore, it is difficult to communicate each other. Teachers cannot tell how well students can understand the lecture. It is difficult for students to ask questions, too. If there is a way to stop the coronavirus crisis, I want to take classes in the classroom.

Disadvantages of Online Lectures

By Saki Suyama

Although there are some advantages to being given lectures online, I prefer being taught by teachers at the university to being given lectures online. In my opinion, studying from teachers in the same classroom definitely enables us to concentrate and to spend a more meaningful time for several reasons.

First of all, it is hard for students to prepare each lecture’s handouts in advance. Students have to download them and print them. If some students don’t have a printer, they must go to Media Center or a convenience stores.

Also, we are under a big stress from being seen by others. Many people are shy, so they feel very uneasy to be seen so, they turn off their cameras, and shut down the important channel of good communication. If students turn off the video, teachers can’t see students’ faces, so teachers can’t know if students really understand what teachers said. So, we can’t communicate with each other well.

Classes and COVID-19

Classes and COVID-19

July 13, 2020

Victoria Thomas, University of Shimane

This semester has been a new and bewildering experience for students, staff, and faculty at the University of Shimane. Not only are classes online, but also social events are cancelled, employees are allowed to work from home, and people are maintaining social distance. This situation is stressful for students, staff, and faculty alike. As a teacher, I will explain the situation from my perspective.

My teaching adaptations for COVID-19 actually began at my previous teaching post in America. At me previous institution, we were in winter term from January to March, so we had to make sudden changes to our classes near the end of the term. The administration tried to avoid disrupting our schedules, but in the end, instructors were given four days’ notice to move final exams completely online. The situation was chaotic for everyone, but we adapted and finished the term.

I then moved to Japan to start my position at the University of Shimane. At the end of my two weeks of quarantine, I emerged to find a relatively calm situation. Some people were saying that classes would be in person; others claimed that they would be moved online. The starting date of the semester was extended twice, over a month in total, and we were officially informed at the beginning of May that classes would be online, starting May 11th.

My Intermediate English/Paragraph Writing course was not too difficult to move online, as I have previously taught online writing courses. In video classes, I give short lectures on PowerPoint, and we work on writing exercises together. If the students cannot attend the day’s lecture due to technology problems, they can read the PowerPoint on Moodle and the pages from the textbook, and I answer questions by email or Zoom. The homework for each week is listed in the syllabus and organized by week on Moodle, so my students can find their assignments for the week without having to contact me.

My Communication classes are also partially accessible on Moodle; however, they require more creativity for speaking and listening. The English teachers had to find ways to lead in-class speaking activities online, giving all students as much time as possible to speak English and engage in listening activities. After exploring the technology options with Steve Henneberry, Melissa Huntley organized several technology workshops for the new faculty to help us understand Moodle and Zoom so that we could use them effectively in our classes. Due to coronavirus, some students are not on campus, so even Extensive Reading had to be moved online; this project was organized by Eleanor Kane.

The other difficulty in Communication courses was to avoid giving students too much work. Since video classes are unstable for some students due to their internet situation, I moved some listening and vocabulary activities outside of class time (onto Moodle) so that students had more flexibility and control over their work, but due to that same internet instability, speaking and listening activities take much more time. This is my latest challenge to resolve: how to reduce student workload.

Learning Online Teaching

Learning Online Teaching

July 13, 2020

by Claire Kaku, University of Shimane

Before joining the English teaching family at The University of Shimane, I was a teacher who had taught online very little. At the beginning of April, I was excited to meet my students in person.

Later on, when all the classes were switched to online ones, I have to admit that I felt upset and helpless for some time. Luckily, I have been fully supported by the English teaching family. Steve kindly spared time for Moodle orientation for me. Mariko designed a fun and helpful workshop about Zoom and provides ongoing professional advice for my concerns.

Melissa selflessly offered to answer my ‘silly’ questions and organized workshops on Zoom and Moodle. Thanks to these workshops, my confidence grew. Eleanor always responds timely to my ER questions. Teamwork provides me with great strength to be a better online teacher. Fresh ideas spark when I am surrounded with excellent colleagues.

I’ve thought a lot about what my online classroom should offer to students. Before each class, I remind myself of these two principles: provide meaningful support to my online learners and convey positivity that the students can succeed.

I believe online students are typically working by themselves during Covid-19. They can’t ask for clarification when they first encounter instructions like they do in physical classrooms. Therefore, for their Moodle assignments, I write down the directions as if we were having a face-to-face conversation.

Students don’t need to guess what I want them to do because they can always study my examples to see my expectations. Many of them are motivated to do better on their assignments. Therefore, to encourage them to commit themselves continuously, I always play the role of my students’ biggest fan and spare time to praise their successful outcomes. I enjoy seeing their sweet smiles and laughter after receiving my positive feedback.

As online learners, students write more English emails than they usually do. However, I found they were failing to write as politely as they do in Japanese: not using greetings and being very direct when asking questions.

Pragmatic errors can be more disastrous than grammatical ones. Pointing out their impoliteness did not seem to help. To demonstrate caring for our busy online learners, I provided them with a model to follow. They quickly made use of it, and now their emails are more polite.

As weeks passed by, another problem emerged. From students’ emails, I realized online learning has caused them to communicate less with people, and some of them have begun to have time management problems.

They’ve begun to oversleep, overeat, and delay their assignments. To explore deeper, I changed the topic of the assignment for that week to ‘My lifestyle during Covid-19’. I wanted to discover how students were arranging their lives and if they had found any problems. Time management is an important skill for one’s life. I hope I can help them with it, even a little.

Online-only classes are tiring, and thus not the best choice. But as a teacher, I try to make online classes an inviting and pleasant place to be.

Yukichi Fukuzawa, the father of Japanese modern education

Yukichi Fukuzawa, the father of Japanese modern education

July 13, 2020

by Ruura Fukunaga

Fukuzawa Yukichi is known as the author of “Gakumonn no Susume,” [Introduction to Learning]. He contributed to creation of the Japanese modern education system. In 1860, Mr. Fukuzawa studied in the United States when he was 25 years old.

He was very surprised at American culture. For example, he was shocked to find there was no classes in the U.S. society. Then he studied abroad in the U.S. again when he was 31 years old. He wanted to tell Japanese people what foreign countries were like.

So, he wrote a book Western affairs. Many Japanese people read this book at that time. In 1868, he established Keio University. The university is one of the most famous universities in Japan and have produced many great graduates.

He was involved in founding other universities, too. In 1872, he published “Gakumonn no Susume.” This book says all human beings have liberty and equality. The ideas in the book made Japanese people surprised because at that time there were difference social classes in Japan.

So, they bought and read this book. Many Japanese people know about this book even now. Fukuzawa Yukichi passed away in 1901, but he ideas contributed greatly to modernizing the Japanese society.

Nobunaga Oda, Game Changer

Nobunaga Oda, Game Changer

July 13, 2020

by　Shouya Ajiki

Nobunaga Oda is a Japanese samurai who is well-known for his unifying Japanese lords during the period called Sengoku Era, which means “the era of battles.” He was born in 1534 and died in1582. He was a man who introduced new ways of battles and politics.

It is considered that he changed how warriors fought at wars in Japan. In 1575 a battle called “Battle of Nagashino” took place. At that time samurai soldiers on horsebacks used swords. However, in this battle, Nobunaga used guns and achieved an overwhelming victory against his enemy.

He also invented new ways to evaluate his men. He considered the talent of a man, not the birth of a man. For example, he appointed men of a lower social status to his close aids when he spotted talented people.

One of such examples is Hideyoshi Toyotomi, a son of a farmer, who rose up to the ruler of Japan after the death of his lord, Nobunaga. It was revolutionary to favor men of a low status family in the time influenced by the family background.

Nobunaga’s adventurous attitude of trying new things may be something the modern people should learn in this time of great social change.

Hideyo Noguchi, Bacteriologist Saving the World

July 13, 2020

by　Reina Yamane

Hideyo Noguchi is well known as an important bacteriologist. He saved a lot of people and countries from germs. In 1911, he is the first person in the world to find a germ in the brain with progressive supranuclear palsy.

This germ was revealed as syphilis by Hideyo Noguchi. Thanks to this discovery, doctors became able to treat the sick.

In 1918, he found a germ of Weil’s Disease only nine days since he arrived at Ecuador. Then he developed a new vaccine to cure the disease, and this pandemic was stamped out by this vaccine in Ecuador.

In 1925, he also found that two illnesses were in fact the same disease in Peru and Columbia. This theory was scientifically proven by him. As a result, his services were appreciated by Harvard University.

Even now, his theory is still used in the health care entities. As a result, his face is reprinted on a Japanese bill to praise his achievement.