On Friday, May 24th, members of our Course and the Institute for the Promotion of Interculturalism in Education were privileged to host 12 students and their professor Soichiro Motohashi from Western Carolina University (WCU). The students, who are learning Japanese at their own university in the United States of America, participated in a seminar with students from the Hiroshima University School of Education as well as the Graduate School of Education. In this seminar, the HU students were able to hear firsthand how students from abroad are learning Japanese as a second language, what drove them to study the Japanese language, and some of the struggles they have with learning the language. Likewise, the HU students were able to share with these students what they were learning about teaching here in Japan.
After the seminar, the Institute organized a campus tour for our guests from WCU, in which HU students were able to act as small group tour guides. The HU students showed our guests some of the key locations here at Hiroshima University while continuing their conversations from the seminar and engaging in an exchange of their ideas and views.
Finally, on the following Sunday, May 26th, members of the Institute joined the students from WCU on their trip to Miyajima. The Institute was able to provide these students with a greater view of Hiroshima while helping to enrich their knowledge of Hiroshima’s history and modern-day life.
