From April 26th to May 31st, 2018, one student from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) participated in an internship at the Japan Center in Vladivostok. Just prior to the start of the internship, on Friday, the 20th of April, the Head of the Center, Mr. Mukai Kazuyoshi, introduced the student to the activities of the center, as well as to the Japanese courses carried out by the center. Courses are taught at the center twice per week, and attendees consist of corporate employees or those with interest in business between Japan and Russia. During the period mentioned above, the student participated four times in Japanese courses as a TA, helping with such activities as reading example sentences, and offering other kinds of assistance to the Russian faculty.
Below are the student’s impressions of the internship.
Because I have long sought a career in a field that involved utilizing language, this internship was an extremely meaningful experience for me. It afforded me the opportunity to observe Russian teachers of Japanese instructing Russian native speakers in the grammar of Japanese. A case in point is today’s Japan, in which it isn’t uncommon for a teacher to find that their class contains students who are not Japanese. At such times, it can be expected that utilizing a teaching methodology predicated on one’s students’ native languages will very important. Through an internship involving the overseas teaching of Japanese, I had the opportunity to reevaluate my own career path.
Overview of the internship
Dates: April 26th to May 31st, 2018
Venue: Vladivostok Japan Center (5F, Bldg. 69, Okeansky prospect, Vladivostok, 690091, Russia)
Japan Center Staff:
Mukai Kazuyoshi － Head of the Vladivostok Japan Center
Participating students:
One student from TUFS (financially supported)