14/04/2011
On April 1st 2011, three of Japan Foundation’s StepOutNet Programme volunteers visited Sandgate Primary School in Folkestone as part of the school’s International Day of Languages.
During each 30 minute session, the volunteers first told the pupils all about Japan, and then taught them numbers in Japanese with gestures and pictures to help them remember. They then played games using numbers and jan ken pon (rock, scissors, paper). The pupils also learned basic Japanese greetings from ohayo gozaimasu to sayonara. Finally, the older pupils learned about Japanese kanji, while younger pupils heard the Japanese fairy tale “Kaguya Hime.”
Both the volunteers and the pupils really enjoyed the day, and one Year 4 pupil commented, “The Japanese language lesson was awesome. The actions helped me to remember everything and the teachers were kind, helpful and really made it fun."
A report of the event by the school, including photos of the StepOutNet volunteers in action, can be found on the school website here.
We would like to thank our volunteers and the staff of Sandgate Primary School for all their hard work in preparing the taster session!
If you would like to arrange a StepOutNet taster session for your school, please click here.
If you are a fluent Japanese speaker and would like to become a StepOutNet volunteer, please click here.