It has been a busy but incredibly rewarding term in Senior Japanese.

Konnichiwa!

We started Term 3 by welcoming four international students from Japan! Hiroto Hirai, Yo Shirakura, and Naoki Takahashi joined the 10AKO team, and Kenta Yokoyama in Year 11. All four have enjoyed living in a small community much different from their lives in Tokyo, and have amazing things to say about their host families.

A huge thank you to the families who are hosting students this term. We are excited to have multiple inbound exchanges lined up for 2023 already. If you are interested in being a host family for short or long term students, please contact Loretta Sloan: homestaycoordinator@ellesmere.school.nz

Hiroto, Yo, and Naoki came to Willowbank on Wednesday 21st August with Devon, Christopher, Robert, Ashton, and Tulipa from the Senior Japanese class. It was a great opportunity for natural language exchange, plus we got to see the Kiwis! The highlight was feeding the eels though, and this was a theme of discussion for days afterwards!

We held an online exchange in Week 4 with Omiya International Secondary School. Even though students in Japan are still on summer holidays, Mr. Semans’ students reached out and asked for a chance to catch up with our students. They are planning their trip to New Zealand in 2023, and students collaboratively offered recommendations for things to do, places to visit, and foods to eat. We are so lucky to have so many online exchange opportunities to use authentic and relevant Japanese, and help support their English. I have noticed a rapid improvement in both students’ speaking and listening through these exchanges. We are excited to see Omiya next year!

We have more online exchange opportunities within the next few weeks, and we look forward to sharing them in our next newsletter.

As for an outgoing exchange for 2023…watch this space!

Kore kara mo yoroshiku onegaishimasu!

Thank you for your support!