Vice President Hiroshi Kageyama gave a lecture at the Department of English Education, Faculty of Letters, Tamagawa University
Vice President Kageyama gave a lecture in a class given by Associate Professor Miho Ohta of Tamagawa University.
Date: December 23, 2020
Class name: Word Studies
Teacher in charge: Associate Professor Miho Ohta
Speaker: Mr. Kazutomo Ishikawa, Yamato City Internationalization Association
Mr. Hiroshi Kageyama, Vice President of glolab, a non-profit organization
Participants: Students of the Department of English Education, Faculty of Letters, Tamagawa University
Number of participants: About 50
Lecture format: Online class using Zoom
The Department of English Education in the Faculty of Letters at Tamagawa University aims to cultivate human resources who can actively contribute to international society by acquiring the ability to use English as a lingua franca, and who can practice English education in a variety of social situations.
The Department of English Education in the Faculty of Letters at Tamagawa University aims to cultivate human resources who can actively contribute to international society by acquiring the ability to use English as a lingua franca, and who can practice English education in a variety of social situations.
World Studies is a course that deepens students’ understanding of the realities of each country and region based on geography and international affairs. Many of the students in attendance are aiming to become English teachers at elementary, junior high, and high schools, and are planning to study abroad in Europe or the United States for nine months starting in the summer of their second year.
This time, the students conducted a web survey on the actual situation of multicultural conviviality by local governments before coming to class. In the first half of the lecture, Mr. Ishikawa of Yamato City Internationalization Association explained about the actual situation of multicultural conviviality in Japan and Yamato City, Kanagawa Prefecture.
In the second half of the lecture, Mr. Kageyama gave an overview of the situation and issues surrounding young people with people with immigrant background. He also talked about the difficulties and the worries and conflicts that he experienced after coming to Japan, and what he gained and what supported him in overcoming them. Finally, as a message to the students, he said, “There is value in different ways of thinking, and for this, it is important for people with unique characteristics and different values to resonate with each other on the basis of a solid relationship of trust, and to create new things and things by clashing their individuality. I talked about this with reference to the literature.
After the lecture, the students gave us their impressions of what they felt and learned. I would like to thank Professor Ota for inviting me and the students for participating.
Comments from students (excerpt)
“Mr. Kageyama’s story about he own hardships left a deep impression on me, and I felt that it is important to understand and respect people of different nationalities or foreigners whose Japanese is so faltering that they cannot converse well, even when we meet them.”
“Through Mr. Kageyama’s talk on sense-making, I felt the importance of actively exchanging opinions with people who have different values in order to make new discoveries, and I would like to implement this in my future communication with people.”
“Mr. Kageyama talked about his own experiences in his talk, which was very convincing. It is hard to live in an unfamiliar environment, and it was good to hear what it was like for them. I think it’s very important for these children to be able to find a good teacher or not, so I wanted to become a teacher who can be there for these children and students.”
“I felt that the difficulty in discovering the problems (of young people with people with immigrant background), which was an issue in Mr. Kageyama’s talk, could be solved if the instructors could build a relationship of trust and become not just instructors but people who can talk about their secrets. I was born and raised in Japan, so I haven’t really had to worry about my roots, assimilation, or choices, but Mr. Kageyama’s talk helped me learn about the problems of students with people with immigrant background in a realistic way.”
“From Mr. Kageyama’s story, I was deeply moved to learn about the alienation and struggles minorities face (determination to assimilate, conflicts with family and Japanese people). I believe that the struggles minorities are very different and complex.
“After listening to this talk, I was surprised to find that there were more problems than what we had researched that we could not imagine. There was a lot of information that we couldn’t hear just this time, and I realized that we need to put more effort into understanding different cultures. At the same time, I realized that there are many things we can do now, such as participating in volunteer activities.”
“I think we need to understand how to think and be considerate of foreigners. As Mr. Kageyama mentioned, I found out that living in another country is much harder than I imagined. Through Mr. Kageyama’s experience, I understood that Japanese people have been making foreigners feel uncomfortable by using thoughtless words. I felt that we need to understand each other better, regardless of who we are or what we are.”
“Mr. Kageyama’s talk gave me a sincere sense of the hardships faced by foreigners living in Japan. I used to think that the language barrier was the most difficult issue for foreigners. However, after listening to Mr. Kageyama’s story, I learned that not only language barriers, but also relationships with parents and financial problems are major challenges. That’s why I realized that it is very important for us, as Japanese, to support such foreigners.”
“In his talk, I learned about the benefits of inclusiveness, and even though the original purpose of the program was to promote understanding among foreigners, it was also effective for Japanese elderly people. I realized how important it is to provide solutions to problems for society as a whole.”