Report on the Short-Term Language Study Abroad Program at Hokuryu Junior High School (16 days in Australia): Sakura Kosuge and Noshin Fukase studied abroad

Thursday, November 2, 2023

On Tuesday, October 31, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m., a presentation on the short-term language study abroad program at Hokuryu Junior High School was held in the main hall (2F) of the Hokuryu-cho Community Center.

The event was held in the hall with all Hokuryu Junior High School students (about 38), fifth and sixth graders of Manryu Elementary School (about 16), parents, and town residents in attendance while faculty and staff looked on in a relaxed atmosphere.

Short-term language study abroad program report presentation at Hokuryu Junior High School



Subsidy program for short-term language study abroad program for junior high school students in Hokuryu Town

The purpose of this program is to provide junior high school students living in Hokuryu Town with the opportunity to study abroad in order to gain a better understanding of different cultures, broaden their horizons, and improve their ability to adapt to an international society.

Eligible applicants must have obtained Level 3 of the English Language Proficiency Test or a TOEIC score of 400 or higher by the end of the second year of junior high school.

The town will pay for transportation, lodging, local education, travel insurance, and other expenses. Participants are responsible for their own personal expenses.

Sakura Kosuge and Nigishin Fukase studied abroad.

This August, two third-year junior high school students, Sakura Kosuge and Koshin Fukase, participated in the program and studied abroad for 16 days while doing a home stay in Australia.

General Moderator: English, Masashi Kaneuchi, teacher

The overall host was Mr. Masashi Kaneuchi, English teacher. He spoke fluent English.

Greetings from the Principal: Akihiro Uesugi, Principal

Today, we will talk with third-year students Sakura Kosuge and Noshin Fukase, who participated in a short-term language study abroad program, about their experiences and what they learned.

Some of you may have been looking forward to this day very much since I returned a little after the start of the second semester. Today, we have the fifth and sixth grade elementary school students participating in this event.

As the moderator explained earlier, it is possible to study abroad for 16 days after obtaining Level 3 of the English Proficiency Test. I think it would be a good idea to focus on English study with such a goal in mind.

Now, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your busy schedule today, and to welcome all of our guests, as well as parents and community members who are here today. We would like you to see and hear the results of the children's learning. Thank you very much for your cooperation today."

Yusho Tsuji, participant in an English speech contest for elementary school students

My name is Eiji Kikuchi and I teach English at an elementary school.
Today is the Junior High School Short-Term Language Study Abroad Report Meeting, and since this is an opportunity for elementary and junior high school students to gather, I would like to introduce one English activity for elementary school students.

He said, "Starting this year, elementary school students will be challenged to give speeches in English and compete in speech contests. It is quite a challenge. This year, 500 people from all over Japan participated in the competition, which was judged by video.

From our school, a 6th grader, Yusho Tsuji (Masato), requested to participate. He practiced hard and took videos.

The theme was "My Dream. Although I did not make it to the final round, I was awarded the "Effort Award" by the principal and received a commendation.

I would like to take this opportunity to have Tsuji-kun listen to all of you. Before that, I would like to ask Tsuji-kun to share his thoughts with you".

Yusho Tsuji, Mayu Elementary School

Hello everyone! My name is Yusho Tsuji, and I am in the 6th grade. The reason why I wanted to participate in this speech contest is because I want to speak English well.

Practicing my speech was difficult, especially my English pronunciation. With the advice of my English teacher and the principal, I managed to make it all the way through.

What I thought at that time was that even though it was difficult and hard, I felt very happy when I did my best to accomplish it. If you have an opportunity like this, please try to participate.

My dream is to become a Youtuber and introduce my interests and the wonderful things about Hokuryu Town to many people. I made a speech in English about these feelings.

I am very happy to have the opportunity to be heard by you all. Now, please listen to my speech.

Australia Quiz by Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) Ms. Sell

1. The area of Australia is approximately how many times larger than that of Japan?　21 times as large as Japan
2. What is the population of Australia?　Approximately 26 million people
3. What are the five stars on the right side of the flag?　The Southern Cross
4. What about cars in Australia?　Driving on the left side of the road
5. What is the capital of Australia?　Canberra
6. Who are the indigenous people of Australia?　Aboriginal people
7. In the northeastern part of the continent, what is the largest in the world called the Great Barrier Reef?　: Coral Reef County
8. What does "AUSSIE" mean?　AUSTRALIANS
9. What is Australian English called?　AUSSIE ENGLISH
10. What is the Australian term for "ground floor"?　：GROUND FLOOR

Which one do you like?

Ms. Sell asked the students what their favorite things were. The students answered in energetic English.
Uluru, Bungee Jumping, Parasailing, Surfing, Great Barrier Reef, Opera House

Report Presentation: Ms. Sakura Kosuge and Ms. Nijishin Fukase

I went to Australia for a short-term study abroad program from August 9 to 24. Here is an explanation with the help of PowerPoint.

prior learning

• Australia's topography, culture
• Daily conversation, phrases for use on airplanes
• self-introduction

Australian Money

• Australian banknotes do not lose when wet (polymer banknotes printed on thin plastic sheets)
• $1=100¢ (about 96 yen)
• Credit card reimbursement is common.

To Sydney

• New Chitose Airport → Kansai Airport (approx. 2 hr. 30 min.)
• Japan (Kansai Airport) → Hong Kong (approx. 3 hrs)
• Hong Kong → Australia (about 8 hours)

in-flight meal

Arrival in Sydney

• Atmosphere.
• I finally felt that I was in Australia.

zoo

• One hour bus ride from Sydney to the zoo
• Wallaby feeding experience
• Birds were allowed to roam free and I was eating french fries and a bird sideswiped me from the side!
• It was refreshing to see the animals moving freely.

koala

Greetings and self-introductions with host mother

At School

• Different classrooms for different subjects.
• Red boxes indicate break times (first break, second break)
• Each has 30 minutes and you are free to eat snacks and lunch (my favorite time).

Greetings & Interaction

• Students took classes and ate dinner together with a buddy of the same age (one-on-one support by a student in charge).
• I tried to convey my intentions with gestures, and he did his best to read my intentions, which was helpful.
• Through my buddy friends, I was able to expand the scope of our interactions, and I was able to grow in areas such as communication.

lesson

• Wide range of studies including mathematics, social studies, science, English, art, environment, home economics, geography, health and physical education, etc.
• Photo taken at the "What I want to do in Australia" presentation

mid-afternoon (around 3 o'clock) snack

• Sweets and fleur de lis on top of mashomaro
• meat pie
• Vegemite" (a fermented food with a unique flavor) - a salty Australian jam that is spread on bread (a national dish).

Art: Boomerang making

• Aboriginal Indigenous Boomerang Making

The work I made at that time

Home economics Cooking: Making lamingtons

• Lamingtons, a local Australian sweet with chocolate and coconut on the cake

meadow

• The school's farm has many animals such as cows, goats, sheep, alpacas, etc.
• Observe the growth of the animals

Lunch and barbecue

• At the barbecue, we had the famous Australian kangaroo sausage (which I was not used to eating and felt bad about eating)

science museum

• Visit to science show, planetarium, etc.

Sydney area, Opera House and Harbour Bridge

• Spend a full day visiting famous tourist attractions
• I found the Opera House to be unique in its architectural structure.

day off

• The day of the barbecue with the homesteaders.
• The old man who cooked the meat was 90 years old ("It's good to be healthy" lol!)

church

• There were many occasions to sing songs, so it was a good experience to learn English

Picnic at the beach

• Great view!

national park

• Hiking (we hiked in the mountains, there were beautiful waterfalls and lookout points, and we spent the day experiencing a lot of Australian nature)
• Swimming at the beach

Homemade food by host mother

• Breakfast: bread and fried egg
• Australian Tapioca
• Rice (egg and bacon)
• Rice (sausage, broccoli, carrots, mashed potatoes)
• Roasted whole lamb
• Breakfast cereals
• Yogurt & fruit for evening meal
• Meat pie for the last dinner



in-flight meal

• I'm surprised Häagen-Dazs came out.
• Bread and rice were available, and fruit was served every time!

quiz

• What was the "snack" you had at the end of the school day?
  1. sushi 2. tempura 3. ramen 4. pickles

impressions

Sakura Kosuge

I went to Australia this time and had a lot of valuable experiences and learned a lot about life overseas, the atmosphere at the school, and meeting new people.

Before going to Australia, I was full of anxiety, but once I got there, I found that people overseas were very cheerful and energetic and fun, and the time passed very quickly.

I was reminded that you never know unless you try everything. From now on, I would like to make the most of this experience in my life.

And I would like to thank all the teachers who helped us with the preliminary study and the Board of Education for organizing this experience. Thank you very much.

Niji Shin Fukase

For me, this short-term study abroad program was a great experience. By actually going, I was able to experience firsthand the climate and atmosphere of a foreign country.

On the first day, I could not understand English and had quite a hard time speaking, but by the end of the week, I think I was able to communicate with them.

I was more than happy to realize my own growth on the spot. I was glad to have participated in the short-term study abroad program.

I am grateful to the Board of Education, my teachers, and my parents for their support in giving me this opportunity to have such a fulfilling short-term study abroad experience.

I will cherish this learning and make the most of it in the future. Thank you very much.

About Eiken

Normally, it costs 4,000 yen to take an Eiken test, but in Hokuryu Town, you can take it for 500 yen. Thus, you can take the test from Level 5 to Level 1 for 500 yen.

In Hokuryu Town, if you have passed Level 3 by the time you reach the third grade of junior high school, you will receive a subsidy from the town and be able to study abroad.

When you take the Eiken, you will know your English ability. The EIKEN covers reading and listening, and from Level 3, writing.

You can find out how well you have mastered the vocabulary and other things you have learned in class at school. We encourage everyone to take the test," he explained.

Movie Screening

Flame Experiments

spray of waves wiped up between rocks

(public) park

As you can see, you can learn a lot of new things through your experiences during a short-term study abroad program. Everything is a challenge!
Why don't you go study abroad too?
Thank you very much for seeing it through to the end.

question corner

Question 1: What was the most enjoyable or difficult thing you did?

• What I enjoyed was going to an Australian school and taking classes. Everyone was cheerful and very conscious of trying to understand me, and I really enjoyed it!
• The hardest thing was that the bathroom in my host mother's house had many openings and it was cold and very painful.
• What I enjoyed the most was going to various places in Australia with my host mother on holidays. My host mother was an environmentally conscious person, so I enjoyed being in contact with nature a lot.
• The hardest part was getting homesick on the plane to

Question 2: What did you spend your time doing on the plane?

• On the flight to the destination, I met for the first time people who were also going to study abroad, so we talked about the attractions of our town (skiing, etc.). On the return flight, I slept.
• I also enjoyed talking to the friend sitting next to me, and on the plane, I could watch movies and play games. I slept on the way back as well.

Question 3: What was your favorite Australian food?

• The best dish was my host mother's chicken with herbs and cheese inside, baked in the oven!
• I also loved the lamb dish best, homemade by my host mother!

Question 4: Was it difficult to study?

• Yes, it was very difficult. In math class, it was easier than in Japan, but it took me a while to understand what was being said because it was all in English!
• I was in a different class from Nijushin-san. In my class, the teacher conducted experiments and took molds of our teeth in science class, which I thought was very fun and bright compared to Japanese classes.

Question 5: Was there anyone who was in trouble?

• When I went to the burger place, there was a guy who looked dangerous, he approached me and scared me.
• In Australian schools, people are free to dress and wear their hair in any way they want, so it wasn't scary, but there were some people whose atmosphere seemed a bit dangerous!

Question 6: What did you do when you were homestaying?

• I had a lot of homework from school, so I was busy doing it. I also had a lot of conversations with my host family, so time flew by!
• At my host mother's house, she had a dog, so time flew by as we walked together. There was never a dull moment.

Question 7: How much money did you spend there?

• I spent about 30,000 yen for souvenirs and shopping.

Question 8: Where was the most scenic place in Australia?

• While taking a walk with my host family, the evening sunset was so colorful and beautiful!
• I went to the beach with my host family. There was a sandy beach and the white waves were so beautiful and impressive!

Comments by representative students from elementary and junior high schools

elementary school student

• I was amazed to hear that Australian school rules are more liberal than those in Japan, and that you can have your ears pierced. I am glad that I was able to learn about various things about Australia today.

junior high school student

• Today, I became interested in learning about things that I can only experience in Australia. I was able to learn about traditional things, foods that are unique to Australia, and many other things. I would like to go there and experience it for myself.

A number of inspiring study abroad experiences are precious treasures in life!
Thank you for all the wonderful and many inspirations!

A resilient spirit to challenge anything with courage!
We will be exposed to different cultures from around the world and weave precious and wonderful relationships with people from around the world,
With boundless love, gratitude and prayers for the great junior high school students' short-term language study abroad experience.

Youtube Video

More Photos

Click here for 166 photos (2023) of Soba Making Experience at Mayu Elementary School >>

Hokuryu Town HP "Public Relations Hokuryu November issue (No.699)

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Hokuryu Town Portal

Tuesday, October 31, Junior High School Students' Short-Term Language Study Abroad Report Session - 5th and 6th graders participated. There were reports from two junior high school students who studied abroad in Australia and a video of a speech by a 6th grader who participated in an English speech contest. The reports made us want to go abroad [Manryu Elementary School].

Wednesday, November 1, 2023...

◇ Reporting and writing by Ikuko Terauchi (Photography and editorial assistance by Noboru Terauchi)