Changing Nihongo Cafe event--name, frequency, content etc.
Mar 22, 2016 14:55:05 GMT 9
songbanana likes this
Post by karuru on Mar 22, 2016 14:55:05 GMT 9
Hey all, long time lurker first time poster (on this board)
I'm on the way out of this position, but I finally have the opportunity to change an event that I've been doing since I got here that has been a thorn in my side the whole time
The idea is good enough, a monthly event aimed at helping foreigners living in our town to practice speaking Japanese in a relaxed environment while also 交流ing with locals and making connections. It's in Japanese so even if the townspeople don't speak English they can participate, which is good in theory.
However as you can imagine, there are a few problems.
First, while there are many foreigners in town, it is basically impossible to contact them because they are either 研修生 whose employers actively seek to keep them from interacting with the general public lest they talk about how shitty their wages/working conditions are, or they just don't read the 広報/see the tiny poster put up on a 掲示板 in one corner of the 文化会館 that no-one really goes to. There is no 外国人登録 list that we can access either (nor should we be able to, that would be weird).
Effectively the only foreigner participants are me and the two ALTs in town. In the past, ALTs have come from out of town to participate but few come back, probably because the event isn't very interesting or fun for people who aren't fluent in Japanese. So the event is mostly Japanese townspeople and as such everything is done in native-level Japanese, so it's pretty much just a group of people who come together once a month to have an awkwardly structured, forced conversation about random shit for an hour an a half.
I've been thinking of ways to change it and think that first it might be good to have it be more of a language exchange event--half English, half Japanese--based on the idea of a language partner where you meet regularly and switch speaking your target/native languages. This would satisfy the Japanese people who want to practice YEIGO and make the ALTs feel less useless and incompetent, hopefully.
I also want to make it less frequent at the suggestion of 偉い people from our 国際交流推進委員会 so maybe once every 2 months but idk, I have mixed feelings about it and have gotten mixed responses as well. I feel like I would prefer once every 2, but maybe my successor will be super gung-ho and want to do it monthly.
I'm a bit at a loss for what to actually do for the event as well--at the moment we have a set of topic questions in Japanese that focus on the theme of the day (Ex. 今年楽しみにしていることは何ですか) and we go around the circle and each answer in turn. This is awkward because it means everyone else is more or less silent as each person takes their turn, and some people are very nervous to talk. We do go off script frequently but it is a very awkward way of doing things. I would rather split into small groups and have it be a casual conversation.
I also want to make it somewhat educational but I'm not a teacher and feel if I try to teach to much grammar it'll be boring for the people who already speak the language, and it would be very difficult to know how difficult I can make it with so many varying skill levels. Currently I have a 用紙 with the sample questions as well as a vocabulary list and some simple grammar that people can look at afterwards for self-study and I think this is an ok balance.
Oh! And since the event is currently にほんごカフェ but is becoming more にほんご・英語カフェ、 the name should probably change too. I like Language Exchange Cafe, but 言語交換カフェ and ランゲージ・エックスチェーンジカフェ both sound weird. Anyone have any clever name ideas?
Also just any input on the above would be great.
k plz do my job for me thx bye
I'm on the way out of this position, but I finally have the opportunity to change an event that I've been doing since I got here that has been a thorn in my side the whole time
The idea is good enough, a monthly event aimed at helping foreigners living in our town to practice speaking Japanese in a relaxed environment while also 交流ing with locals and making connections. It's in Japanese so even if the townspeople don't speak English they can participate, which is good in theory.
However as you can imagine, there are a few problems.
First, while there are many foreigners in town, it is basically impossible to contact them because they are either 研修生 whose employers actively seek to keep them from interacting with the general public lest they talk about how shitty their wages/working conditions are, or they just don't read the 広報/see the tiny poster put up on a 掲示板 in one corner of the 文化会館 that no-one really goes to. There is no 外国人登録 list that we can access either (nor should we be able to, that would be weird).
Effectively the only foreigner participants are me and the two ALTs in town. In the past, ALTs have come from out of town to participate but few come back, probably because the event isn't very interesting or fun for people who aren't fluent in Japanese. So the event is mostly Japanese townspeople and as such everything is done in native-level Japanese, so it's pretty much just a group of people who come together once a month to have an awkwardly structured, forced conversation about random shit for an hour an a half.
I've been thinking of ways to change it and think that first it might be good to have it be more of a language exchange event--half English, half Japanese--based on the idea of a language partner where you meet regularly and switch speaking your target/native languages. This would satisfy the Japanese people who want to practice YEIGO and make the ALTs feel less useless and incompetent, hopefully.
I also want to make it less frequent at the suggestion of 偉い people from our 国際交流推進委員会 so maybe once every 2 months but idk, I have mixed feelings about it and have gotten mixed responses as well. I feel like I would prefer once every 2, but maybe my successor will be super gung-ho and want to do it monthly.
I'm a bit at a loss for what to actually do for the event as well--at the moment we have a set of topic questions in Japanese that focus on the theme of the day (Ex. 今年楽しみにしていることは何ですか) and we go around the circle and each answer in turn. This is awkward because it means everyone else is more or less silent as each person takes their turn, and some people are very nervous to talk. We do go off script frequently but it is a very awkward way of doing things. I would rather split into small groups and have it be a casual conversation.
I also want to make it somewhat educational but I'm not a teacher and feel if I try to teach to much grammar it'll be boring for the people who already speak the language, and it would be very difficult to know how difficult I can make it with so many varying skill levels. Currently I have a 用紙 with the sample questions as well as a vocabulary list and some simple grammar that people can look at afterwards for self-study and I think this is an ok balance.
Oh! And since the event is currently にほんごカフェ but is becoming more にほんご・英語カフェ、 the name should probably change too. I like Language Exchange Cafe, but 言語交換カフェ and ランゲージ・エックスチェーンジカフェ both sound weird. Anyone have any clever name ideas?
Also just any input on the above would be great.
k plz do my job for me thx bye
