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Post by shanshan310 on Apr 8, 2016 20:32:35 GMT 9
So, just a question. On the Incoming JETs 2016 facebook page, a few of the incoming CIR's said that they are planning to study medical terminology. I know ESID, but how important is it to know medical terminology as a CIR? I saw that too and freaked out a little bit  that said it does seem like an interesting thing to study! We may in fact be FB acquainted  Does anyone have any good ideas about more uh, universally useful things we might need to study before coming to Japan? |
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icaman
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 26
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Post by icaman on Apr 9, 2016 22:57:41 GMT 9
So, just a question. On the Incoming JETs 2016 facebook page, a few of the incoming CIR's said that they are planning to study medical terminology. I know ESID, but how important is it to know medical terminology as a CIR? Medical terminology isn't very vital to CIR Life. If you end up going to a hospital-- on business, or on your own time-- you can always take along a dictionary, or ask the doctor to speak more simply. On the off chance you're asked to be an interpreter at the hospital, you can always start studying then. And still take a dictionary with you  |
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Post by zdaradara23 on Apr 11, 2016 10:58:59 GMT 9
So, just a question. On the Incoming JETs 2016 facebook page, a few of the incoming CIR's said that they are planning to study medical terminology. I know ESID, but how important is it to know medical terminology as a CIR? I saw that too and freaked out a little bit that said it does seem like an interesting thing to study! We may in fact be FB acquainted Does anyone have any good ideas about more uh, universally useful things we might need to study before coming to Japan? I think we are? Yeah, I panicked and thought that it would be good to pick up on, but I'm still in school so that is probably not practical at the moment. |
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Post by King Quailbee on Apr 11, 2016 11:28:42 GMT 9
Just looking through the work related stuff on the forums gave me an idea of the Japanese equivalents for some of the work you will have to do (or even just the office). Like school visit is 学校訪問.
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Post by snell_mouse on Apr 12, 2016 9:14:42 GMT 9
So, just a question. On the Incoming JETs 2016 facebook page, a few of the incoming CIR's said that they are planning to study medical terminology. I know ESID, but how important is it to know medical terminology as a CIR? I saw that too and freaked out a little bit that said it does seem like an interesting thing to study! We may in fact be FB acquainted Does anyone have any good ideas about more uh, universally useful things we might need to study before coming to Japan? I think Sparkles' suggestion about 自己紹介 is a good one, but in addition to that I would suggest maybe brushing up on your keigo (kenjogo, etc.)? Obviously if you're not super comfortable with it that's totally okay (です・ます is completely fine!), but being able to speak keigo (properly) will certainly be a plus that you will use no matter where you end up, and I remember even though I had learned keigo before coming, it took me a while before it could come out without really thinking about it/making mistakes. |
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Post by marudate on Apr 13, 2016 9:28:31 GMT 9
I think reading through the CIR language handbook is a decent idea. I found it to be mostly applicable. If you didn't get it yet don't worry, you will.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Apr 13, 2016 10:33:29 GMT 9
1. get your self introduction down
2. learn about your home country/state/town/city etc.
3. always good if you can convert numbers from english system to japanese system off the top of your head (definitely not necessary though.)
4. learn a japanese karaoke song to impress your coworkers
edit:
5. if you are going somewhere notorious for strong 方言, you should probably try to study that too.
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Post by no yark shark on Apr 13, 2016 10:39:16 GMT 9
Once you get your placement, learning as much about it as you can will only be helpful too. You could impress people by using it in your introduction and saying "I'm looking forward to seeing/learning about xxx." Also it will help you with translations/interpretation/guiding around guests etc. in the future. The wait between getting my placement and being contacted by my pred was excruciating, so I killed a lot of time by reading up about my town on wikipedia (one of my preds actually wrote it) and also walking around on google street view.
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Post by Ividia on Apr 14, 2016 9:33:01 GMT 9
If you find out you're going to be working in a city hall as opposed to a prefectural office, and NOT the tourism division etc etc
IE a situation where you'll have to help residents who come in to sort stuff out
A basic understanding of and vocab related to
- tax
- the national insurance system
- the pension system
Will be VERY helpful
(I say this mainly as something I wish I had. I struggled a lot with these initially (and still hate being called to interpret for the tax division). Obviously though, you pick up what you need once you get going too, so don't worry too much!)
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Post by no yark shark on Apr 14, 2016 13:56:20 GMT 9
If you find out you're going to be working in a city hall as opposed to a prefectural office, and NOT the tourism division etc etc IE a situation where you'll have to help residents who come in to sort stuff out A basic understanding of and vocab related to - tax - the national insurance system - the pension system Will be VERY helpful (I say this mainly as something I wish I had. I struggled a lot with these initially (and still hate being called to interpret for the tax division). Obviously though, you pick up what you need once you get going too, so don't worry too much!) (of course this also depends on the size of your city, I'm a "city hall"and I don't do these things at all really) Do look up the population/area/population density because Japan has this pesky system where about 10 years ago they took a bunch of towns/villages mash them into cities so you could end up in a 40,000 person "city" that takes like an hour to drive through. |
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Post by tomoe on Apr 15, 2016 13:21:54 GMT 9
So, just a question. On the Incoming JETs 2016 facebook page, a few of the incoming CIR's said that they are planning to study medical terminology. I know ESID, but how important is it to know medical terminology as a CIR? I saw that too and freaked out a little bit that said it does seem like an interesting thing to study! We may in fact be FB acquainted Does anyone have any good ideas about more uh, universally useful things we might need to study before coming to Japan? Personally I wish I had studied more about government departments, heirarchies, and associated vocabulary. Like your 主査ｓ and 主事ｓ, 室長・課長・局長・部長 and relevant 補佐ｓ. I was really confused by how many role titles there were at first.
Again, it probably depends on the type of office you get placed in and what your prior experience is, but that was mine.
I also read the Japanese for CIRs book and I thought it was pretty good.
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Post by CaptainSeery on Apr 18, 2016 9:01:45 GMT 9
Like bughug4u I don't do any of that stuff and I work in a city hall. My city is just so small that there ARE no foreign residents to require help (and the few that are here have been here much longer than me.)
I agree that it's a good idea to get to know Japanese office structure and related vocab.
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Post by snell_mouse on Apr 18, 2016 9:21:43 GMT 9
I have the opposite, where I work in a city hall but hardly ever help out residents because the city is too big, and most of those problems go to the ward offices instead. (Also we have an international association where we direct most people to get help.)
That said I do translations related to tax/pension/insurance, so at any rate I'm sure it can't hurt to know a little about them.
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Post by popchyk~ on Apr 18, 2016 10:43:14 GMT 9
I have the opposite, where I work in a city hall but hardly ever help out residents because the city is too big, and most of those problems go to the ward offices instead. But you spend lots of your time helping out us kouhai CIRs with advice instead :3 (please appreciate my sycophantic comment, senpai) |
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Post by snell_mouse on Apr 18, 2016 10:52:35 GMT 9
I have the opposite, where I work in a city hall but hardly ever help out residents because the city is too big, and most of those problems go to the ward offices instead. But you spend lots of your time helping out us kouhai CIRs with advice instead :3 (please appreciate my sycophantic comment, senpai) (〃ω〃) |
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Post by Say itaintChristmasyet Jay on Jun 17, 2022 10:13:35 GMT 9
My job duties working as a direct hire CIR at an international relations society (that is both under the city's Cultural Division and also it's own thing hue) include:
-translation and native checks for any department within City Hall, any affiliated groups (such as the local museums and music halls that are technically part of 文化課 but physically located elsewhere), and letters/emails sent to sister cities
-interpretation for English speaking foreigners who need help at a City Hall window, provide consultations in English if they are having difficulties in their daily lives and want help getting resources
-interpretation for guest lecturers who give cultural lessons to local residents at some of our events
-translating and posting important snippets from the city koho magazine on the city's official HP
-Participating in some of our 部会; I'm head tanto for one and sub tanto for another, so as such I have to plan/run the monthly meetings with the volunteer staff, work together to plan events, and assist with all aspects of making those events happen (like advertising/making reservations/etc.)
There are other things that they haven't shown me how to do yet since I'm new/due to COVID we haven't had to do it recently, but this is the bulk of what I do on the day-to-day
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hettieso
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 29
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Post by hettieso on Jul 3, 2022 12:49:15 GMT 9
in my case, a CIR is a glorified part-timer who cleans the pool on a daily basis and watches the kids as they play in our indoor playground. be warned
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yuukinni
Straight outta Narita
Posts: 26
CIR Experience: 1st year
Location: Miyazaki
Gender (Pronouns): he/him/his
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Post by yuukinni on Aug 23, 2022 15:38:42 GMT 9
I live in a village with <1500 people.
I work for the village hall that employs <60 staff. Each staff wears many hats.
As a CIR I do English language instruction, cultural presentations, translation, facilitation of the young adult club, and, visual communications (making signs, pamplets, posters).
My role description may include promotion of culture, but definetly doesnt require me to make graphic designs, however I demonstrated my passion and ability, and the rest of the village hall have tuned in.
I think the smaller your contracting organization, the more flexibility there may be for the types of work you do. Inaka may not be appealing, but I`ve found the people to be kind, too!
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Post by korokke on Sept 1, 2022 10:44:13 GMT 9
I think it's great that you get to do a range of things at your placement. But I don't think the size of the CO and their flexibility are necessarily related to each other. Structure does definitely make a difference though!
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Post by Kejora on Mar 6, 2023 2:23:22 GMT 9
Hi! Can a person who doesnt speak japanese at all apply as a CIR? Genuinely curious.
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mcduds
So jozu at chopsticks
Posts: 124
CIR Experience: 1st year
Location: Nagasaki
Gender (Pronouns): she/her/hers
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Post by mcduds on Mar 6, 2023 8:36:26 GMT 9
Hi! Can a person who doesnt speak japanese at all apply as a CIR? Genuinely curious. No you have to pass a Japanese test during the interview and we use mostly Japanese at work so it wouldn't be possible I'm afraid. An ALT position would probably be a better fit |
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Post by Aya Raincoat on Mar 6, 2023 8:36:51 GMT 9
Hi! Can a person who doesnt speak japanese at all apply as a CIR? Genuinely curious. Nothing stops them from applying, but they will never get in, so it would be a waste of time and money |
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that said it does seem like an interesting thing to study! We may in fact be FB acquainted 
