Volunteers supporting the teaching of the Japanese language to resident foreigners

Every week, in community centers and other public spaces across Japan, thousands of volunteers work alongside professional teachers to help foreign residents learn the Japanese language through low-cost “Japanese classroom” initiatives.

With help from the government, many classrooms will be made available for foreign residents to improve their Japanese skills once they arrive. This plays a key role in assisting in the “acclimatization” process.

However, as Japan sees its foreign population increase again after the pandemic hit, it raises the question of relying on the goodwill of these volunteers, many of them 50 and over, to provide support to the people. foreigners entering the country.

Reiko Hayashikawa, representative of the Tokyo Nihongo Volunteer Network and a committed volunteer for 40 years, says there are limits to what untrained people can do on their own.

While the government lists the classes in its annual survey of places where Japanese is taught nationwide, she argues that the initiative’s “Japanese classroom” moniker is a “mistake” that misrepresents what happens.

“Volunteers are not teachers. … What we need most, especially in areas where there are few Japanese schools, is for local governments to take responsibility for absolute beginners,” says Hayashikawa.

“There is no guarantee that there will be qualified teachers in volunteer classes, forcing volunteers to assume the role of teacher or leading some groups to conclude that they cannot accept people who need more help,” he adds.

She and others, including participants, point out that, in practice, classes are often less concerned with formal language education than with offering a space for foreigners to meet local people and discuss their concerns. What is learned is sometimes limited to the most essential vocabulary and phrases needed for daily life, or is more like a flowing conversation than a lesson.

Although it also has benefits. For example, some people are worried about what they should buy when they do day-to-day shopping, when they take care of their children, when they want to talk to someone.

This initiative supports the efforts of volunteers to help create a multicultural society.