Adapting to difference: JETs for Japan

Teacher note

Worksheet

Governments may try to “internationalise” – which can assist local people to adapt to cultural diversity at home and abroad. Some governments may leave choices about the level of participation in international life to their citizens, others may intervene to build relationships.

Japan has a range of reasons for its “internationalisation” policies, including the conduct of international relations by government and business. The population is ageing, and families are getting smaller. Some of its people may need to learn more about living with foreigners if Japan wished to accept more foreign workers. There is widespread Japanese interest in learning English.

Since 1987, over 2000 New Zealanders have participated in Japan in the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme – teaching English, coaching sports, working as international relations coordinators for local government.

JET was established by the Japanese government to promote internationalisation at the local level. New Zealand was one of the four original countries invited to participate. It is only one of Japan’s internationalisation programmes. Some local authorities have experience of recruiting foreigners from their sister cities, and locally. Central government fostered Japanese visiting foreign countries – eclipsed now by promotion of its Visit Japan programme

Returned JETs and other old Japan hands can help us understand Japan, introduce us to some of its ways, work with us to build the relationship – and share their experience of adapting to difference.

Katy McTeigue had wanted to go on JET since high school – her Japanese teacher had been an early JET. English teacher Katy taught English in a coastal community in the Kansai, returned to Wellington, and now plans to take her children back so they can benefit from immersion in Japanese elementary education.

Find out more
http://www.jetprogramme.org/

There will be key understandings that you may wish students in your class to explore.

This chapter of the Kansai through Kiwi eyes DVD offers a number of illustrative examples of adapting to difference in the New Zealand and Kansai settings, including,
o That a government plans, budgets, recruits and sustains a programme that pays non Japanese speaking foreigners to come into their schools to help young people learn another language
o That local government implements a central government programme that pays Japanese speaking foreigners to work in their Mayoral offices to service international relationships
o New Zealand has had longer involvement in Japan’s JET programme than most other countries.

Worksheets that can be used to explore the central concept (i.e. adapting to difference) of this chapter.

Further lines of inquiry for the classroom
o What is the impact on the culture of New Zealanders who work in Japan?
o What might the impact be on Japanese of New Zealanders living amongst them?
o Tolerance – what do students think about it?