Supporting communication within our school community
Last Christmas, I went back to Europe for the first time in three years. During this time, it reminded me of how fortunate I was to be able to communicate in English. I visited Germany, the UK, and France, and no matter which country I was in, I was able to communicate comfortably and smoothly with people in English. In Paris, I was outside the Louvre, the art museum, trying desperately to work out which of the snakelike queues I should join.
Luckily, there were plenty of staff, who were able to explain, in English, where I should go and, soon enough, I was ready to go out of the cold and inside. However, as I entered, I remember walking past one family, who clearly could not communicate in English and were therefore tapping at Google Translate and trying to use their hands to make themselves understood.
It was after returning from this trip that a seed formed in my mind about how we could better support our families who would like to improve their ability to communicate with teachers and other families who aren’t able to communicate in Japanese.
At KIST, our common language and the language that makes us all feel a part of the community is English. We ask our families to support English learning at home. We hold meetings and send home information in English.
I knew from Japanese friends that, often, English learning can be difficult here. Learning can often focus on the technical side of the language, rather than on how to communicate. I wanted to create a program of lessons for our parents that helped them communicate with teachers and understand the language that their children are developing.
However, thanks to the amazing engagement of the parents who signed up, and the caring help of parent volunteers, the lessons have become so much more than ‘class’. The group has helped parents from different grades meet, has helped normalise making mistakes, and focused on the importance of communication, no matter what language you speak.
Preparing the lessons has also helped me deepen my understanding of Japanese, and think more carefully about the language choices I make in both English and Japanese.
If you would like to be a part of the ‘Everyday English’ classes, please do sign up using the link that was sent via E-Communications. We would love to have more members join us to improve their ability to communicate in English, whether it is with teachers, other families, or on the next holiday abroad!
