TUFS Students Complete Handbook for Foreigners Living in Japan

January 16, 2018

On Friday the 12th of January (2018), a debriefing session was held at the Fuchu International Salon to commemorate the completion of another ‘Handbook for Foreigners Living in Japan,’ an ongoing project in collaboration with Fuchu City. These handbooks are created by TUFS students as part of the internship program of the School of Language and Culture Studies (Applied Language and Communication Course).
Up until now, the ‘Handbook for Foreigners Living in Japan’ has covered ‘disaster prevention,’ ‘childrearing,’ and ‘garbage disposal.’ This year, students tackled the topic of high school entrance for children with foreign backgrounds, and created the ‘Handbook to High School Entrance for JSL Children and Guardians.’
On the day, presentations were made, which were then followed by a lively exchange of opinions by the students and volunteer citizens of the salon. This year’s ‘Handbook for Foreigners Living in Japan’ will be published as a booklet in the near future, and will also be available online.
Comments from the students who participated in this session can be read below.

Shoko Ishizuka (School of Language and Culture Studies, English Language Studies, third year)

Through this semester’s internship, I helped create a guidebook to assist children with foreign backgrounds in the process of entering a Japanese high school. It was challenging thinking of how to explain the Japanese high school entrance examination system, which is difficult even for Japanese people, in a way that is easy for non-native speakers, especially those who have just arrived in Japan, to understand. However, by taking on this challenge I was able to learn about the many multifaceted circumstances and issues foreigners face in modern Japanese society.

Kanako Tabayashi (School of Language and Culture Studies, Spanish Language Studies, fourth year)

At this semester’s internship, I learnt how difficult it is to produce one product from the ideas and input of many people. On the day of the session we exchanged ideas with people from the international salon and the municipal office, and the actual making of the guidebook was all trial and error until the very end, but I hope that our efforts will encourage children with foreign backgrounds to enter high school.