TUFS Students and Graduates Participate in the International Federation of Wado-ryu Karate-do Organisations Tournament as Language and Cultural Supporters

April 25, 2017

On Saturday 30 ^th and Sunday 31 ^st July 2016, the International Federation of Wado-ryu Karate-do Organisations International Tournament was held at Tokyo Budo-kan, and TUFS students and played a role as 'language supporters', while TUFS graduates were involved as 'language and cultural supporters'. This tournament was joined by Karate teams from over 10 countries around the world. The 'language supporters' and 'language and cultural supporters' were recruited and organised by the Volunteer Action Space at TUFS and the Center for Multilingual Multicultural Education and Research, respectively. Members and former members of TUFS's karate club also participated, and over the two days around 30 people connected to the university gave their support at the tournament.

Report by 後藤亜也佳 (School of Language and Culture Studies English language second year)

On 30 ^th and 31 ^st July, I had the pleasure of attending the Wado-ryu Karate-do Organisations International Tournament as an attendant volunteer. Rather than standing between pairs of people and interpreting between Japanese and English, I was involved on the sidelines of the court in things such as giving warnings to foreign coaches or players breaking any rules. I wanted the challenge of using the English I had learned to participate in this volunteer activity, and while I had many anxieties, there were many things that I left wanting to learn more about. I was once again made aware of how important it is to be able to ease any language-related difficulties at a tournament which many foreign players also participate in. At the tournament, there were not only language supporters, but also native speakers in the broadcasting rooms doing the announcements in English, and among the foreign referees there were those who were proficient in languages. I think that we were able to create an environment where all kinds of people could face the tournament with confidence. I felt that, as we head towards the Tokyo Olympics, specifying how much we can continue to entrust this to professionals will be important in creating a good language environment. Making the most of this experience, I want to participate in this kind of attendant volunteer activity again. I would like to thank everyone involved over these two days.

Reports by the students can be viewed here:

http://www.tufs.ac.jp/blog/ts/g/cemmer_volas/activity/73031.html (link in Japanese)