2020 Activity Report

March Activity Report

31 March 2021
Global Japan Office Coordinator
TAKAGI Kayako

This month as well, Japanese level 6 (first half of the intermediate level class) class students had an opportunity to attend a class with a Japanese university student. What is different from last month's exchange meeting is that the all participants are students studying Japanese as a foreign language. In the Japanese language classes at VMU, this kind of interaction between non-native Japanese speakers are important. Many people who study a foreign language want to enjoy conversation with a native speaker of that language. But is a language only for its native speakers? Many people now use English to communicate with people all over the world, but the speakers are not only from to English-speaking countries. In conversations between people who have learned English as a foreign language, English is used as a matter of course. We want our students to feel that the Japanese language also has such power, so we actively provide opportunities for students to interact with each other.

This time, 12 students from Ferris University and 8 students from VMU enjoyed the conversation together. They prepared photos in advance under the theme of (1) me and Japanese (2) me and my town (country) (3) me and campus life, and on the day they divided into small groups and talked about the photos. They were surprised by the scenes in the photos and were told various new information about each other's mother countries. Through studying Japanese, they were able to come into contact with cultures other than Japan. The participants had various backgrounds and learning histories, and although their Japanese ability varied, they were able to follow each other and have conversations. Comments from participating students included "Time was too short." "I want to participate in this kind of meeting again." and "I found someone with the same hobby."

February Activity Report

28 February 2021
Global Japan Office Coordinator
TAKAGI Kayako

“Lithuanian’s typical winter returned this year.” Friends and colleagues I meet across the screen all seem to be really enjoying the snowy Lithuanian winter scenery. While I thought Kaunas, which was completely covered with snow, was beautiful, I was also a little glad that I didn’t have to walk to the university in this cold weather thanks to remote classes.

A new semester of VMU has begun on February 1 and online classes have also resumed. Many students turn off their cameras during the classes and I’ve often asked them “I may forget your faces, so please turn on the camera sometimes.” but the screen has remained dark. However, they sound fine from the audio so I should feel relieved for now.

In February, five students from Saga University took part in a two-week online short-term training program at VMU. In the first half of the seminar, the lecturers of the East Asia Research Course gave lectures and seminars, and exchanged information with the Japanese cultural circle “Bridge.”. In the latter half of the session, participants took part in a Japanese class and had a discussion on the theme of “job choice” with students studying Japanese at VMU. The strength of online learning is that you can collaborate remotely using a variety of applications. In this class, we used Google jamboards to create our own profile pages, as well as mind-mapping and diamond ranking activities. We made a map of what we liked, what was of interest to us, and showed it to the group. We talked about occupations related to them,and what are the important elements and priorities in choosing a job. These activities aimed at (1) becoming aware of one’s own values and (2) realizing and accepting differences in values with others. In fact, one of the participants in the activity that ranked the important factors in choosing a job explained, “I thought ‘respectable job’ was important, but other people would have ranked this element lower in the group”. There were also groups who found it difficult to decide on time. They seemed to have realized the difficulty of coordinating with people who had different values from them. I received a variety of comments from students at Saga University after participating.

While the increased number of online classes and events means that students can now meet people they have never been able to interact with before, many are disappointed that they have lost the opportunity to study abroad. I think there are so many things that you can’t feel unless you actually live in the country, region, or city. I really realize that online classes and events don’t fill that gap. That’s why we need to devise ways to make students feel new values and fun. With that in mind, we hope to expand new interaction opportunities for students this semester.

January Activity Report

31 January 2021
Global Japan Office Coordinator
TAKAGI Kayako

The lock-down from October has been extended and the spring semester at Vytautas Magnus University will be completely remote. Although the lockdown itself is likely to be released during the semester, the decision was made in light of the fact that many students are leaving Kaunas and returning home. We are very sorry for not being able to meet the students in the classroom, but we would like to continue developing online learning opportunities and improve our methods.

In early January, the autumn semester reexaminations were held online, but there were no classes or events, so the students seemed to spend more time with their families.

Meanwhile, the Center for Asian Studies was carrying out a textbook project for tourist guides while preparing for the new semester. The project aims to create textbooks for learners who provide tourist guides for Japanese tourists in Lithuania. In Lithuania, where there are no Japanese companies, with the exception of foreign embassies, opportunities to use Japanese for work are limited, so tourism guides are an important profession for students who have studied Japanese at university. However, there are no institutions in Lithuania that offer Japanese classes for intermediate and advanced students, and you can only improve your skills as a Japanese guide through practical experience. It is expected that the number of Japanese learners involved in Lithuanian tourism will continue to increase. This project was launched with the aim of creating textbooks that would help both future Japanese guides and current Japanese guides. During the process, we are gathering information by talking with real guides and asking them about real situations. We are working to make a textbook that will help develop your ability as a Japanese-language guide with contents that are as practical as possible. We will release it online. We will update you through this diary when it is completed.

December Activity Report

31 December 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
TAKAGI Kayako

The online classes, which started in the middle of the semester, were eventually extended to the last day, so all the final exams in December were conducted online. Although some faculty members come and go, the university building is very quiet and very cold, making it for a very cold view. In Lithuania, where warm winters have continued in recent years, the snow has been deep for the first time in many years, and students have expressed relief at having classes online.

Classed ended at the beginning of December and there were presentations during the last Japanese class. In the second grade class, as usual, there was a skit performance in which they prepared scripts and props by themselves. This time, they chose whether to do a live performance through online video call or make a video ahead of time. Most people chose to make a video as they can easily retake and edit. A skit performance video made by three students that featured them exchanging their daily worries while drinking at a bar in the game, was particularly popular in the class. Every year, the 2nd grade class (Level 3) are given the same assignments, but the students’ creative thinking is simply amazing. I realize that the students’ motivation is enhanced by incorporating things they like and are good at. From next semester, I would like to introduce many activities that will help students show their talents.

In addition, the faculty and students held an exchange of opinions in response to requests from students to add more language levels. In recent years, students who have chosen East Asian languages have increased their desire to study, and the number of students who wish to take classes at a higher level than the current 6 levels has increased, partly because there are far more opportunities for studying abroad. Upon creating new levels, we had two problems: (1) attendance rate and (2) number of registered students. With regard to (1), our policy is to respect students’ free will and not include attendance in their grades, so the attendance rate tends to decrease after the third year when students become busy with assignments and research. In particular, many language classes are held from 8 AM, and it has been reported that late students increase as the academic year progresses. Language teachers are concerned about whether the 4th year students will be able to attend each class if Level 7 is held. With regard to (2), the number of students taking courses varies even among East Asian languages (Chinese, Korean, Japanese), and if Level 7 is not a required class, there is the possibility some may not be held in a language with a small number of students because the required number cannot be met. Although there are problems to be solved as described above, we plan to proceed with discussions between the department and the students in order to open a new level for the next academic year (Autumn 2021/Spring 2022).

November Activity Report

30 November 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
TAKAGI Kayako

In Lithuania, lockdown was put in place in late October, and all university classes are being conducted remotely until the end of the semester. Both teachers and students seem to be tired of online classes, and in the Faculty of Humanities, many teachers pointed out the overall decline in student motivation.

There were many students who were planning to study abroad in the East Asia Research Program this semester, and they were worried about the continuing situation of not being able to go to Japan. However, some partner institutions are planning to resume their exchange programs next semester, and students were happy to know that they would finally be fulfill their dreams.

On the other hand, one of our partners, Sugihara Memorial Hall, has suffered a great deal of economic damage due to the disappearance of tourists from Japan to Lithuania. Sugihara Memorial Museum honors the diplomat Sugihara Chiune, who served at the Japanese Consulate in Kaunas during World War II and issued the “Visa for Life” for Jews who were trying to escape the Nazis. It is nicknamed “Sugihara House” in the local Kaunas. Before COVID-19, 85% of its visitors were from Japan, so now there are hardly any visitors. With the cooperation of the museum’s director, Ramūnas Janulaitis, staff member, Ieva Mičiulytė, and Arvydas Kumpis from the Asian Research Center at Magnus University, we planned an online virtual tour of the Sugihara Museum.

On November 26, as a pilot version of this program, we invited participants through social media and other platforms, and after briefly introducing the exterior of the museum and the displays in each room for about 40 minutes via Zoom, we set aside 20 minutes for feedback from the participants and a Q & A session. At the same time, it was broadcasted on YouTube live, and a total of about 80 people participated in the pilot tour. Despite technical issues, the response to the content was generally favorable, and preparations are currently underway for the first official tour in December or January.

In addition, there were requests from Japanese university officials who participated in the tour to include this virtual tour in their classes. They also requested to set up a time for discussion after the tour as a place for exchange among students, which is leading to a new form of exchange between universities.

September Activity Report

30 September 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
TAKAGI Kayako

Autumn in Lithuania is always capricious: it lightly rains in the morning and evening and the temperature is around 10 degrees Celsius, whereas in the daytime the sky is clear and gets to around 20 degrees Celsius. September is also a worrisome month, as many students get ill due to busyness of the new semester and the extreme temperature difference. Students are finally getting used to being back to face-to-face lessons and are enjoying learning alongside their peers.

Along with the recommencement of campus classes, student club activities have also resumed this semester. The Japanese cultural circle “Hashi” celebrated its 20th anniversary on September 10 and restarted its weekly Friday night events. In addition, the monthly discussion event “Let’s talk”, which started last year, was held for the first time since February. The theme of the event was “universities and students”. Nowadays, universities are not only places to acquire specialized knowledge and skills, but also places where students can acquire various skills necessary for their future social life. Utilizing a survey of Japanese university students, we had a one-hour discussion on topics such as “what skills do universities expect from their students?” and “what do students expect from universities?” A total of 17 students, mainly students majoring in VMU East Asian Studies, as well as participants from other departments and even graduate students, participated in the workshop. Participants of different ages and affiliations engaged in a heated debate about what students should learn at university and how they should act to obtain it, based on their own expectations and experiences. Opinions were divided even within each group, and in the last group presentation, there was a storm of objections. If the MC didn’t stop the debate, it would have gone on for hours. Until the activities of student circles were suspended in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, this event was an important place where many Japanese exchange students participated and spoke Japanese. However, with the halt of the student exchange program, its merits are slowly fading. However, as mentioned above, one of the appeals of this event is that participants can interact with other undergraduates and graduates, which without the event would be a difficult experience to have. A freshman who participated for the first time had an interesting opinion when discussing the topic “what students should gain from university”: “The aim is to understand and respect cultural and social diversity. The reason why I participate in this event is because I wanted to experience this. Today I was very pleased to have the opportunity to speak with a graduate student in my group about the future of the field I am currently studying and the skills I have acquired in college.”

Next month, the “Sugihara Week”, which can be said to be the first Japan-related event of the year will be held. 2020 is an important year for Lithuania and Japan as it commemorates the 80th anniversary of the “Visa for Life” and the 120th anniversary of Chiune Sugihara. Although it is unlikely that Japanese guests will be able to celebrate this important year together in Lithuania due to the impact of COVID-19, VMU and the Asian Studies Centre are committed to the success of the event. We will be organizing culture fairs and speech contests, and look forward to sharing the details with you next month!

August Activity Report

10 September 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
TAKAGI Kayako

In August, the university was very quiet as students were on their summer holidays. However, our Center for Asian Studies was busy preparing for classes and holding event meetings. In particular, the Center was working hard to prepare for “Sugihara Week” in October, a week-long event celebrating the 120th anniversary of the birth of Chiune Sugihara and the 80th anniversary of the issuance of “Visas for Life”. During Sugihara Week, various events related to Japan and Lithuania will be held throughout Kaunas, and Vytautas Magunus University will also hold a Japanese speech contest.

At Vytautas Magnus University, which is entering its new semester, faculty members have different opinions on whether classes should be conducted face-to-face in the classroom or online. The Faculty of Humanities, which the East Asian Studies Program belongs to, will be holding face-to-face classes, and students who were unable to interact with their classmates in the last semester were pleased that classes this semester will finally go back to normal.

However, of course, things are not completely back to normal. The number of people infected with COVID -19 is still increasing in Lithuania, and the university is paying close attention to the situation. There are warning posters at the entrance of the classrooms, wearing a mask inside the classrooms will be mandatory, and teachers must make sure than students are not seated too close to each other.

In addition, the East Asia Research Program’s Japanese language classes will be held face-to-face in general, while allowing those who are concerned about their physical condition to participate in classes from home via Zoom.

Classes have started from August 31 except for new students. In my Japanese class, I did some extensive reading which I could hardly do in the last semester. Although it was not included in the grade evaluation, many students participated and enjoyed reading with their classmates on campus.

From September, the activities of the Japanese Culture Circle “Bridge” will resume, and other events within the university will also become more active. I would like to support the students so that they can have an exciting and fulfilling semester, all while taking care of their physical and mental health.

July Activity Report

4 August 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
TAKAGI Kayako

After completing all classes and exams safely, with no on-campus classes, the students are now on their summer vacations. In Lithuania, where quarantine measures have been relaxed since June, the number of events held has decreased compared to previous years, but there are no restrictions on travel within the country, so students from other prefectures have returned to their hometowns and have begun their simple and quiet vacations.

Vytautas Magnus University students who were planning to study at Japanese universities from September were very disappointed when they were informed that their programs had been postponed or canceled. However, in order not to lose their motivation during the summer vacation, there were some students who seeked advice on how to study at home, and some who had organized an online exchange meeting with Japanese students. In response to these actions taken by students, we decided to hold two online events with Japan in July.

On Friday, July 10, we held an exchange meeting with 12 seminar members led by Professor Sonoko Shima of Showa Women’s University, a partner institution of VMU. Seven participants from Lithuania discussed various topics in small groups using Japanese and English. This time, we exchanged the profiles of the students in advance and tried to think about what they wanted to ask each other and decide on a discussion theme. In response to a question from a student in the Shima Seminar about the summer solstice in Lithuania, the Lithuanian student tried hard to explain in Japanese, albeit with difficulty. After the event, participants from Showa Women’s University commented that they were surprised that Lithuanian students were familiar with old Japanese movies and music, and that they understood the differences in university life well. In addition, many Lithuanian participants commented that they were happy to have the opportunity to use Japanese. In the future, we hope to build a relationship of mutual learning through discussions on more concise themes and joint projects.

On Friday, July 31, we held our first Lithuanian fair online. Although it was called a fair, we did not just provide information, but conducted a panel discussion and had time for free conversations with students who have studied at VMU from Japan and local students in Kaunas, making it an interactive event. A total of 17 students, including graduate students, and two faculty members from five universities, including Kanda University of International Studies, Gifu University, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Hiroshima University, and Yamaguchi University attended the workshop, bringing the total number of participants to 19. Four Japanese students and three from VMU participated in the seminar, and they talked about their experiences studying abroad. Some of the prior questions were about scholarships and courses that students could take, but we also focused on the opinions of exchange students and asked them to talk about their lives while studying abroad from various aspects. It is important to convey practical information about studying abroad, but because it is difficult to really feel like that is a possibility amidst this pandemic, we wanted to make this an event to support Japanese students and keep up their motivation to study abroad, by helping them imagine how they will actually study and live in Lithuania in the near future.Before the event, I had heard about the stories of students who had planned on studying abroad but couldn’t, or how they had lost motivation because they weren’t able to make any plans. For this reason, it was very significant that we received comments after the event such as: “I was able to imagine better what it would be like to study there because you answered all of my questions thoroughly”, “This event made me want to study in Lithuania even more” and “This was a good opportunity to start really considering my studying abroad plans.” I will continue doing my best to create meaningful and helpful events for students who are interested in studying in Lithuania and VMU.

June Activity Report

30 June 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
TAKAGI Kayako

Lithuania in June is famous for its summer solstice festival. It celebrates the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, and festivals are held in various parts of the country from the midnight of June 23 to the morning of the 24th every year. However, this year there were concerns about too many people gathering, and many regions canceled or held only very small events. The summer solstice festival is called “Joninės” in Lithuanian and June 24 is a national holiday.

Around Joninės every year, most students have finished their final exams and go on summer vacation, but this year, the exam schedules were delayed, so many students were up to their necks until the end of June. The Japanese exams ended relatively early for each level. As with the mid-term tests, all tests were conducted online.

On June 19, during the test period, an online exchange meeting was held with Gifu University. In Gifu, home to Chiune Sugihara and closely related to Lithuania and especially Kaunas, a Lithuanian study session is held by volunteers at the university once a month. In this meeting, we provided an opportunity to have conversations in both Japanese and English with the members of the study group. A total of about 25 participants were divided into small groups of 4 or 5, and they exchanged opinions on various topics with different members each time.

At the end of the event, we got feedback from the participants, such as, “We were able to learn new things about each other’s countries through our conversations”, “I found out how Lithuanian people have been living through the COVID-19 outbreak”, “An hour wasn’t enough time. I wanted to talk more”, and “Now I want to study in Lithuania”, indicating that many students enjoyed the event. It is also important to note that participants from both Japan and Lithuania made such comments. At events involving Japanese language, I felt that it is important to avoid situations in which Japanese people teach Japanese or tailor their language abilities to the learners, and to create a system in which all participants can converse on an equal level and learn together.

In the future, as a coordinator I would like to support students so that they can actively participate in such exchange meetings.

May Activity Report

31 May 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
TAKAGI Kayako

Quarantine measures have gradually been eased since May, and restaurants and cafes are returning to normal operations. Unfortunately, the university is still closed and this semester’s classes were fully conducted online. As with mid-term exams, final exams are also being conducted online. In addition, sessions for Japanese language learners in collaboration with Masaryk University in the Czech Republic continued to be held remotely, where students and teachers socialize through games and Japanese conversation.

Near the end of the semester, students were very busy preparing for assignments and exams, but they did their best on their final projects for the Japanese class. Students in the second half of the beginner’s class made speeches online and presented their skits on video. Those who made videos were very particular about their costumes and music, and some groups even performed original Japanese songs during their plays. The group that stole the spotlight recreated a live-action episode of the animation “DEATH NOTE”, where the two students played multiple characters. The makeup for Shinigami Luke was also on point.

In addition, in the intermediate level class, students created and presented their works under the theme “How to link Japan, Kaunas and Lithuania”. They made a guidebook on Kaunas for Japanese people, introduced places they recommend visiting on video, and made picture books depicting the harmony between Japan and Lithuania. All of these wonderful works strongly reflected the individuality of the students.

Even in an unfamiliar environment, learning with remote lectures, students were able to acquire new methods of studying, and the expression skills they had developed through this were demonstrated in the final presentations. This semester, as both a teacher and a coordinator, I experienced the diversity of learning and communication.

April Activity Report

30 April 2020
Global Japan Office Coordinator
TAKAGI Kayako

The strengthened quarantine regulations, which have been in place since mid-March, began to be phased out at the end of this month. Even now, there are rules such as wearing a mask when going out, but stores other than supermarkets and pharmacies have resumed operations, and the number of people in Kaunas is gradually increasing. However, all of the buildings of Vytautas Magnus University are still closed, and all classes are being conducted remotely.

In mid-April, there was an Easter vacation, and although it was a little relaxing, there were quite a few students who attended the online classes feeling stressed about having to stay at home. Fortunately, Lithuania has lots of greenery in urban areas, so you can take a walk with your family and pets to refresh yourself if you avoid busy hours.

For Japanese learners who do not have many opportunities to use Japanese outside of class, we have been holding an online event every week in collaboration with Masarik University in the Czech Republic. In April, we played a game online using the online board game ‘Dixit’ and we also talked about our favorite movies. We also held some Japanese class hours for the general public in which we did activities such as reading Japanese news together.

At present, eight students from the Japanese language course at Vytautas Magnus University are studying in Japan, but one of them returned to Lithuania after receiving an order from their host university to return to Lithuania due to COVID-19. I video-called the other 7 people to talk about their lives in Japan. Students at the International Christian University (one person), Kansai Gaidai University (two people), Ritsumeikan University (one person), and Saga University (three people) say that although some universities have delayed the start of the semester, they are basically able to take classes as scheduled, but there are challenges using the university’s LMS, as well as with real-time online classes using programs such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams. However, it seems that most of the foreign students from countries other than Europe have already returned to their home countries, and there were some students who were staying alone in the dormitory. Also, there is the problem of students’ income decreasing because they can’t work part-time at restaurants. Students who are planning to study in Japan from next semester also want to know such local information, so we are considering the implementation of online study abroad counseling.