The UC Japanese Programme and the Canterbury Network of Teachers of Japanese held the 10th annual NCEA Japanese Workshop on the 7th of June, which attracted 520 secondary students from 18 Canterbury schools.
The day started with a warm welcome by Professor Kevin Watson, Amo Matua Toi Tangata Executive Dean – Arts, and greetings by Mr Tsuguyoshi Hada, the Director of the Consular Office of Japan.
The secondary school students took part in three intensive language sessions, joined by 25 UC students acting as teaching assistants and mentors. Year 13 students had a special Tuakana-teina session where they interviewed the UC students on their motivation and strategies for learning Japanese in Japanese. In the closing session, students enjoyed the Japanese drum performance by Takumi, a Japanese drum group from Christchurch, followed by an energised, collaborative dance-off to the Japanese hit song Mela!.
Comments from a secondary school teacher
The Japanese NCEA Day is an event on the calendar that students and teachers look forward to the most. After asking the students, their overwhelming response was that they enjoyed doing the dance together the most. They also enjoyed studying Japanese together with other students. Students were on a high as they left NCEA Day. It was such a brilliant day.
UC student
It was an absolute privilege to be able to attend the NCEA Japanese Workshop 2023. As a leader and first-time attendee, I was overwhelmed by the immense passion and drive the students had for the Japanese language and culture. It was motivating to listen to inspirational stories by Sam Stapley and others, who highlighted the importance of language, culture and relationships in today’s world. While engaging with the students and listening to their aspirations, I am delighted in knowing that the future platform for cross-cultural exchanges between Japan and New Zealand is bright, and I look forward to witnessing the achievements of the next generation of Japanese learners. Special thanks to all the students, teachers, volunteers and organisers for putting together a truly unforgettable experience for all.
UC student
I thought the NCEA Japanese workshop was an enlightening experience. As a Japanese student without prior Japanese study in high school, it was great to get a glimpse into the experience that high school students go through when studying Japanese. Being a teacher’s assistant really made me appreciate the efforts that teachers have to apply when teaching students. The various different methods to engage students were really interesting to me, it requires a certain creativity to come up with a lot of these interactive teaching methods. I think the overall NCEA workshop day was a great way to allow students to connect with students from other schools. Being able to get a peek at what a university course in Japanese would be like is invaluable, reflecting on my final year in high school, I was not really sure of what I wanted to do, so such things as this workshop day would have been great in helping me choose a path that I would be interested in.
Link to the dance video by over 550 students and teachers.
