Poster Presentation

Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Volunteer
Preparation
Kevin Thomas
Asia University
Since Japan attained the rights to hold the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic games,
there has been a push by national and local governments and universities toencourage students to volunteer (Lange, Gorshkov, & Flanagan, 2017). In 2014,
The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Committee created a partnership agreement with 552
universities to create interest in the games and foster Olympic values (Tokyo2020 signs partnership, 2014). Due to the upcoming screening interviews forprospective volunteers in summer 2018 the recruitment drive has intensified inrecent months. (Tokyo 2020 organizers plan, 2016). The Nippon Foundation(www.nippon-foundation.or.jp) has been contracted to train successful
applicants in their specific roles. Various universities are running courses toeither prepare prospective volunteers (Temple University, 2017) or use theOlympics as a context from which to improve students’ English competence(Lange, Gorshkov, & Flanagan, 2017). Record numbers of university students
are expected to volunteer with motivations such as patriotism and community
values; love of sport and the Olympics; interpersonal contacts; personal growth;career orientation (Koutrou, 2014, p. 55). It appears universities around Japan
want their students involved, both for supporting the events and for the positive
publicity it would provide.
Recently the president of the author’s university requested a course be
designed to encourage students to volunteer and help them to be able to do so.
The allocation for this course is Semester 1 of the 2018 academic year and willconsist of sixteen 90-minute lessons. The classes will take place in a “comm class”,
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a series of communication-based classes on a subject decided by the teacher. Any
student interested in volunteering can apply. After a screening test, the teacher
is allowed to select a level-cohesive group. Materials need be prepared before
students’ language levels and motivations are ascertained.

English for Specific Purposes (ESP)

ESP is seen to differ from other forms of English instruction. It has been argued
to create suitable materials, extensive needs analysis is required to determine whatshould be included in a course and how it is taught (Flowerdew, 2012). DudleyEvans and St. John (1998) defined the characteristics of ESP as to meet thespecific needs of learners as to the activities they need to perform. Content design
is “centered on the language (grammar, lexis, register), skills, discourse and genres
appropriate to these activities” (Gatehouse, 2001, p. 2). Therefore, students on
the Olympic volunteer course need to be introduced to the language, grammar,
and functions a volunteer will require ascertained from an analysis of the roles
and functions students would perform. Further characteristics of ESP course
design suggested by Carver (1983) are the use of authentic material, having apurpose-related orientation, and self-direction of students (Gatehouse, 2001).
A primary needs analysis is impossible in the context due to the class not
being assembled until the week preceding the course. However, an analysis ofsecondary sources could inform a course to help meet students’ ESP needs.
Focusing on areas such as volunteer requirements to pass the screening test,
definition of a volunteer, and testimonials by former volunteers on their duties
and challenges. These sources can be found from government documents,
volunteering recruitment sites, and news articles. They can be analyzed byfocusing on the areas previously detailed as defining ESP provision, namely lexis,grammar, skills, and knowledge of discourse that volunteers require.

What is an Olympic Volunteer?

In December 2016, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government produced thedocument “Volunteering Strategy for the Olympic and Paralympic GamesTokyo 2010” (Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 2016) which outlined its229

Thomasvision of volunteers’ roles and duties. In addition to performing specified duties,
volunteers will be expected to “widely promote the attractions of Japan to theworld through the Tokyo 2020 Games, having each Games Volunteer and City
Volunteer demonstrate the strengths of the Japanese people, such as the Japanesespirit of hospitality omotenashi” (Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 2016, p. 5).
Omotenashi is frequently defined as the welcoming hospitable spirit which issuggested that Japanese people display to visitors. Through this document andother publicly available national and local government websites and publications(www.pref.saitama.lg.jp; www.city-volunteer.metro.tokyo.jp), two types ofvolunteers can be identified.
The first “Games Volunteers” compose the majority. Eighty thousand
volunteers are being sought through the Olympic Organisation. They will bebased at sporting venues and fulfill a range of duties. Duties include providing
support to athletes and spectators including language support, aiding foreign
media, becoming drivers, assisting with doping control, and helping the runningof events. Volunteers will be expected to create a positive atmosphere at theOlympic venues (Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 2016). The second groupis “City Volunteers”, 10,000 of whom are being sought. They will be based atpoints near venues and sightseeing spots and should be available to aid domestic
and international games attendees. They will provide directions and transport
guidance, answer questions people have about Tokyo or Japan, and recommend
places to eat and relax (www.pref.saitama.lg.jp). They should also be “the face” ofthe city with displaying omotenashi (Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 2016,p. 3).
To become volunteers, applicants must be over 18 in 2020, have knowledgeof Olympic events, and go through a screening process in summer 2018.
Prospective volunteers will need communication skills and foreign language
competence. They must work over 10 eight-hour days, attend three stages oftraining, and pay their own transportation and accommodation costs (Blaster,2016).

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Designing the curriculum and materials

From the analysis above, a mixed syllabus should be implemented to meetdifferent areas of requirement. As the Nippon Foundation will provide training tosuccessful applicants, there is no need for a course to prepare students thoroughly
for individual roles.
In order to become volunteers, students will need to pass the screening test.
In which, they need to display an amount of global awareness, show knowledgeof the games operations, and display omotenashi. This means a part of thecurriculum must be content-based. Prospective volunteers will need to decide
which type of volunteer they would like to be, the various roles and expectationsof different volunteers must be taught. The course materials will direct students tovarious websites created by the recruiting organisations. For example, the Tokyo
Metropolitan Volunteerism Navigation website (www.city-volunteer.metro.
tokyo.jp) allows students to take quizzes to see if they are suitable applicantsand experience the day-to-day life of volunteers. They can read and watch
testimonials by previous volunteers in London 2012 and Rio 2016 outlining theroles they played. First-hand testimonials could contribute to meeting the needfor authenticity suggested by Carver (1983, cited by Gatehouse, 2001) requiredby ESP students.
The course will also need to include functional elements preparing students
for the most common volunteer tasks. Materials will include lessons on giving
directions, explaining how to use public transport, recommending places to visit
and eat, describing popular attractions, how to use services, and more. Authentic
materials will be used where possible such as subway maps, bus and train
timetables, menus for restaurants, and brochures for popular sightseeing spots.
These are available at tourist information sites across Tokyo and can be used for
language practice in lessons.
The course will also need to be communicative. Volunteers must display acertain language ability and have the confidence to answer spontaneously toinquiries and approach visitors. In order to display the sought-for spirit ofomotenashi, students will need to be able to communicate using polite languageand display elements of natural use of intonation and stress to show willingness
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Thomasto help. They will be graded on tasks in class and in private counselling sessions
be asked to reflect on their suitability as a volunteer in terms of the attitude andskills outlined by the Tokyo Metropolitan Volunteerism Navigation website andthink how they can improve their chances of passing the screening test.
Students will be encouraged to ask the teacher about areas of difficulty.
This could address the need for a student-guided curriculum as identified in thecharacteristics of ESP course design (Gatehouse, 2001). Student background
schemata will be used to motivate them by showing they already have someknowledge needed to volunteer. Using familiar topics is seen as motivating, andthe knowledge lexis produced by the activating of background knowledge can be
attached to the scaffold of the functional phrases taught (Lange, Gorshkov, &Flanagan, 2017).

What next?

Although the majority of lessons will be designed before the course starts, it
seems reasonable to leave space in the curriculum to allow for student direction.
If it becomes clear that some students have similar motivations and want to be acertain type of volunteer in the initial course screening test, this should informthe course design. For example, if a number of students will be involved inassistance to medical staff, the appropriate vocabulary and functional English
should be focused on in class. Contact could be maintained with students after
course completion through a joint online social network group. If they were able
to become volunteers during the official screening test in 2018 after the initialcourse, more tailored courses on their specific roles and duties could be created
for the following semester.

References

Blaster, M. (2016, July 8). Tokyo Olympics is looking for volunteers, may
have a hard time finding them. SoraNews, 24. Retrieved from https://en.rocketnews24.com/2016/07/08/tokyo-olympics-is-looking-forvolunteers-may-have-a-hard-time-finding-them/
Bureau of Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games preparation, Tokyo232

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Metropolitan Government. (2016). Toward Tokyo 2020. Retrieved fromhttp://www.city-volunteer.metro.tokyo.jp/en/about/tokyo2020/
Carver, D. (1983). Some propositions about ESP. The ESP Journal, 2(2), 131137.
Dudley-Evans,T., & St. John, M. J. (1998) Developments in English for SpecificPurposes: A multi-disciplinary approach. Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press.
Flowerdew, L. (2012). Needs analysis and curriculum development in ESP. In
B. Paltridge and S. Starfield (Eds.), The handbook of English for specificpurposes (pp. 325-346). Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons.
doi: 10.1002/9781118339855.ch17
Gatehouse, K. (2001). Key Issues in English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
curriculum development. The Internet TESL Journal, 7(10). Retrieved fromhttp://iteslj.org/Articles/Gatehouse-ESP.html
Koutrou, N. (2014). Motivations of Volunteers at the Olympic Games. A Case
Study of London 2012 Games Volunteers. In Forsyth, J., O’Bonsawin, C.,& Heine, M. (Eds.) 12th International Symposium for Olympic Research (pp.
55-61). London, Canada: International Centre for Olympic Studies.
Lange, E. J., Gorshkov, V., & Flanagan, B. (2017). Gearing up for the Olympics
in English classes. In P. Clements, A. Krause, & H. Brown (Eds.),
Transformation in language education. Tokyo, Japan: JALT.
Saitama Prefectural Government. (2017). Volunteer for the 2020 Tokyo
Olympic Games. Retrieved from https://www.pref.saitama.lg.jp/oly-para/eng/volunteer/index.html
Temple University (2017). Introducing Japan as a volunteer guide (IJV101).
Retrieved from https://www.tuj.ac.jp/cont-ed/courses/culture-and-arts/
IJV101.html
Tokyo 2020 organizers plan to hire at least 90,000 Olympic volunteers. (2016,November 19). The Mainichi. Retrieved from https://mainichi.jp/english/
articles/20161119/p2a/00m/0na/010000c
Tokyo 2020 signs partnership arrangement with Japanese universities. (2014,June 24). The International Olympic Committee. Retrieved from https://233Thomas

www.olympic.org/news/tokyo-2020-signs-partnership-arrangements-withjapanese-universities.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government. (2016). Volunteering strategy for theOlympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. Tokyo Organising
Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Retrieved fromhttps://tokyo2020.jp/jp/get-involved/volunteer/data/volunteersummary_EN.pdf

Author bio:

Kevin Thomas teaches at Asia University in Japan. He has worked at various
universities in Japan and the UK and specializes in preparing Japanese students tostudy abroad. He is also interested in how SNS platforms can be used to help students
improve their communicative skills. kthomasefl@live.co.uk*
Received: September 30, 2017
Accepted: November 10, 2018234