英語版

For International Families

English Version“Speak in Japanese”“Study in Japanese”
Illustrated by Kengo Morita

Cherish the joy of learning
What dreams does your child have now?
Children's dreams are limitless. When children enter elementary schooland begin to study, they understand their own strengths and weaknesses
and learn how society functions, and then, their dreams will become
more concrete. As an international family, there
are possibilities and choices that are not available
to Japanese people. The dream horizons will
expand by learning and gaining a lot ofknowledge. "I am happy when I am able tounderstand what I did not understand so far," "Iwant to know more," and that is "the joy oflearning." Fun learning will surely enrich one'slife.

☆School Life for a First Grader in Elementary School
Basically, the ”Tannin no Sensei" (the teacher who is in charge of the class for one year) is responsible for everything.

: A typical day inelementary school
Time
8:15
8:35
8:55

9:40
9:50

10:35

Arrive at school
Morning RoutineMorning Assembly
1st PeriodJapanese Language：
Development of thinking andexpressiveness through"speaking," "listening,""writing," and "reading" inJapanese. This does not teachJapanese as a foreign
language.

Japanese Language
Recess（Restroom/Preparation）

2nd Period

Physical Education

Arithmetic：Learn about
numbers, calculations, volume,measurements, shapes, andquantities. Practice using aruler.

Recess
10:55

11:40
11:50

12:35

3rd Period

Arithmetic
Recess（Restroom/Preparation）

4th Period

Living Environment Studies：
Think about yourself and yourrelationship with society andnature through activities andexperiences. Learn the habits
and skills necessary for life.

EthicsSchool Lunch

13:15

Art and Craft：Draw picturesand make crafts. Use scissors
and glue.

Music：Sing songs and playvarious songs using musicalinstruments. Some schools
use keyboard harmonicas
melodica.

Physical Education：Various
exercises such as dodgeballand skipping rope are
performed at the playgroundand gymnasium. Change into
gym clothes.

Ethics：Think about "what is
important for living better as aperson" and "how should I
live?" while learning the rules
and morals necessary for living
in society.

Cleaning
13:35

Lunch Break
14:00

14:45
15:00

5th Period

Classroom Activity
Afternoon Homeroom
Leave school

Outside ofLunch：School lunches are designed withthe mental and physical development of ahealthy child in mind. Proper eating habits
and knowledge about food will be learnt
through school lunch, preparation andtidying up.

Cleaning：Work with classmates. Also, as amember of the group, children can realize
the meaning of the role given to them.

Activities are carriedout to lead a betterschool life. It is
conducted on aclass-by-class basis
and aims to adapt toschool life.

<Let’s encourage learning our native language>
Learning one’s mother tongue is important to a child. Raising a child in their mother tongue implies thedevelopment of thinking and expressiveness in the child. Developing skills to think and express will be usefulwhen you study in Japanese. Conversely, if thinking abilities are not developed, it will not only be difficult to
study in Japanese but also to think and judge yourself.
So, how does your child develop his/her mother tongue (linguistic ability)? The answer is to have different
experiences at home using the words spoken by dad and mom. Children's language skills will grow as the family
members read to their children and talk to each other about what happened during the day. We encourage you toenjoy talking about what happened every day.

Q &A

Is it necessary to do homework?
Yes. Make sure to do the homework from school. Doing the homework
enables you to find out what your child does not understand, and that will
help in learning and reviewing the lesson. Homework is also an importanttime for studying at home.

What do I do when I am unable to understand the studies?
First, talk to your homeroom teacher. You can also ask a language counseloror an acquaintance who can interpret for you at school. However, do not ask
your child to interpret. It is difficult for children to interpret what adults say
to each other. Also, neither the teacher nor the parents know if the child isinterpreting correctly.
Talk to your school about what to do if you have trouble with your school life.

How do you get grades in Japan?
In elementary school, grades are not determined only by the test scores.
Grades will be determined by the behavior in attending classes, efforts instudies, submission of homework, and daily attitude.

Is it better to study hiragana before enrolling?
Hiragana can be studied after enrolling in elementary school. However, it
does not mean that subject learning begins after one becomes comfortablewith hiragana. Along with studying hiragana, textbooks written in Japanese
will be read, and notes will be taken in Japanese at the same time. It will bepossible to use hiragana through repetitive reading and writing.
If it takes time to read and write hiragana, it may not be possible tounderstand the content of the lesson. If you are not comfortable, you canpractice reading and writing hiragana before enrolling.

愛知教育大学 外国人児童生徒支援リソースルーム〒448-8542 愛知県刈谷市井ヶ谷町広沢 1
e-mail: gendaigp@auecc.aichi-edu.ac.jp