New College Forms a Link with Japan
The Head of Languages at New College Swindon has been building up key important relationships with a variety of schools in Japan.
After finding out about The Japan Foundation at the Languages show in London, Claudia Stanley from New College received a special invite to visit Japan on behalf of the College.
Claudia met various people from other schools who also attended the trip, helping share ideas about different teaching styles and the latest technology.
The Japan Foundation are keen to increase the amount of people studying the language, and would like to possibly look into student exchange visits with colleges and schools in the UK, including New College Swindon.
Claudia and other guests on the trip were shown around a number of secondary schools and a primary school to find out more about the styles of learning in Japan, with self-study being the main focus.
Claudia said “I think we would really benefit from the Japanese system of education and I think in time it may be something that happens over here in the UK. I spoke to Professor Yumiko Hada, who is the Dean of the Graduate School of Education at Hiroshima University, and she seemed very keen on coming to visit us so they can find out more about New College.”
Skype is high on the agenda at some of the schools in Japan, with students holding Skype sessions with a school in Australia to help improve the children’s language skills. It’s hoped that this idea can eventually be rolled out at New College Swindon in the future.
New College currently offers a wide variety of language courses which can be found at
www.newcollege.ac.uk.
