By Vivian Le, Managing Editor & Jennifer Trend, Staff Writer
On Dec. 11 and 12, Japanese students from Osaka Seikei Girls’ High School shadowed Japanese Three and Four students, following their assigned partners to their classes to experience American school life. Paired up with those of similar interests, students bonded even with a somewhat limited language barrier.
“On the first day, I was really nervous trying to talk to my Japanese partner Ukegawa Riko,” said senior AP Japanese student Joi Tajanlangit. “However, once I realized that she was able to understand what I was saying and I could understand what she was saying, I was able to comfortably converse with her. The entire experience was really great and gave me more confidence in my Japanese communication skills.”
In previous years, Japanese students would visit Fountain Valley High School (FVHS), only staying during lunch and for one or two periods Japanese class- this is the first time students of any language class have shadowed FVHS students.
“I think shadowing is better than eating lunch together,” said Japanese teacher Saori Tanaka who organized the event. “This time, students shadowed from periods one through four, and so students have to always speak Japanese so shadowing is better practice for them.”
Japanese Four students were required to shadow for both days while Japanese Three students signed up for one of the days, shadowing for two or four periods depending on their schedules. For lunch, Osaka Seikei’s trip advisors treated everyone to pizza in Tanaka’s room where the students would say their last goodbyes.
Interactions ranged differently depending on partners, some instantly finding a connection while others found it hard to connect. FVHS students would have to translate learning content, discuss the differences between Japanese and American school systems or ask about their partner’s interests.
“It was an interesting experience since I was able to have a legitimate conversation with a native Japanese speaker,” said junior Karen Lam. “Of course, it was awkward when I initially met my shadowing buddy since we were just diving into the program [and] I couldn’t think of many questions to keep the conversation going.”
Senior Kirsten Wong said, “At first I was very nervous and skeptical about having a Japanese student shadow me for an entire day. However, the very first moment I met Haruka, all the nerves went away and we instantly went into a casual conversation. I enjoyed getting to know Haruka’s personal life and interests. Also, I really enjoyed introducing her to all my friends and translating different questions they asked about her or Japan.”
Because FVHS is a school with a high-level Japanese program, many schools overseas have tried to reach out to Tanaka for opportunities to shadow her students however she held reservations due to her students’ busy schedules. Now, however Tanaka and FVHS students alike look forward to shadowing again for the experiences and learning opportunities it provides.
“[Shadowing is] good practice, and I think the student’s confidence rose. Students think ‘Oh, I can’t do it,’ but when they speak with Japanese students they think, ‘Oh, I can do it,’ so their confidence level rises so I would like to do it again,” said Tanaka.
