2023.02.28

On February 15 (Wednesday), an international exchange event,“Let’s talk in English with international students!,” was held between students of the Nakanoshima Chuo Elementary School and the international students of Nagaoka University of Technology. This event was made possible at the request of the Nakanoshima Chuo Elementary School which emphasizes English learning and international understanding studies, and was proposed by SDGs Promoters, a student organization of our university.

Our university also held an online event in 2021, to connect students of the same school with overseas students, and more than 500 people participated including children from Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Mexico, as well as overseas viewers, our university faculty, staff and students.

This second event was an international exchange event featuring a face-to-face interaction with international students of our university, and about 130 Grade 5 and Grade 6 students from the same school, our university student organization “SDGs Promoters,” and 12 international students from 10 countries (India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Pakistan, Romania, Senegal, Spain, and Vietnam) interacted with each other.

At the event, activities were conducted by dividing the participants into 10 groups. In the group work, the children first introduced themselves in English, presented what they had learned during the integrated study time using pictures and expressing themselves using gestures, and tried their best to communicate. Further, the international students also introduced themselves using a PowerPoint presentation, introducing their country and university. In the free talk session including the Q&A at the end of the session, the students expressed their thoughts such as, “I am happy I could use the English expressions I learned in class,” “I want to visit the country,” and “I want to try the cuisine of that country.” Also, the SDGs Promoter Martinez Sanchez Alejandro Ishidro, a first-year GD student of the Dept. of Science of Technology Innovation commented, “There are international students of various nationalities but we are communicating in English. Everyone, please do your best to study English. ”

As a hub university for SDG9, we will continue to cooperate with elementary schools and local governments to provide support for enhancing interest in foreign countries, strive to achieve SDG4, “Provide inclusive, equitable, and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning opportunities,” and to realize a world where “no one is left behind.”