24 June 2009

Monrad Intermediate School Visit to IPC Campus

By Shirley Ghozalli. Edited by Moira Blake.

Learning a new language is always challenging and it is a very real advantage to be able to interact directly with native speakers of that language. That kind of interaction occurred during the Monrad Intermediate School visit to IPC on Wednesday, 17th June. (Monrad Intermediate School is in Palmerston North City.)

There were 30 students from Year 8 accompanied by a teacher and three parents. The students have been learning Japanese in their class. It was hoped that coming to IPC would give them a taste of Japanese culture.

A series of Japanese Language and Culture activities was organized with help from IPC students. From the first activity, the Japanese language classes, the students helped the visiting students as buddies. The buddies were a good mix of Japanese and International students. Many of them rose to the occasion by wearing Japanese traditional clothing: yukata for the girls and hakama for the boys.

After the Japanese language classes and lunch in the dining hall, cultural activities such as shodo/origami, onigiri and tea ceremony followed. Towards the end of the visit, a Tahitian dance was performed by IPC students. It was like a farewell gift for the visiting students, along with the hand-made onigiri and their names written in Kanji characters, which they had been given during their visit. The students were encouraged to keep their eyes and ears open and to keep learning and trying new things so they can broaden their career opportunities.

<Back  |  ^Top