The Activities of the Japan Foundation

The Japan Foundation Asia Center
Support for Japanese-Language Learning The NIHONGO Partners Program

The NIHONGO Partners program has previously sent Japanese citizens to educational institutions in Asia to serve as partners for Japanese teachers and their students by supporting Japanese-language classes and introducing Japanese culture; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were not able to dispatch anyone in FY2020. We have conducted activities to be able to send people again in the future and for the sake of medium- to long-term development, including maintaining and developing network relations that we have built through our work in the past six years as well as keep supporting the work of Japanese-language teachers and learners online.

"Storytelling 15×15"

In Thailand, we selected 15 of the schools to where we plan to dispatch NIHONGO Partners and held the "Storytelling 15×15" online Japanese contest. In the month or so leading up to the contest, former NIHONGO Partners who had been sent to Thailand instructed the pronunciation, expressions and other learning aspects of participating students online from Japan, contributing to improving the students' Japanese ability and motivation to learn.

Support for Online Classes

We held interactive classes online in Thailand, selecting five of the schools where we plan to send NIHONGO Partners and providing online support for two weeks by former NIHONGO Partners in Thailand. Those NIHONGO Partners took part in classes at the school online by following the lead of their counterpart teachers, for example, assisting in the making of teaching materials and checking homework. This project was well received by people appreciating the opportunity to speak to Japanese persons in class.

Webinar "Why Do Global Human Resources Strengthen Organizations?
Think about Post-COVID Learning: Japan Foundation Asia Center×GLOBE+"

As we are undergoing a transition period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we held a webinar and distributed it online for thinking about the significance of fostering global human resources together with The Asahi Shimbun (GLOBE+ Editorial Department). The guests included two former NIHONGO Partners and two experts. We discussed the importance of having opportunities to come in contact with other cultures and values outside the company or the school as well as the appeal of the NIHONGO Partners Programs.

Online Presentation by Former NIHONGO Partners

We held an online meeting for sharing experiences among persons who were sent as NIHONGO Partners between 2014 and 2020. Ahead of the meeting, about 30 former partners were divided into four themes and looked back on their NIHONGO Partners experiences, talked about how to make good use of their experiences in the future and had representatives present and share their ideas. Experts in various fields were also at the meeting to talk about the value of NIHONGO Partners experience and gave advice about how to put it to good use.