Kyrgyz Republic-Japan Center for Human Development
SAKASHITA Taichi

The Japanese-Language Course at the Kyrgyz Republic-Japan Center for Human Development

The Kyrgyz Republic is a landlocked country in Central Asia with a population of roughly 6.5 million people. Japanese-language education was first introduced in the country in 1991, primarily at public educational institutions, but new Japanese language schools and Japanese courses have been opening up in recent years to teach those wishing to travel to Japan.

The Kyrgyz Republic-Japan Center for Human Development (hereinafter the “Japan Center”), where I am dispatched as a Japanese-Language Specialist, operates Japanese-language courses geared towards students aged 15 and up, including the “Marugoto” Course based on the JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education, the Intermediate-Advanced Course for those who have completed the former, and a Business Course for those seeking employment at a Japanese company. We also run various other short courses and events according to needs of the Japanese-language learners.

The students learning the Japanese language through the “Marugoto” Course in particular do so for a diverse array of reasons, including a desire to travel to Japan for study or work, an interest in Japanese culture, and an interest in the act of learning Japanese itself.

The Transition to Online Classes

Like elsewhere in the world, a State of Emergency was declared in Kyrgyzstan in March 2020 due to the spread of the Covid-19 Pandemic. The Japan Center immediately began preparing a system for running classes online and managed to restart those classes by May. By September, when I became involved with the Japan Center remotely from Japan, the local Japanese-language teachers already seemed to understand the benefits of online classes and were teaching their classes with confidence. We went on to prepare a new student evaluation method and performance management system, and we held our first online graduation ceremony in February 2021. Since we were able to restart classes after only a short interruption, most of the students never lost their motivation to learn, and are continuing to study the Japanese language enthusiastically today.

A student who has just completed the online course.

The Online Japanese Presentation

In November 2020, the Japan Center held its first online event, a Japanese Presentation. The offline version of the event has long been popular, and provides students an opportunity to give PowerPoint presentations based on selected themes. Many motivated Kyrgyz learners participate to make use of their daily progress in studying the Japanese language.

I decided to give an opportunity for students other than those presenting to exercise their improvements as well by adding a second half involving exchange with a Japanese guest in addition to the presentation session. We also held a joint Japanese Presentation with students from Azerbaijan in February 2021, including an opportunity for exchange between the learners. This type of event would only be possible to achieve online, and we received over 60 applications to participate.

The online Japanese Presentation Meetup

Future Challenges

Normally, the Japanese-Language Specialist dispatched to Kyrgyzstan is expected to support not only the Japan Center, but overall Japanese-language education in the country. Though I currently contribute in a variety of ways, such as support for the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) and serving as a judge for the Japanese speech contest, other activities such as visiting schools, supporting classes, and traveling outside the capital of Bishkek, have been restricted due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. However, rather than worrying about what I cannot do now, I hope to continue to search proactively for things that I can do now, as I have been doing at the Japan Center.