Dovletmammet Azadi Turkmen National Institute of World Languages/
National Institute of Education of Turkmenistan
OTANI Hideki

Since April 2020, all international flights in and out of Turkmenistan continue to be suspended, and over a year has passed since I was temporarily evacuated to Japan. According to local media reports, Covid-19 vaccination is proceeding steadily in Turkmenistan, and international flights are expected to resume eventually.

While this is perhaps the time when the focus should be on the online educational environment, it is difficult to make the transition to online classes which are seen in advanced nations due to the lack of adequate Internet infrastructure in Turkmenistan.

Remote Work During the Pandemic

I currently work from home here in Tokyo where I am preparing to create the textbooks for use starting next year. Unfortunately, not even email is used on a regular basis in Turkmenistan, so I am left somewhat in the dark with almost no information on local conditions. Educational institutions in particular are apparently limiting class sizes and spreading out class schedules as part of their measures against Covid-19 infection, so I have to work not aware of whether the curriculum is proceeding as planned.

The Japanese Speech Contest in Turkmenistan

The Speech Contest in Turkmenistan (hereinafter “Contest”) was held this year after being cancelled last year due to the pandemic. Normally, the Japanese-Language Specialist dispatched by the Japan Foundation (hereinafter “JF”) and staff from the Japanese Embassy serve as judges for the event, but this year, I served as the only judge by participating online. Five students each from the Turkmen National Institute of Foreign Languages named after D. Azadi and the Oguz Khan University of Engineering and Technologies competed in the competition, with the top five going on to compete in the Central Asia Japanese Speech Contest.

The Contest was held using Skype, during which I would ask questions of each competitor and award points after coordinating with the other judges via email, and luckily, we were able to finish the competition without any major issues occurring. As a result, the biggest take-away from the Contest was the confirmation that it was possible to do it online. Online classes have also been considered at universities, but I have not heard of any specific progress in that regard. I hope the Contest serves as an opportunity for a renewed focus on such initiatives.