Latest Topics in Japanese-Language Education in Uzbekistan and Support for Central Asia
The Uzbekistan-Japan Center
TSURUTA Yasuyuki
The Uzbekistan-Japan Center (hereinafter “UJC”) to which I have been dispatched is a public organization in Uzbekistan that was established in August 2001 by presidential order. The Japan Foundation (hereinafter “JF”) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (hereinafter “JICA”) cooperate in the management of the Center. In addition to our headquarters in the capital city of Tashkent, we also have a branch office in Bukhara, a city of which historic center has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The main activities of the UJC include Japanese-language course for the general public, business course, the promotion of mutual understanding, and computer-based courses for the hearing impaired. Since the Center’s foundation, the headquarters in Tashkent and branch office in Bukhara have seen a total of just under 1 million visitors, making it well known among the citizens.
In addition to focusing on management of the UJC Japanese Language Course, I also provide support for Japanese-language educational institutions and teachers in Uzbekistan and Central Asia.
I would like to share a few of the new topics that came about this year.
15th Anniversary of the UJC
Venue for the 15th anniversary of the UJC.
A ceremony for our 15th anniversary was held at the Turkistan Theater in Tashkent in September 2016. The event was hosted with the cooperation of students and graduates of the Japanese-language course and business courses, UJC staff, and volunteers from JICA who carried out preparations until the day of the event. The two-part event consisted of a summer festival held in the lobby of the theater, featuring a variety of Japanese culture and games in the first half. The second half took place on the theater’s stage and featured a concert program with song, dance, and stage performances. The event was very well received and saw participation from over 600 local citizens and Japanese residents.
10th Anniversary of the Opening of the UJC Bukhara Branch
Following the 15th anniversary of the UJC itself, the Bukhara Branch celebrated its 10th anniversary in March 2017. Accordingly, a ceremonial event was held in April at the Bukhara State University where the Bukhara Branch Office is located. This event was broken into three parts with the first consisting of a symposium entitled “Prospects for Japan-Uzbekistan Cooperation in Bukhara and the Bukhara State University.” I participated as a panelist and gave opinions on establishing Japanese as a second language at Bukhara State University and on cooperation for the domain of Japanese-language education. The second part featured a corner where attendees could experience Japanese culture, as well as a photo exhibit looking back on the past 10 years. Finally, the third part featured traditional Uzbek dance as well as Japanese dance, song, and a cosplay show. The many attendees included the family and relatives of Japanese-language course participants and students of the Bukhara State University, and the event was noted for the at-home atmosphere typical of the Bukhara Branch.
Support for the Japanese-Language Speech Contest
One of the goals of many Japanese learners overseas is to attend a Japanese speech contest. In Uzbekistan, the “Uzbekistan Japanese Speech Contest” (hereinafter “Uzbekistan Contest”) is held every year in March. The top winners of the Uzbekistan Contest go on to compete in the “Central Asia Japanese Speech Contest” in which winners from five countries in Central Asia go head to head. The winner of the Uzbekistan Contest also goes on to compete with winners from CIS countries in the “Moscow International Student Japanese Speech Contest.”
A member of the Noriko Class (Rishitan), Bobojonova Zilola was able to take first place in the 20th Central Asia Japanese Speech Contest held in Almaty, Kazakhstan in April 2016. She also performed superbly at the “29th Moscow International Student Japanese Speech Contest” held in October of the same year, taking 2nd place.
Furthermore, a team of four from Uzbekistan attended the “21st Central Asia Japanese Speech Contest” held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in April 2017, with Mirzatillaeva Zulfizar, a member of the Iqtidorli Yoshlar Language Center (Fergana) winning the contest. The other three ranked between 2nd and 4th place (with two tied in 4th).
As you can see, the competitors from Uzbekistan are achieving superb results at the yearly Japanese speech contests. While only a tiny minority of the students reach the competition, many of the others continue to hone their skills to one day compete by attending the preliminary qualifying contests held to select the competitors for the Uzbekistan Contest. As we are involved in Japanese-language education, we hope to continue to enliven the Japanese speech contests as valuable opportunities for students to demonstrate what they have learned.
Support for Tajikistan
The Japanese-language education seminar in Tajikistan
As of April 2017, JF Japanese-Language Specialists (hereinafter “Specialists”) are deployed to four countries in Central Asia, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. While there is no Japanese-Language Specialist dispatched to Tajikistan, Japanese-Language Specialists for the Central Asian region have been visiting the country once per year since 2015 to hold a local seminar for teachers. I myself visited Dushanbe, Tajikistan in April 2017 to observe University classes, hold a seminar on Japanese-language education, interact with students, and have discussions with locals involved in Japanese-language education. The seminar was attended by 12 people including local teachers, students training to be teachers, and JICA volunteers. While the scope of Japanese-language education in Tajikistan is still small, interest in the subject has been rising with the establishment of an Association of Japanese-Language Teachers in 2016 and the start of a Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT), and the local teachers were full of enthusiasm to boost Japanese-language education in the country. Accordingly, the Japanese-Language Specialists are tasked with the development of Japanese-language education not only in their dispatched country, but in the overall region as well.
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