The Uzbekistan-Japan Center
YAMASAKI Noriko

I hear a voice say, “Can I help you carry your bags?” as I walk with the shopping bags on my arm. While it is not uncommon for someone to offer you their seat on public transportation overseas, this type of friendly offer to help can often be heard near the supermarkets or subway platforms in Tashkent.

From its name, “Uzbekistan” is often misunderstood to be a dangerous country, but the people here are actually gentle, and there are many who are friendly towards Japan. Uzbekistan, a country with roughly 1.2 times the landmass of Japan, is home to amazing tourist destinations that evoke passion in any traveler, such as the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva that were once waypoints on the Silk Road. It is also one of the few double-landlocked countries in the world where one must cross over two countries to reach the sea.

From its name, “Uzbekistan” is often misunderstood to be a dangerous country, but the people here are actually gentle, and there are many who are friendly towards Japan. Uzbekistan, a country with roughly 1.2 times the landmass of Japan, is home to amazing tourist destinations that evoke passion in any traveler, such as the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva that were once waypoints on the Silk Road. It is also one of the few double-landlocked countries in the world where one must cross over two countries to reach the sea.

Moving on, I would like to describe my job as a Japanese-Language Specialist here in Uzbekistan.

Japanese-Language Education Support at UJC

As of this writing, there are roughly 250 people learning Japanese at the Uzbekistan-Japan Center (hereinafter “UJC”), ranging from 10-year-old children to adults. Here I run and improve the Japanese-language courses while providing guidance for local Japanese teachers. This year my focus is on improving the “Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture” course (hereinafter “Marugoto Course”), and I have made significant changes to the syllabus so that it conforms to the JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education. In addition to the obvious adoption of Can-do checks and portfolios, I am also incorporating visitor sessions and cultural experiences into the classes, such as making sushi rolls and practicing Shodo (calligraphy). Seeing the smiles during the visitor sessions appear on the faces of students, who had previously had no opportunity to use Japanese in real world situations, gave me the sense that this was the first step towards autonomous learning. But in addition to these activities, I am also considering how to support communications outside the classroom as well. The only places where the Marugoto courses are currently offered in Uzbekistan are at UJC branch offices in Tashkent and Bukhara. Therefore, every day I work to increase the number of people interested in taking the Marugoto course, only offered by UJC, by communicating the appeals thereof and increasing the satisfaction of the learners.

Meanwhile, our full-time instructors launched the “Short Term Marugoto Course for Children” Project early this year in preparation for our summer semester, and all are working hard on those preparations. We plan to make the course part of a series moving forward, and meetings to that effect are currently ongoing.

Support for Japanese-Language Education in Tashkent

Here I am mainly involved in supporting the Uzbekistan Japanese Language Teachers Association, including participation in the monthly directors meeting and cooperating with programs to support Japanese-language learners, such as the Japanese speech contest held in the Uzbekistan every March. There are many young teachers in the country who are very proactive and cooperative about holding events, and they are also passionate about learning. I am currently preparing for the Central Asia Japanese Speech Contest that will be held in Tashkent in May together with the steering committee of members representing each Japanese-language educational institution.

Support within Uzbekistan

In March of this year, I visited both the International Language Center in Fergana and the Noriko Gakkyu in Rishton. Both of these institutions have a relatively long history among Japanese-language educational institutions in Uzbekistan, and their students are known for placing highly in both domestic and international Japanese speech contests. However, neither of institutions currently employs full-time Japanese-language teachers, and currently intermediate and higher students are teaching at the International Language Center and a Japanese volunteer is offering irregular classes to the Noriko Gakkyu. I was quite impressed by the way the students studied so diligently, with smiles on their faces, despite the unpredictable class situation. Considering what I can do to help as a Japanese-Language Specialist, I plan to continue providing support, such as by hosting seminars, because supporting the training of the teachers, as the core of Japanese-language education, is an important part of my job.