25,000 foreign school children need help in Japanese

Saturday 02nd August, 06:12 AM JST

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Latest 15 of 23 Total Comments Show All

MrMukatsuku at 01:55 PM JST - 2nd August

Amost all true USAPatriot, but Neo-Cons frequently bleat that others are 'liberal' when they themselves are challenged on any subject. Of course, when a normal person is compared to a Neo-Con the normal person must be considered a liberal!

Please do not tell people their feelings.

A handfull of liberals control these boards, and hate, when someone who thinks different than them , comes onto the boards.

I'm sure all but the most extreme, those who do not discuss in a civilised fashion are welcome.
MrMukatsuku at 02:01 PM JST - 2nd August

oh, and I agree with your post about:

Many Japanese will probably moan that they are funding extra tuition for foreign kids. How about putting a more positive spin on foreigners foe once. How about mentioning that these kids will invarabley have tax paying parents or parent, who boost Japans economy.

Just like Americans moan about taxes funding English speaking classes for Spanish speakers in the US.

Just in case you thought I was a 'liberal'.
USAPatriot at 02:08 PM JST - 2nd August

MrMukatsuku- I only give my honest opinion. Maybe Liberals is not the correct word to use.

However allowing others with a different view point to have their own voice, without being shouted down as an extremist, would be nice.

In the case of Spanish speakers in USD, i think the govt should fund anyone who is trying to learn English.

Japan should help all foreign kids that ask for help.
MrMukatsuku at 02:51 PM JST - 2nd August

No where in this article does it say that Japanese are moaning and complaining about funding extra tuition for these kids.

Seems Speed was objecting to your opinion...

Many Japanese will probably moan...

Maybe Speeds objection infers (s)he believes Japanese people are different to other humans.

In the UK people also complain about their taxes going on teaching 'foreigners'.

Japanese people are not different, and they probably will complain about their taxes being spent on teaching foreigners!
MrMukatsuku at 03:13 PM JST - 2nd August

teaabe - Second generation or not, they need help in Japanese. Would you agree that your taxes should contribute to paying for their education, or not?
thepro at 03:23 PM JST - 2nd August

I wasn't talking about you, USAPatriot
ANOTSUSAGAMI at 06:13 PM JST - 2nd August

LOL. I on the otherhand, knew who you meant, thepro. Admittedly, I have on many occasions done exactly that.
DenshaDeGO at 09:55 PM JST - 2nd August

Maybe the kids aren't motivated. Maybe they can get along without Japanese. Case in point, I had an English teacher the other day tell me: "Dude, you don't need Japanese to get around here." Sad to hear that.
stanoue at 10:01 PM JST - 2nd August

Hmm. In my country (NZ) Sure there would be some immigrant's children at schools who struggle with English, but they are far outweighed by the International students (mostly from Korea/China) who prop up the entire secondary public school system with the additional fees they pay. Their fees easily cover the ESOL lessons and teachers, enough to cover the foreign students/immigrants studying there on 'tax payer money'. And you can bet the ESOL systems would be nowhere near as good without the incentive to attract more fee payers. Pity Japan doesn't have the same appeal to wealthy families looking to send their kid overseas for 3-5 years - or it would already have 'JSOL' classes which could absorb these kids easily.
UnagiDon at 10:04 PM JST - 2nd August

I had an English teacher the other day tell me: "Dude, you don't need Japanese to get around here."

English teachers - always good for a laugh.
Pukey2 at 11:30 PM JST - 2nd August

rjd:

They need help in Japanese like foreigners need help learning the native language in other countries. It's not need, it's lack of desire and ambition and dedication. Studying a foreign language is not rocket science, not saying it's easy but it's definitely easier for young kids to pick up another tongue.

Really? Thank you for your insight. Kids are NOT adults. Many need motivation, otherwise why bother going to school. Perhaps some are bullied (yes, that can happen in Japan, especially if you're different). And once you miss school for a while, it gets worse and worse.

I sometimes wonder whether you've ever been to Japan.
chankonabe at 03:07 AM JST - 3rd August

As it is now, the Japanese school system has a difficult time integrating Japanese as a second language students. While teaching in Japan, I would sometimes visit the local special needs school. One day, a 12 year old girl at the school came up to me and, totally unexpectedly, started a fluent conversation in English. It turns out that her mother was from the Philippines and her father was Japanese (though married to another woman in Japan). She spoke fluent English and Tagalog. However, she could only speak some Japanese and the board of education didn't know what to do with her - so they put her in the special needs school. She didn't have a learning disability, but there she was in this school for students with moderate-to-severe learning disabilities. It was great that she was getting the special attention, but I'm sure that her educational needs could have been better met by having a Japanese language instructor in a regular school.
lipscombe at 03:14 AM JST - 3rd August

> I had an English teacher the other day tell me: "Dude, you don't need Japanese to get around here."

English teachers - always good for a laugh.

yeah, but he's right
European1 at 12:49 PM JST - 3rd August

However, she could only speak some Japanese and the board of education didn't know what to do with her - so they put her in the special needs school.

Morons, it means they should put all 25,000 foreign kids to school for kids with disabilities, because "poor" old guys have no idea what to do. Right, more meetings are needed.
European1 at 12:52 PM JST - 3rd August

one more thing to add. Instead of trying to help foreign kids, the only idea they have is make foreign children seperate like in the camp, not to try integrate them with our kids, but ask them to speak J lingua.