From September 29th to November 26th 2015 I attended a two-month training program for overseas Japanese teachers in International Cooperation Center of Hiroshima prefecture, Japan at the recommendation of the Chinese Association for International Understanding (CAFIU). The program is aimed at training overseas Japanese teachers, spreading advanced teaching methodologies and promoting friendly exchanges between Hiroshima and regions of other countries.

In a short period of two months, I recovered a long-lost identity--being a student, so I could review and improve myself in a different perspective. I benefited a lot as a young teacher with limited experience and qualification.

The most beneficial course is about micro teaching, which attaches great importance to preparation before class and reflection after class. My Vietnamese partner and I would spend 10 hours or ever more time to prepare every micro teaching video, which was only half an hour long. Training in timed reading also inspired me greatly as I could use fast reading techniques learned in each class to quickly grasp effective information. It will be an useful method to help my students increase their reading speed and get more information if I introduce such practice in my classes. In the pronunciation course, I came to know intonation theory for the first time and found out that there are rules to follow even  for the most unpredictable verb  conjugation. It is a blessing for students who always confuse intonation of conjugated verbs. 

During the training, I was able to learn all kinds of advanced teaching concepts and methodologies, then I had sufficient time to digest and reflect on them. These are all valuable experience for someone as inexperienced as me. As a Chinese saying goes, one should read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles. In addition to daily learning, we were met by governor of Hiroshima and visited local Japan-China Friendship Association, through which we learned  Hiroshima’s tolerance towards diverse culture. We also visited a lot of other places to experience the inclusive culture, people’s way of life, and extraordinary beauty of Hiroshima.

Hiroshima is beautiful in many ways. The city is known for its history in World War II. But compared with the marks left by the war, I prefer its blue sky dotted with white clouds， and its gurgling streams with fish swimming about. I like to walk in its idyllic scenery in an autumn day, and watch the sun setting over mountains with sea wind gently touching my face.  

Hiroshima is beautiful for its traditions. The third week we arrived there happened to be the annual “sake matsuri” (festival) of Saijō ,which is an old sake-making town. We received training as volunteer drummers for the opening ceremony one week before the festival. During the training I met an old man who was over 70 years old and came to serve as a volunteer every year. What touched me most was that children were also brought to the opening ceremony by their mothers each year. Those 4 or 5 year old marched in the front playing drums while their mothers followed. Every one in Hiroshima, regardless of their age or gender, contribute to the inheritance of traditional culture. The people of Hiroshima are carrying forward the traditional culture from one generation to the next.     

Hiroshima is beautiful for its culture. We put on kimono and experienced tea ceremony, through which we exchanged knowledge about development of kimono and tea in Japan with our teachers. We also went to Miyajima, which is one of the 3 most popular places of interests in Japan. Hanging around in the ancient street full of Japanese flavor, and immersed in the solemnity of the Itsukushima Shrine, I could feel the ancient people’s awe towards gods.   

But the people in Hiroshima are certainly most beautiful. I stayed with the Matsuoka family in a 2-day home stay program. Ms Matsuoka is a single mother who took care of her 3 children on her own. My nervousness disappeared in a minute when I saw the friendly smile of the mother and adorable faces of the 3 kids. The grandmother in the family prepared me very delicious typical Japanese food, and I tasted sashimi made of fish the grandfather caught from the sea. One month after the home stay, I was greatly moved when I received from the mother a photo album of pictures of my stay in Matsuoka family. At her invitation, I also visited the grandfather’s house— a traditional Japanese building with over 50 years of history. We sat around the oven to taste the Japanese-style hot pot, which enabled me to experience the  daily life of ordinary Japanese people.    

I made many friends in the 2 months. In addition to 2 fellow teachers who came with me, there were 3 young teachers from Vietnam. We became good friends after spending time studying and eating together and exchanging views over many issues. Although we stayed together only for 2 months, we were unwilling to part and promised each other that we would meet again. Our teachers were also quite warm and helped us a lot both in study and in life.

The 2-month study is the longest time I ever spent in Japan. The program benefited and inspired me immensely. I realized that learning is an endless journey, but I could always try to go as far as possible. The more you see the world, the more insignificant and imperfect you will find yourself to be. One can only become what he or she dreams of by learning, experiencing, thinking and self-reflecting as much as possible. 

I would like to thank CAFIU for giving me such a valuable opportunity, so that I could come in touch with Japan closely, learn so many methodologies and make a number of friends in the 2-month study. In addition to saving all the beautiful experience in my memory, I will practice and improve what I learned in my Japanese teaching class. It is my hope that I could deliver my gains to my students!