LTHS Students Correspond With High School Students In Japan

LOCKPORT, IL — For the third year in a row, students taking Japanese at Lockport Township High School have had the opportunity to correspond with students from Japan.

Teacher Karla Button's level 2 students write to Itoshima High School students in Japan. According to teacher Karla Button, students can write through typed letters and video messages and share their interests and where they're from.

Itoshima High School teacher Toshishige Yamasaki created this exchange program, which has reached out to several schools across the country.

"I think it's a really great way to make new friends and keep learning interesting. It's so fun to see native speakers our own age, and that definitely makes it seem a lot more possible for us to learn the language," Gigi Ewers, Level 2 Japanese student, said in a release. "To see the differences and similarities between trends here and in other countries is really interesting, and it inspires me to learn more about other cultures.”

"Now we have rare chances to write letters. When I heard about this project of letter exchange with Americans, I worried about writing in English. I was happy when I received the letter. I felt nervous and embarrassed to speak to a video camera, but I tried. Showing a face we feel close to each other," Itoshima student Wajima Riko said.

Yamasaki said the letter exchange has been instrumental this year in opening up students' minds and having fun socializing, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.

"They were so excited to receive their letter. When they saw their video messages, they were quite excited especially when their names were called by their pen pals," Yamasaki told Patch.

The students are now waiting for "Nengajo" or New Year cards from LTHS.

Button's other students also participate in correspondence with students from Japan. Button said students in levels 3 and AP communicated with the students of Tonan High School in Kyoto, Japan, through Global Classmates.

Button said this program is more involved than the level 2 program; and students exchange messages, photos and videos about a variety of topics on a secure and monitored platform on a weekly basis for six months.

This year, students were even able to participate in two video calls to meet and speak directly with the students in Japan, Button said.

“Global Classmates is an excellent opportunity to apply all of the skills learned in the classroom in order to communicate and connect with students in Japan! The conversation topics are engaging and it is interesting to learn about the differences and similarities between student life in the U.S. and Japan," AP Japanese Language and Culture student Alisha Thomas said in a release. "One of my favorite Global Classmates experiences has to be the video calls because they were not only educational but fun and interactive too!”