Event

Education for Multicultural Society in the Global Age - Promoting Active communication with Different Communities in Japan

Sunday, October 1st, 2006, 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Speaker: Yuko Kato

We are now living in the global age. The global age refers to the present time when there are many emerging events and situations which people have to face globally: people of different countries come into contact with each other much more than in the past; many issues such as the environment, human rights, conflicts between and within countries, and more are discussed at an international level; the Internet has sped up access to information produced in other countries; the ethnic mix of people living in many countries has increased; more people than ever before travel, study and work abroad. The more human development grows, the wider its scale becomes. It is inevitable to develop education which well prepares the young people to live in the global age. Although various educational studies such as international understanding education and global education become quite popular, some research suggest there is a lack of understanding of different communities in our own country. Education which aims to prepare the young people to live in multicultural society is one of the significant issues for countries like Japan which has been mono-cultural society for a long time.

This study is based on the idea that promoting active communication and mutual understanding with different communities should meet the aims of education preparing the young people for multicultural society. In this presentation, Kato would like to show an experimental lesson arranged for students at the University of Fukui, implemented in the spring term of 2006. In this class Japanese students were encouraged to communicate with overseas students, and questionnaires were distributed to explore issues and effectiveness of this method. After showing some key findings and issues of this class, Kato would like to everyone to share their opinions about education for multicultural society in the global age.

Organization: Fukui Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (Fukui JALT)

Cost: JALT Members: free
Non-members: 1,000 yen

Venue: Fukui Campus, the University of the Air, Fukui Kenmin Kaikan, 6 Floor, Room 1

Location: Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture, Japan

Contact Fukui JALT

Galina Hristoskova