Last Wednesday Year 9 Glenaeon Japanese language students took part in a video conference with their counterparts from Hamamatsu Nittai Junior High School. These students from Japan were meant to visit Glenaeon campus this year, however due to the pandemic this was not able to happen.  Students were fortunately still able to meet and speak with each other via a Zoom conference.

Students participated in a pop quiz and also gave film reviews in Japanese which resulted in much conversational interaction and speaking in both languages.

Any initial barriers were quickly dissolved with new found common interests (shared knowledge of Ed Sherran lyrics included) and a great connection with new people and a wonderful cultural exchange.  We hope that this friendship will be continued between our students and our schools in the future. Japanese Language Teacher Keiko Takahashi said this wonderful and practical application of language development and connection with others saw a high level of student engagement and an increased motivation for students to apply their language skills in a highly personable way in a real-life experience.