NIKS will help to the parents those who are busy with raising their children.

“Friends forever”

The text below is a message of gratitude sent to everyone at the preschool by Maximin, Guilaume, and the Fieski family, who previously attended the preschool.

There are so many foreign students, in the Nanko preschool where NIKS is manage.
This is a result of the facts that Director Takaharu Sakakoshi has been focusing on international exchange education for many years.
The following article which is titled as “International Exchange in Childcare Settings.” was written by the Director Takaharu Sakakoshi.

What is international education?

In the topic of education of young children, which is a key to the 21st century, the issue of “developing human resources who can negotiate with the future international society” has become important. As the number of foreigners in Japan increases, the number of preschools that enroll children with other nationalities than Japanese has also increased.

In elementary schools and junior high schools, the number of foreign children and returnee children has increased. furthermore, the difficulties of adjusting to the Japanese education and to perform with the Japanese children will become a major issue. It has come to be called international understanding education.
What exactly does international education and people’s development that can negotiate with the international society entail?
Is it about teaching English to children?
Many English conversation schools are actively promoting their programs from adults to children and infants. Therefore, English education from an early age is becoming a boom.
Children's language acquisition skills at this age are amazing.
It is true that with just one method, children will be able to memorize English rapidly and will be able to pronounce complex pronunciations like adults do.
This is probably why early childhood is the best time for language education.
Hiring a foreign teacher to teach English to your children, or being taught by a foreign teacher, can also be a cross-cultural experience.
However, some of the most important things in cross-culture education is to teach them “how to make friends with anyone”, “being able to play together”, and that “they are thoughtful.”
In other words, it is a basic matter of human relationships.
“Being able to interact well with anyone while understanding others” is required for all people who lead social lives.
If someone have trouble getting along with the neighbors and people around you, there is no way you will be able to get along with the foreigners who have extremely different cultural backgrounds.
If you think about it, it is better to say that there are no preschools or daycare centers that won’t these goals as their childcare goals.
All you must do is only to expand this framework a little.
I believe that striving to achieve these goals, will help children to develop an international mindset.
Therefore, international education is nothing but the development and the education of human relationships.

International training system of early childhood educators　

Nanko preschool has established an international training system for early childhood educators.
The purpose is to create a human environment which children can experience different cultures during this period, together with creating a foundation for understanding people from overseas.
To accomplish this, we invite foreign teachers to the preschool and create opportunities for them to learn together.

Teachers who have completed early childhood education courses and furthermore who are currently active in the field of early childhood education in each country are accepted as trainees of the preschool for 6 months, to learning about Japan's early childhood education system and practical methods, plus working with kindergarten children. The aim is to furnish the international education of kindergarteners through interacting with them.
Foreign teachers can experience various traditional Japanese events (Oshogatsu celebration, Setsubun, Hinamatsuri, Tanabata, etc.) together with the Japanese children. Furthermore, learn Japanese language with the children through their kindergarten life. This is also a good opportunity for foreign teachers to directly absorb Japanese culture, traditions, and language.
When the trainees return to their own countries and deliver information about Japan and Japanese children to their own students, this will lead to international understanding for the next generation.
As a result of a gathering with the Shanghai City Board of Education in China, we were able to invite operating preschool teachers from Shanghai City in September 1995.
This was the first engagement with a private kindergarten, and it took a lot of time to negotiate and get a visa from the Osaka Immigration Bureau.
The children had the opportunity to interact with Chinese teachers.
Their faces look a lot like the Japanese people.
At first, the children were very confused because it was difficult for them to understand the language, but the Chinese teacher, who had extensive childcare experience, helped them overcome their language difficulties and taught them Chinese songs and games using gestures. Therefore, it became a very fun time for the children.
After the six months when training period ended, children had memorized many Chinese songs, dances, and games.
Foreign languages are quickly forgotten if they are no longer needed or used.
However, I think the experience of having fun playing with a Chinese teacher will remain in the children’s memory in some way.
In the future, we would like to expand the international training system to different countries.

Through international understanding education, NIKS will carry out activities to increase cooperation and improve communication skills, which will be essential in the future.