7/07/08
Breaking down the language barriers and devouring sushi was the order of the day for a group of year 13 Japanese language students from Ashburton College. As part of a Japanese language Achievement Standard, the Ashburton College students had to give a prepared speech in Japanese to a group of Japanese visitors. The audience was a group of Japanese students that had recently arrived from Japan to Christchurch. Originally the Ashburton students thought they may have been giving a speech to a small group of 5 or 6 immigrants, however when they arrived at the Last Resort Agency in Christchurch, the room was packed out with about 40 people.
After the formalities were over the students mixed and mingled and shared their travel and language experiences. Next stop was dinner at a local Japanese restaurant where they could practice both their appreciation of Japanese food and foreign language skills.
Teacher Libbi Wood queried the students afterwards as to whether they thought they had delivered their speeches to a higher standard knowing they would be performing their speeches to Japanese people, so it made it more real. However the students commented that it really came down to 'not wanting to look silly in front of native.
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