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리첫 2007. 9. 15. 08:48
Singapore rated highly by traveling Japanese students

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Singapore is often described as a safe, clean, multiethnic country where English is one of the official languages. These aspects are beneficial for Japanese students who visit the country, according to Toshiaki Yamada, a teacher at Chiba prefectural Kogane High School. The school's second-year students took part in field trips to Singapore in 2002 and 2006.

"Our students chose Singapore as their destination. I think Singapore is good for fieldwork in general studies," Yamada said. The country outranked other destinations--Okinawa Prefecture, Hong Kong and Saipan in 2002 and Okinawa, Hokkaido and Seoul in 2006--when the school surveyed students on the preferred destination for their school trip.

After overseas school trips were approved by the Chiba prefectural board of education in 2000, Kogane High School chose Singapore for its first overseas school trip in 2002.

Yamada pointed out the merits of visiting Singapore: safety, easy access to various places by public transportation, opportunities for students to study practical English, and a variety of possible study themes due to the nation's multicultural background.

The students' research projects require them to interview people in the places they visit.

"In 2002, it was difficult to find places where our students could do interviews. But it became much easier in 2006 thanks to help from the Singapore Tourism Board," Yamada said.

Thanks to the program offered by the board and other sources developed by the school itself, the school found 15 locations in eight fields for 277 students divided into 53 groups to visit for their field work.

The trip also incorporated an international exchange program. Students from Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), one of the top secondary schools in Singapore, were assigned to act as guides for the Kogane students.

Eighty-five percent of the Japanese students who participated in the school trip said it was fruitful and the experience that left the biggest impression was their interaction with the local students, according to Yamada.

Thorough preparation and hard work by teachers are necessary for a school trip overseas, Yamada said, but it is worth the effort because "students will certainly become motivated to study more."

Yamada made his presentation at the Singapore School Trip Seminar and Workshop, held at a Tokyo hotel on Aug. 23 and sponsored by the Singapore Tourism Board.

"Singapore is the third most popular destination for Japanese students, after Australia and South Korea. Last year, about 20,000 junior high and senior high school students from Japan visited Singapore on school trips, and this year, we [expect to] add 3,000 more students," said Paul Tan, regional director of the North Asia International Group of the Singapore Tourism Board.

Koki Kamata, the manager of education services for the Eastern Japan International Group of the board, said: "Singapore is one of the few English-speaking countries in Asia. The old and new coexist, and many rare animals and plants can be found in Singapore. There are also chances to organize exchange programs with schools there."

Representatives from schools, a language school and attractions in Singapore were also present at the workshop.

"Basically, we have been in Singapore for 27 years, teaching Singaporean students, but now we want to invite overseas students to come to Singapore," said Esther Wong, marketing communications manager at Lorna Whiston EAL School, one of the leading language schools in Singapore.

She said the school's 4,000 students included only 30 Japanese, some of whom live in Singapore. "All of our teachers are qualified teachers from Britain, Australia, Canada and New Zealand," she said. "So what we're saying is that instead of flying to Canada or Australia, why not come to Singapore, because it's closer and parents can come along and also the cost is cheap."

She added that the school also offers teacher training and teacher development programs for English-language teachers.

(Sep. 13, 2007)