The Small Ripples Left by Last Week's Interaction

At this week's Chinese class, as soon as everyone entered the room, they began to talk deeply and emotionally about the interaction with our guests from Taiwan last week.

A week has already passed since that dialogue. Even so, the stimulation received at that time seemed to still be quietly fermenting in each of their hearts.

For these elderly learners, who usually lead relatively quiet and orderly lives, I don't think that was just a simple Chinese conversation practice.

Rather, it might have been an experience of reconnecting with an 'unknown world' for the first time in a while.

1. The 'stagnation' and realizations felt during conversation

Mr. S, who has been learning Chinese for 28 years, is always quick to respond in regular classes. This is because textbook content and composition exercises can basically be handled by using words he has already learned or vocabulary accumulated in his own mind.

However, in an impromptu conversation with someone he was meeting for the first time, he said that the entire conversation stopped just because he couldn't catch one simple word the other person said.

He reflected that even words he had learned before, such as 'poetry' or 'stubborn,' could not be recalled at all in that moment. This is because he rarely has the opportunity to actually use them.

And through this experience, he felt that what he needs from now on is to increase his 'vocabulary connected to actual life.'

On the other hand, Mr. C, who had been worried about his Chinese pronunciation for a long time, also shared his own realization.

He said that whenever he participated in exchange activities in the past, he had never once been able to get the other person to understand his Chinese name. Even before this exchange, he practiced repeatedly at home, but during his self-introduction on the day, it still didn't get across well.

However, that experience conversely changed his way of thinking.

In class, Mr. C said, 'From now on, I don't want to be too fixated on perfect pronunciation; I want to value conveying meaning to the other person by adding supplementary explanations, paraphrasing, and sometimes even using gestures.'

2. Changes starting to happen outside the classroom

Mr. Y, who has traveled to mainland China and Taiwan many times, said that through this interaction with the guests from Taiwan, the feeling of 'I want to go to China or Taiwan again' has welled up strongly.

Even if I can't understand everything or speak well even now, I want to taste the feeling of speaking Chinese face-to-face in the atmosphere of Chinese speakers once more—.

Everyone nodded at Mr. Y's words.

'I want to try speaking Chinese locally.'

That may have become a new learning goal or encouragement for everyone.

And the inspiration R received was even deeper.

She felt that her life had gradually become monotonous, and that she was having trouble finding words even in Japanese, and that her ability to speak itself was not as smooth as it used to be.

However, after experiencing the vitality conveyed by the two people from Taiwan who were around her own age during last week's class, she suddenly felt, 'I shouldn't just stay cooped up at home. I need to go out again and connect with society.'

And the next day, she went alone to a park in the city center that she hadn't visited in a long time. She said she spent some time looking at the scenery and watching the children playing there.

YD, who is often involved in local community activities, told us about the next plans for the two people from Taiwan.

After that, they were scheduled to visit a small seaside fishing village in the disaster-stricken area of the Noto Peninsula earthquake in Ishikawa Prefecture to interact with the local elderly people.

YD said, 'Even though they are foreigners, they went out of their way to come to such a remote place in Japan to care for the elderly. I naturally felt a sense of respect for them.'

3. Language Exchange Through Uchiwa Fans

What everyone was particularly happy about was helping with the Japanese translations written on the uchiwa fans.

The two people from Taiwan had prepared the uchiwa fans in advance so that they could have at least a little conversation with the people of Noto. Several phrases were written on them in Chinese.

'How are you?'
—This was because it was their third visit, and they had become familiar with many of the elderly people.

'Are you eating properly?'
'Please eat more'
—The activities were also scheduled to include homemade Chinese food served by Taiwanese volunteers.

In addition to those,

'Which one was the most delicious?'
'It's okay'

were also listed.

In class, the Japanese participants helped rewrite them into natural Japanese.

Holding the uchiwa fans with Japanese written on them, the two people from Taiwan said this to the students.

'I am truly happy to meet you.'
'Are you having fun?'
'Please come to Taiwan!'

The students also felt this as they watched the scene.

That even if words are not fully understood, people can truly connect their hearts through expressions, gestures, and small tools.

4. Another Kind of "Learning"

As a Chinese teacher, my reason for inviting Taiwanese guests to the classroom for the first time was very simple.

I wanted everyone to experience how actual native Chinese speakers talk.
I wanted them to experience living Chinese that exists outside of textbooks.

That was all.

However, as I listened to everyone's feedback after the class, I felt that what had been created in the classroom this time was more than just an opportunity for Chinese conversation.

The daily life that had been quietly and slowly becoming closed off was suddenly stirred by this brief interaction.

For the students, it might have been, in a sense, the first time they had seen such a scene up close.

"Even at this age, people can still have passion."
"You can go out into the world on your own."
"You can care about strangers and try to touch a new world."

That kind of figure.

Later, the two Taiwanese guests who read everyone's feedback sent these words.

"I was very moved by everyone's feedback. This is not just a Chinese language classroom, but a classroom where life itself grows. If I was able to touch your hearts even a little, I am truly happy. I am glad I came. I am truly glad I came."

Chinese version of the text