Help 2000 students from US & Japan connect online!

“Is it correct to say ‘Disney Land is very good’ in English?” a Japanese student trying to respond to his American partner classmate asked his teacher.

When his teacher responded, “yes, that’s good, they’ll understand that,” a look of shock and pure joy took over his face. He was so surprised to find out that he actually created an English sentence accurately all on his own, but also realized that he could communicate his ideas with the limited English that he knew. This is a scene we see often with students participating in Global Classmates. As students experience the excitement over being able to communicate in another language, they become more motivated to learn and have fun using the language. 

Since September, over 1,100 students from 42 U.S. and Japanese high schools have been participating in the Global Classmates online exchange. The students have been enjoying talking and sharing photos on a variety of topics, from favorite food and music to what three things they would wish for if they had a Genie. It has been amazing to see the students learn to communicate and discover so many new things about each other’s cultures, as well as find out how much they have in common with one another.

While the students have been enjoying the online interactions, the highlight of the program so far for many was the much-anticipated Omiyage Exchange. It is a special gift exchange project in which the students collect or make small gifts that represent them, their culture, and their community to mail to their partner classmates. Each teacher videotapes their students opening the omiyage to share their candid reactions. As much as the students enjoy receiving the omiyage, they also love to see their partner classmates’ reactions to the omiyage they carefully picked out and sent. The project fosters deeper connections among students by having them share a piece of who they are and where they come from via an exchange of actual tangible gifts.

KAC’s Global Classmates gives students the opportunity to get excited about learning a language and sparking their interests in another culture right in their everyday classroom. This is made possible by the individuals who have generously donated to provide customized program plan, support, and training. So thank you!