2023年バンクーバー留学体験記

低年齢での留学は英語の刺激としては絶大な効果を発揮しますが、海を渡るのは様々な面でハードルが高いです。英語が出来ても、未知の場所へ全てのお子さんが積極的に行きたいわけではありません。

当教室は当時の娘がそうだったように、国内での英語教育だけで後一押しでネイティブレベルに近づいているお子さんもいらっしゃいます。そのためコロナの前からバンクーバーに娘と滞在して、生徒さんに負担のかからない形でのプランを温めていました。

コロナ禍からカナダで教師宅ホームステイが可能なカナダの学校の先生に週末に生徒さん向けにオンラインレッスンをお願いしておりました。

２０２３年遂にバンクーバーへ最初のめいぷるえいごの生徒さんが念願の提携のカナダ人教師宅ホームステイを２週間行いました。

現在中学２年生のK君は最初にお問合せを頂いたのは、まだ小さかったK君がお母様と一緒にバンクーバーに夏留学されていたのがきっかけでした。その頃、私も娘とバンクーバーでホームステイ体験をしていた時で、その様子をブログで見てお問合せくださったのでした。

その後、めいぷるえいご初のオンラインレッスンを遠隔で行い、当教室で英語のレッスンをメインで受講いただいてから４年が経過しました。

レッスン開始後、４年経ち、英語学習を通じてどんな発見があったでしょうか？

今回のカナダの教師宅ホームステイの感想をまとめてほしいとレッスンでお願いしたところ、A4で３枚分の大作が仕上がりました。

最近はレッスンを通して、カナダと日本の文化を通じて確実に視野が広がっているのを感じ精神的に著しい成長が見られるように思います。

３枚分の英語のエッセイなので書いてくれた内容をまずは私が日本語でまとめます。

2023年カナダ　K君　中２　サマリー
このエッセイでは日本とカナダの教育システムの違いについて考察し、カナダの教育の特定の側面が日本の教育システムに組み込まれるのは有益であるという点を論じる。カナダのラングリーでのホームステイ体験を基に、両国の教育の違いを分析する。エッセイは三つの主要なポイントに焦点を当てた。

1. クラブ活動が日本とカナダの教育をどのように分けるか
2. 両国の学生の生活様式
3. 大学入学へのルートの違い

日本の学校生活とカナダの学校生活との間に存在する大きな隔たりの一因として、「先輩文化」がどう関係しているかについて考察した。日本では、クラブ活動が学生にスポーツに参加する機会を提供するが、これには様々な問題点も存在する。一方、カナダでは、教育がより多様な面から学生の成長をサポートしていると感じた。

また、日本の学生が家族と過ごす時間が少ないこと、そして日本の大学入試とカナダの大学入試の違いについても触れた。日本では厳しい入試があり、対照的にカナダでは高校の成績や課外活動が重視されている。

最終的に、日本の教育システムにはカナダの教育から学ぶべき多くの側面がある点を述べた。これらを通じて、日本の教育システムの問題点を明らかにし、改善の可能性を提案した。

2023Canada by K G8
This summer, I went for a short homestay in a small town named Langley, located near Vancouver, Canada. My host family consisted of four members: my host father Mr. Chris, who has been teaching me online for two years; my host mother Mrs. Sonoko; and the two host brothers, Hiro and Kai. Hiro is in the same grade as I am in Japan. Additionally, two Japanese high school students regularly joined us. Surprisingly, we all currently live or have lived in Aichi, and I was able to meet the students in Japan. During my stay, I went on multiple excursions and bike rides to truly understand the cordial atmosphere of suburban Canada. The trip was filled with stimulating experiences, ranging from the community pool to a baseball game. Mr. Chris works at a local elementary school and was even a former professor at Japanese universities. Hence, I was able to observe different forms of education in Japan and Canada from a diverse perspective.

Throughout the conversations I had with the family and while mingling with the local kids (as well as the Japanese students), I discovered some aspects of Canadian education that would be critically beneficial to implement into Japanese education. No one can unconditionally state which system is better. However, even with that in mind, I still think that Japanese education has more flaws compared to Canadian education. Before I dive into the specific differences between the paths students take to get into universities, I will share the differences in the daily lives of adolescent students between Japan and Canada.

This essay is divided into three paragraphs: 1. How club activities separate Japan and Canada; 2. The lifestyle of students from both countries; 3. The routes students take to enter university and college.

One of the most shocking yet understandable comments came from my host brother when he reacted to the Japanese volleyball anime “Haikyu”. It was a scene where a senior player punished younger players atrociously and brutally, just because the floor was wet. His simple words were, “This is worse than the military.” The point he took from the story was not the emotional matches they played, nor the effort they made, but rather the “military-like” senior culture. I believe this culture primarily contributes to the deep divide between Japanese school life and Canadian school life. Club activities in Japan allow students to engage in sports in the most straightforward way imaginable. All one needs to do is to fill out a form and pay for a few shirts and uniforms. There are no tryouts required for public schools because the goal of club activities is not to form a strong organization but to support mental growth. Strong determination is all you need. Although this sounds like the ideal method to facilitate the growth of adolescent students, there are considerable downsides. Research shows that more than 30% of middle schools forced students to belong to some sort of club in 2018. In addition, many teachers have their own strong beliefs about the necessity for students to play sports, making belonging to a club seem mandatory. The atmosphere cannot be explained only with the word 'strict'. Brainless screaming replies are considered showing courtesy to the coach. Training your body means you are vulnerable to injuries. Drinking water is seen as a sign of weakness. An extreme way to describe it would be confinement. Also, there are conspicuous wage problems. Teachers get paid up to around 3000 yen at most for working from 7 to 3, which is far lower than any part-time jobs, considering the minimum wage in Tokyo is 1113 yen. I abominate this system, as you might be able to tell from my critical sentences. I strongly demand change.

Japanese students involve themselves more in their schools than foreign schools, mainly because of club activities and long study hours. As a result, the precious time adolescents can spend with their families diminishes. Using Canadian education as an example, the primary difference is the length of compulsory education. High school is compulsory in Canada, while in Japan, only middle school is. This contributes to the gap in time spent studying, considering an application is all you need to apply to a high school in Canada. As I have mentioned repeatedly, Asian students excel in the hours they spend face-to-face with textbooks. My host brothers were astonished when they heard about the typical “exam week” in Japan. Although repeating a year is more common in foreign schools, it does not compare to studying for weeks for a single exam from the age of 12. This is entirely based on my opinion. As a Japanese 8th grader myself, I have learned how much we disregard our family, including some of our parents, and the country as a whole. When you think of a common Japanese young student’s day off, staying in bed, hanging around with friends, or generally doing something outside of the family likely comes to mind first. Foreigners spend their holidays with their families more regularly, at least in the neighborhood around Langley. Family trips felt much more common than in Japan. It is worthwhile to go out and spend time with your family, and I respect foreign fathers who do so without second thoughts when they acquire a short-term break.

Entering a Japanese university and a Canadian university can be quite different in several aspects, such as admission requirements and academic culture. Here are some key differences to consider: Japanese universities often have rigorous entrance exams that cover a wide range of subjects, including Japanese language, mathematics, science, and social studies. Less is required for private universities. On the other hand, Canadian universities typically require high school transcripts and emphasize extracurricular activities. For example, volunteering, running for school president, and your performance in sports will be assessed. There are pros and cons for both admission requirements. The Japanese system allows students to have an equal shot at aiming for a high-class university. Today, with the help of the internet, finding online lessons equivalent to cram schools has never been easier, allowing students from rural areas to attempt high-tier universities. However, experiences are often only achievable through wealth. The con is that the amount of studying demanded is inappropriate for a high schooler to handle. Although I stated that experiences are only achievable through wealth, incurring financial damage is indispensable when trying to receive a high-quality education. Japanese high schools tend to give students insufficient lessons, and it is clearly impossible to excel without the help of cram schools. The Canadian system allows students to have a diverse perspective on society. Experiencing interactions with lots of people from a young age fosters mental growth. Hiro and Kai both work part-time jobs for this reason. The downside is the gap between the wealthy and the poor. Some join volunteering tours overseas, hosted by travel agencies, just to enter better schools. For me, I prefer the Canadian admission requirements. Especially in a country like Japan, which tends to overestimate one's ability based on their academic history, knowledge and IQ should not be the only core. Sure, evaluating people based on how they score on a test with hundreds and thousands of other applicants is straightforward, but skills other than memorizing the names of ancient kings will be required in society. Experiences matter, from communication skills to PC skills.

Japanese education has many aspects to imitate from Canadian education. These are the three points I used to support my opinion: strict club activities creating a divide between Japanese and Canadian education, Japanese students spending little time with their families, and the overworking of students in Japan.