DVIDS – News – American and Japanese students break the language barrier

CAMP LESTER, Okinawa, Japan – American and Japanese middle school students gathered at Lester Middle School to finish the final event of a Student Education Exchange Dialogue program on Camp Lester, Oct. 26-27.

The SEED program is a collaboration between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and Department of Defense Education Activity Pacific that invites local Japanese students to share their culture at schools on military bases. The program consists of two-day projects that occur on U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force bases, where students participate in different activities together throughout the year.

Students who participated in this project came from Lester Middle School and Japanese middle schools in Kitanakagusuku, Chatan, Okinawa City, Ginowan, and Kadena. Although many interpreters were available to provide translation for the students, most of the time. Unfortunately, they couldn’t be everywhere at once. Despite this minor setback, the students still worked to find ways to communicate with each other due their united goal: an interest in each other’s language and culture.

“Sometimes you can get so focused on the language barrier, that you start to isolate yourself from other kids that maybe don’t speak English,” said Julianna Aubin, a seventh grade student at Lester Middle School. “But after the course of a day you begin to see that we’re all kids and we have favorite books and sports, and language is just a way to communicate, so we’re not all that different.”

Aubin, who has been living in Okinawa for six years, joined this language exchange project after seeing an advertisement in her Japanese class to break out of her routine. Through the program, she was able to spend time with Japanese students her age by participating in activities like exploring a haunted house, playing volleyball, scavenger hunts, and making a group presentation.

“I think that living on a base can be sort of isolating because you’re with the same group of people every day,” said Aubin. “You tend to just stay on your little hamster wheel of a daily cycle.”

Sawa Agarie, a third-year student at Ageda Middle School, also volunteered to be part of the project after seeing an advertisement at her school.

Agarie’s first interest in learning English came from her older sister, who had studied abroad in Australia. She watched her sister speak English fluently and enjoyed communicating with many of her friends. Agarie hopes to one day share the same experience through a study abroad program or by moving to an English-speaking country.

Just like Aubin, Agarie recalled moments where it was difficult to communicate with other students.

“It was sometimes slightly difficult to communicate because of the differences in languages and cultures,” said Agarie. “But I did my best to communicate by using sign body language and also my feelings through expressions.”

The final activity of the project tested the students’ ability to overcome communication and language barriers. Students, who were split into groups, brainstormed ideas for businesses and establishments and presented those ideas on a canvas. During the presentations, students shared what their businesses or establishments would achieve while also discussing what was learned about Okinawa’s culture. Some ideas focused on selling Japanese food and beverages, some gave tours of historical locations, and some provided a space for entertainment.

After each group presented, they gathered for the closing ceremony. Students received a special message from distinguished guests: Col. Marc Walker, commanding officer of Headquarters and Support Battalion, Marine Corps Installations Pacific; Masashi Toguchi, mayor of Chatan Town; and Manabu Miyagawa, ambassador in charge of Okinawa Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

With the conclusion of the ceremony, students spoke with each other one last time before parting ways. For some, this project fostered new relationships and an opportunity to break into a new cultural bubble.

“I felt I’ve made very strong friendships,” said Agarie. “There was one girl who I will try to stay in touch with through social media.”