Teacher Shuto Mika’s teaching method often combines topics or specific situations so students can apply her lessons in reality. (Photo:VNA) DaNang (VNS/VNA) - Shuto Mika, 54, loves her job as a Japaneselanguage teacher for many reasons.
It isa job she graduated and mastered in. It has provided her opportunities toteach her mother language to many foreigners at universities, Japanese schools,enterprises, teacher training classes and international exchange associationsin Japan, especially in her hometown Himeji city, for more than 17 years.
It has also brought her to live and teach as a volunteer teacher in Vietnam,where she has fallen in love with a Vietnamese instrument called the danbau (monochord) and the traditional costume ao dai (long dress).
Shuto’s first experience of Vietnam came from stories toldby Vietnamese friends she met when she was a part-time teacher at aJapanese school in Japan.
“One time I was chatting with two Vietnamese sisters who told mestories about Vietnam, about the sorrow and aftermath of the war as well aspeople’s efforts to get over it,” Shuto said.
“These stories really struck me, as I have never experienced war,”she said.
After becoming a Japanese teacher, Shuto met many foreigners, particularlyVietnamese people.
“I taught Japanese to many expatriates, so I always saw their optimisticattitude. I admire how they can live so passionately in a country that isnot their homeland,” Shuto said.
“I really wanted to try teaching Japanese overseas to meet more people, soI decided to teach in Vietnam,” she said.
When Shuto found out about the Japan International Cooperation Agency's(JICA) Senior Volunteers programme that offered the opportunity to come toVietnam, she knew it was time to make her dream come true.
She was selected to become a volunteer Japanese teacher at the Da Nang Universityof Foreign Language Studies in October 2018. Every day, she co-lectureswith a Vietnamese teacher and helps younger teachers withher teaching methods and expertise.
"This is my first time volunteering abroad, but fortunately, I am teachingat a university where there aren't many differences from what I've done inthe past,” she said.
Shuto said she was inspired by her Vietnamese students, who have areputation for their diligence and hard work.
“They all want to learn Japanese so they can become proficient,” she said.
Shuto said that every day in Vietnam was full of new and unexpected thingsstemming from lessons with students, conversations with colleagues,and meetings with strangers.
Tran Ngoc Phuong Linh, a second-year student, has been learning Japanese withShuto for a year.
“Sensei is meticulous about every small detail so that students canunderstand them thoroughly,”
Linh said, adding that Shuto’s teaching methods were often combinedwith specific situations so they could be applied in the real world.
“It is interesting learning with her as she tells us a lot about the lifeand culture in Japan. She always incorporates stories about Japan in herlectures to help us understand,” she said.
Linh said Shuto’s classes had motivated her and her classmateswith a love for Japan, with a curiosity for learning andunderstanding.
“She even integrates Vietnamese culture in the Japanese lessons,” she said.
Shuto expects that her students who graduate from theuniversity would be able to find work at Japanese businesses or useJapanese at work.
“I think the students can act as a bridge between Vietnamese and Japanesepeople,” she said, adding that she wanted her students not only to learn thelanguage but also the Japanese culture and way of thinking.
“I hope they will not only translate literally into Japanese butalso convey the Japanese culture, customs and way of thinking. I also wantthem to be able to impart the Vietnamese culture and way of thinking toJapanese people,” she said.
For the past 18 months, Shuto has also been learning Vietnamese.
“I sometimes try to say something in Vietnamese but accidentally pronounce anotherword, so I cannot convey what I really want to say,” she said.
“Learning Vietnamese helps me understand the students' struggles when they tryto learn a new language,” she said.
Shuto said that before coming to Vietnam, she was hoping to learna Vietnamese musical instrument so that after returning to Japan, she couldplay it for Vietnamese people living in Himeji.
“When I arrived here, I attended a concert of traditional music andwas fascinated by the dan bau (monochord),” she said, addingthat she found the artist playing the instrument so beautiful.
“The monochord may only have one string, but the sound is brilliant andunique. When I hear the sound of the monochord, there is something deep in thesoul that is hard to describe,” she said.
At weekends, Shuto attends a class to practise the monochord with the hopeof mastering it so she will be able to play it to Japanese and Vietnamesepeople when she returns to Japan.
The Japanese teacher also loves wearing the traditional Vietnamese ao dai. Herfavourite is a dress emblazoned with lotus flowers. She said sheloved Vietnamese lotus flowers because they rose from muddy swamps and bloomedbeautifully.
“Just looking at a lotus flower, I can see a whole philosophy in it. Moreover,the lotus is a symbol of Vietnam. It represents the Vietnamese people who nevergive up," Shuto said.
“And that’s what I really love about Vietnam and its people,” she added./.
