On June 27th and July 5th, 2022, international students in the Japanese classes gathered in a special exchange class with Japanese students in the English class.
At first, they had a group talk session. It was their first time to meet each other, but they quickly got along and enjoyed talking.

Then, the international students gave speeches in freshly learned Japanese. They talked about their hometowns, including information such as tourist attractions, nature, town events and local foods. After that they added more details in English and got many questions and comments from the audience.
Following that, the Japanese students stood in front of the class and made presentations in English. They shared about some sightseeing places in Japan, fun spots in Tokyo area, and their favorite restaurants. As the international students were very interested, they took notes and photos of the screen while listening, and asked many questions.

It was very nice to meet new people in person this time, as the exchange sessions were held online for last 2 years. Many stayed longer to enjoy talking even after the session and exchanged their contact information. Hopefully some of them will have another chance to get together outside of the class.
Both Japanese and international students mentioned that if they got another opportunity like this, they would like to speak better, and have more in-depth discussions.
This event has motivated them to learn their target language for their future.

(Eriko Ishida)