Cultural Exchange Trip to Japan
'Once-in-a-lifetime experience': Deaf and hard-of-hearing students return from Japanese cultural exchange
View photographs of the students' trip.
Duncan Lindberg had barely returned home from a summertime tour of Japan before he was ready for a repeat visit.
"I made new Japanese friends who I sorely miss already, but that's part of learning and seeing a whole new world," he wrote in an essay reflecting on his visit. "I will definitely do this again because there are so many things I haven't seen yet, and I want to see my friends again."
The Leigh High School student is among the six pupils enrolled in the Santa Clara County Office of Education's deaf and hard-of-hearing program who recently spent about two weeks touring the country as part of an educational and cultural exchange program.
"This was a hands-on experience that you can't get in a classroom," said Karen Mason, a teacher who accompanied the students.
The group toured several major Japanese cities, where they visited significant landmarks such as the Hiroshima and Okinawa memorials.
"What an amazing place!" student Helen Yu wrote. "We went to Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Okinawa – great city and very busy! We saw busy people, busy streets, tall buildings, great cultural diversity and an interesting variety of foods."
But the students also had the invaluable experience of meeting with deaf Japanese high school students. The SCCOE group taught American Sign Language to the Japanese students, who in turn taught the American students Japanese Sign Language.
"I learned a lot to gain respect and maturity, and made a good connection with people," Helen said. "It changed my life to become a better person. I enjoyed every minute of everywhere, and my favorite things in Japan was visiting and meeting deaf and hard-of-hearing students."
During the trip, the group visited schools for deaf students, where they observed differences in how deaf students learn in the United States and Japan. For example, Helen noticed that most of the Japanese students wore hearing aids or cochlear implants, and were mostly taught to speak before learning to sign.
While learning to speak first before learning to sign was a longtime practice for deaf students in Japan, students more often now are learning sign language at an earlier age, Mason said.
Also, deaf students in Japan are not integrated into classes with hearing students, she added. Instead, they primarily attend a deaf school, to which they commute from home by public transportation.
In addition to learning about how their Japanese peers are educated, the American students also had the chance to see how they live when they spent a few nights with a host family. The families entertained the students, and Helen had a chance to visit a local university and aquarium, and do some shopping.
"It was a wonderful experience to understand how the deaf or hard-of-hearing
children communicate" with their parents, Helen said.
The group got a taste of home at Kadena Air Base, where they met with U.S. Air Force personnel , learned about the facility's history and enjoyed American fast food.
Also on the students' agenda was a trip to a waterfall, a chance to sample local cuisine, and opportunities to make new lifelong memories.
"Japan was very worthwhile for me, because Japan offered me totally different, new experiences such as socializing with Japanese people, and learning about Japan's culture and language," Duncan said.
Two Japanese colleagues of Mason's helped coordinate much of the student's busy and adventure-packed itinerary, she said.
"This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many of these students," Mason said. "The experience was so enriching and engaging."
Date last updated: August 18, 2010