Teaching English in Japan

This summer, I volunteered as an English teacher at a nursery school in Inazawa, Aichi, Japan. The school educates around 170 children ages 0-6. I taught English, supervised swim classes, guided field trips, and assisted with art activities, singing and dancing performances, drum corps rehearsals, and the school musical.​

Throughout the summer, I had many opportunities to experience various aspects of Japanese culture. For example, I learned about Buddhist practices at the temple next door to the school and visited other Buddhist and Shinto temples and shrines throughout Japan. I also attended summer festivals like the 七夕祭り and 海の日 and visited many historical sites that I learned about in my Asian Studies courses at Bowdoin. Every day, I communicated almost entirely in Japanese, so my language skills significantly improved (my two years of Japanese at 8 a.m. every day finally paid off!).​

This summer was my first time living alone and in a foreign country, and it was a transformative experience. I became more independent, self-confident, and enthusiastic to try new things. I learned the importance of planning but also learned to embrace spontaneity. I feel fortunate to have met so many amazing, interesting people in Japan who will be life-long friends. My experiences in Japan deepened my interest in a future career in education or working with children, and I hope to have another opportunity to teach English internationally in the future.​

Internship funded by the Annual Fund For Career Readiness provided by Mark E. Patterson '97​.