Ahead of an Overseas Exploration Program to Indonesia, a pre-visit online exchange connecting Nishiyamato Gakuen Junior High School and High School with the local school to be visited

Background

Nishiyamato Gakuen provides a wide range of international education with the aim of developing leaders who will be active on the world stage. In its “Overseas Exploration Program,” part of this effort, students visit Asian countries, experience the rich cultural heritage of each place, and aim to deepen their international literacy through exchanges between schools.

For this Overseas Exploration Program, which planned a visit to SMA Labschool Kebayoran (hereafter “Labschool”) in Jakarta, our pre-visit online exchange was incorporated in addition to Nishiyamato Gakuen's own preparatory learning. The aim was to make the exchange with Labschool even more meaningful by having students interact online ahead of the exchange on site.

What we did

Ahead of the visit to Labschool on October 30, 24 students from Nishiyamato Gakuen and 27 students from Labschool interacted online on October 21.

1. Oct 21

   Pre-visit online exchange

   Students held cultural exchanges with students from Labschool, the school they were to visit, one-on-one and in groups. After sharing their hobbies, hometowns, lifestyles, and more through an online board and interacting there, they deepened their conversations and discussions one-on-one and in small groups.

2. Oct 30

   Visit to Labschool

   Students who had met through the online exchange were reunited on site, and the connections built online were also put to use in forming pairs on site.

Through the pre-visit exchange, students experienced Indonesian culture even before traveling abroad and deepened their bonds with the students of the school they would visit. It also gave them a chance to put their own English skills to practical use, which helped them prepare mentally for the exchange on site.

Voice of the accompanying teacher

We received the following comments on the effects of the online exchange from a teacher who accompanied the visit.

• After the online exchange, students deepened their interest in Indonesia even before the visit and were seen proactively strengthening their language learning. During the actual visit, the connections built online led to smooth interaction and helped deepen their friendships even further. I myself was able to talk with the local teachers online, which was a great help in preparing for the school visit.

Students' response

In the survey, the vast majority of responses said that students' anticipation for the visit had grown and that their interest in the partner country and motivation to learn English had increased. After the visit, we also heard feedback such as “I reunited with the students I had interacted with online and deepened our friendship.”