Aya's Internationalization

Aya's internationalization began in 1985 when an American, Mr. Keith Vargo, came to Aya to teach English. He was invited by the mayor at that time, Mr. Minoru Goda, who had asked a placement agency in Tokyo to find a young American willing to work and live in his country town. Keith left in 1987. Mayor Goda then asked the same placement agency for a replacement. They returned to Keith's alma mater, and Mr. Russell Burbage agreed to come to Aya. After fourteen years Russell left.

In 1996 Aya Town made arrangements to join the JET Programme. This is a programme run jointly by the Foreign Ministry and the Education Ministry which dispatches young foreigners to local communities for up to three years.

Students begin their "lessons" at a very young age. Each of the three public nursery schools and the one private kindergarten are visited twice a month. The children are taught simple English such as "My name is---" , colors, numbers and animal names. Popular games include "What Time Is It Mr. Wolf?" and "Fruit Basket". The emphasis is on having fun so that hopefully when they are older the children will understand that speaking English (even with mistakes) is nothing to be afraid of. The average visit is two hours. Which include eating lunch together to show that even people from other countries can use chopsticks.

Childrens' Classes
Currently there are three separate elementary school students' classes:

1st graders meet on Tuesdays, 3rd and 4th graders meet on Wednesdays, and 2nd graders meet on Thursdays.

Each are held one hour per week from 4:30-5:30 in the afternoon. Like the kindergarten visits, the emphasis (especially in the younger grades) is on fun. After several years these students should be able to read and write the alphabet, ask and answer everyday questions and answers, ("What's your name", "This is my friend . . .", "I like red elephants!", know all colors and major animal names in English, and have proper pronunciation of difficult sounds such as "L", "R", and "TH". The participation fee is 500 yen per month.

Adult Classes
There are three Adult Classes: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. They each meet once a week at the Community Center. The participation fee for each is 1000 yen per month.

The Beginner class meets on Wednesdays from 7:30-8:30 pm. The class is run at a slow pace with focus on feeling comfortable with English while being introduced to the basics of speaking and listening.

The Intermediate class meets on Tuesdays from 8:00-9:00 pm. At a more challenging pace, students are encouraged to communicate using English as much as possible.

Advanced classes meet on Thursday evenings 8:00-9:00 pm. It is a complete English only environment where topics range from world issues to local festivals.