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Hello to everyone in the Nanzan International Students Alumni Network. My name is Masanori Kitamura, and my field of specialty is Japanese and Cross-Cultural Communication.

While the Center for Japanese Studies (CJS) and the Faculty of Global Liberal Studies are both part of Nanzan University, they operate as separate entities.

Therefore, the curricula are different, and students do not normally take the same classes. However, there is a system called the "Open Course," which allows CJS students to attend some of the classes offered by the Faculty of Global Liberal Studies. Under this system, CJS students have been participating in my seminar classes for the past two years, and international students and seminar students have been learning what is called "Easy Japanese (Yasashii Nihongo)" together.

In recent years, the number of foreigners living in Japan has increased and as a result there have been language barrier-related problems when disasters occur.

It would be ideal if everyone could use English as a universal language, but in reality, English is not understood everywhere in Japan, and not all foreigners are English speakers. For this reason, "Easy Japanese" is gaining attention as a common language that Japanese people and foreigners can use within Japanese society.

International students study Japanese diligently, but Japanese is broader than the language found in textbooks or learned in classrooms. The way words are used also differs depending on age, region, and situation so you will probably have had experiences in which you didn't understand the meaning of what native Japanese speakers have said. There is nothing unusual about that.

On the other hand, for native Japanese speakers, the idea of "Japanese that isn't easily understood" is not something they normally think about. As a result, it is often only when they converse with international students that they experience their words not being understood or their intended meaning being difficult to convey. Through this experience, they are able to reflect on which expressions are easier to understand.

In this respect, the presence of international students serves as a kind of "teacher" for seminar students, providing them with valuable learning opportunities.

Furthermore, for international students themselves, using Japanese as a foreign language can feel challenging - such as not knowing how to express something or not understanding what was said. In such situations, if the other person speaks in "Easy Japanese," it helps to ease tension and anxiety, leading to smoother communication. By learning together with seminar students, international students can not only improve their Japanese language skills but also think about ways of communicating that help to achieve mutual understanding.

The second meaning of the word "Yasashii", (the first is "easy"), is "kind".

I sincerely look forward to seeing you - whether you have already graduated or are currently studying (or will study in the future) - thrive around the world thanks to easy and kind communication.

Masanori Kitamura
Faculty of Global Liberal Studies
Nanzan University