Hindi and French are the most popular foreign languages among Japanese students at the Global Indian International School (GIIS) campuses in Tokyo, said Atul Temurnikar, a renowned member of the education business.
According to Temurnikar, the Co-Founder and Chairman of the Global Schools Foundation in Singapore, which manages GIIS campuses in six countries, Japanese students want the best of Asian and Western cultures while keeping their own.
“Cultural learning allows Japanese and ex-pat students to study and feel things about diverse cultures,” he added, describing the language learning program at the GIIS, which has 15,000 students spread over 16 campuses. He discussed how Hindi, taught in Tokyo, has evolved into a common cultural identity for many individuals from the subcontinent who are part of the world’s 30 million Indian diasporas. Temurnikar was recounting the story of a GIIS grade V Japanese student who astounded Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a two-day visit to Japan earlier this week.
Ritsuki Kobayashi spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Hindi and requested his autograph on a painting with Hindi, Japanese, and English descriptions. With a grin, the Prime Minister agreed. According to Temurnikar, Hindi is a popular language choice among Japanese students. It is taught in the Central Board of Secondary Education and the Cambridge IGCSE curriculums from Grade 1 to 10.
He emphasized Japanese students’ linguistic variety, noting that the Indian-Japanese people-to-people interaction dates back almost a century. Students at the GIIS Tokyo come from 19 different countries, with the Japanese constituting the biggest group.
Its pupils study Hindi, French, Japanese, Sanskrit, Mandarin, Arabic, and Tamil, among other languages. It regularly holds linguistic festivals surrounding Hindi Diwas, Hindi tournaments, Hindi debates, and other Japanese cultural holidays such as the Japanese Tea Ceremony.
“Every student is nurtured to be a Global Citizen, and students experience the widest language diversity with over 10 languages to choose from,” he said.
