Cultural Exchange with Kindergartners Plants New Seeds for Global Learning on iCLA Campus

iCLA students high five kindergartners from the Yamanashi Gakuin Kindergarten in a line.

56 kindergartners soaked in the sun, beautiful spring weather, and foreign culture on the iCLA rooftop during their recent annual exchange event! Jointly organized by iCLA and Yamanashi Gakuin Kindergarten, the event provided a meaningful opportunity for local children to learn about cultures from around the world through interaction with iCLA’s international students.

Yamanashi Gakuin Kindergarten children learning about cultural exchange excitedly look at a phone with an iCLA international student.

The event took place on the iCLA building rooftop, in the Dojo and Washitsu rooms. iCLA international students represented seven countries: the United States, Bangladesh, China, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Germany, and India. Additional students also supported the event as interpreters, helping facilitate communication in Japanese and English.

iCLA students enthusiastically introduced aspects of their home culture to the excited five-year-olds gathered around them. Food, traditional clothing, and celebrations were some of the topics covered by iCLA students. They showed the intently-listening kindergartners pictures of Indian peafowls, Chinese hotpot, and Sri Lankan new year sweets. Afterward, the children asked questions about the foreign countries and got first-hand answers from each country’s representative students.

Yamanashi Gakuin Kindergarten students look at a picture held up by an iCLA international student to learn about cultural exchange.

Yamanashi Gakuin Kindergarten students look at a picture held up by an iCLA international student.

The event was a valuable opportunity for the young children to learn about countries across the globe, to interact with people of different cultural backgrounds, and to appreciate some of the world’s many magnificent and unique cultures. It was a precious opportunity for iCLA students, too, allowing them to connect with local children and inspire interest in global cultures at a grass roots level.

As a thank you, the kindergartners presented iCLA students with origami, which were made by the children. The event ended with a big high-five from the kindergarten students.

Yamanashi Gakuin Kindergarten and iCLA have held this event together annually since 2016, with a pause during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Over the past three years, students from 22 different countries have participated in this much-loved event.

See Yamanashi Gakuin Kindergarten’s blog post on the event: here (Japanese)