Faculty of International Studies
国際学部ニュース詳細
更新日：2023年12月05日
学生の活動
【国際学部】GSEプログラム参加学生による秋合宿を実施しました
GSE Autumn Retreat 2023
Overview
In November 2023, 20 Kyoritsu Women’s University students on the Global Studies in English (GSE) program took part in a two-day retreat to the university’s learning facility near lake Kawaguchi. The retreat was planned and directed by Professor Sarah Asada with the aim of fostering English-language, global leadership, and communication skills in the spirit of international cooperation.
Kyoritsu students were joined by 5 international students from Waseda university who served as learning facilitators during workshops delivered by a guest speaker and gave Kyoritsu students the opportunity to socialise in English.
The retreat was a great success. Kyoritsu students benefited immensely from the opportunity to study and socialise in an
English-language environment. It also provided GSE students with an excellent opportunity to meet and socialise with fellow GSE students from different year groups. Moreover, thanks to the Faculty of International studies assistants’ fastidious planning and organising, all logistics surrounding transportation, catering and accommodation went very smoothly and students felt safe and well-looked after. Finally, the retreat would not have been possible without the President’s discretionary fund which enabled Kyoritsu Women's University students to take part in this invaluable opportunity at no personal cost.
The GSE Autumn retreat embodied the goals of the GSE program: to foster independent-thinking citizens who can communicate their thoughts in English and demonstrate leadership in a global society. It was, therefore, a fantastic opportunity for Kyoritsu students to apply the knowledge and skills they have been building in the GSE program in a non-academic, real-world environment.
Guest Speaker Profile
-Alisa Sanada
Alisa is COO of Nagomi Visit (https://www.nagomivisit.com; https://nagomivisit.jp/about/) and has about 20 years of working in the tourism industry in Japan. Nagomi Visit is an NPO that arranges home visits for international tourists in Japan. In 2017, Nagomi Visit won the "The Japan Foundation Prizes for Global Citizenship" (https://www.jpf.go.jp/e/about/citizen/winner/2017/chiiki17.html). Alisa and Nagomi Visit have been featured in Japanese and international media.
Events
? Day One
Kyoritsu students and international students assembled in the lobby of Kyoritsu Women’s University in the morning and briefly introduced themselves before boarding the bus and departing at 09:00.
They were accompanied by guest speaker, Alisa Sanada and two faculty members, Professor Lowell Gretebeck and Dr Alexander Rotard.
At 12:00 students had lunch at Tenjozan Kawaguchikosou (天上山 河口湖荘), a restaurant overlooking lake Kawaguchi, and spent some time buying souvenirs and enjoying the autumnal views of the lake.
The bus arrived at the learning facility at 13:30 and student leaders allocated the rooms. Kyoritsu students shared rooms with international students to enable an English-speaking social environment.
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The first workshop began at 14:00. The theme was diversity and inclusion. Alisa, ran a very interactive study session in which students could discuss and interact with each other about their own sense of identity before moving onto considering issues surrounding diversity and inclusivity in Japanese society.
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After the workshop, the student leaders ran fun team-working exercises, games, and quizzes before dinner at 18:00.
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? Day Two
Students were up early at 08:00 for breakfast prior to the start of workshop two at 09:00.
In the second workshop, Alisa prepared an enjoyable team-working exercise in which students were required to apply what they had learned about inclusivity and identity to plan a dream trip to Japan. They were free to walk in the facility grounds or sit in the lounge area which created a relaxed environment for students to talk freely amongst themselves.
After the workshop, students had lunch and took group photographs before boarding the bus back to Tokyo at 13:00.
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Student Feedback
Pham Thi Lan Huong, International learning facilitator
“The retreat was amazing. It was nice to spend time with such lovely and caring people. I think the activities really helped us to connect and understand more about each other. I was able to share about myself and my country, but I was also able to learn more about other cultures as well. Back at my university, I was surrounded more by my Vietnamese and other countries friends, so sometimes it does not feel like I'm living in Japan. But during the trip, I felt I was more included in the life in Japan and got to know more about Japanese culture through new friends. I would definitely recommend this kind of experience to others if they want to get to know more about Japan and make new friends.”
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Chiaki Shimizu, 1st year
“I was so excited about this event. I am not very good at speaking English, but I felt that communication was not difficult, and it was very fun. In addition, I learned that everyone has their own perspectives on world problems and identity. Therefore, the retreat made me want to discuss more in English about world issues.”
Otoha Souma, 2nd year
“In the retreat, it was challenging for me to talk in English with the international and senior students. I had never done any team activities or assignments with seniors before and the international students spoke very fast, so the workshop was intense, and because of my low vocabulary I understood only about 50%. Even so, it was fun to play UNO and talk about our personal lives in the evening. I don’t usually have the chance to talk with international students about life and culture in their own countries, and with seniors about classes and job hunting so the night was great and very valuable for me. If there's a retreat next year, I'd like to join it again.”
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Izumi Yuge, 4th year student leader
“I really enjoyed this retreat and it was a great experience for me to spend time with other GSE members and international students. We spent so much time on discussing and sharing ideas or experiences. It was a good opportunity to think about what international exchange really is. And more, having free time other than classes and chatting with friends in English was precious for me. I think it’s different from taking classes but a good chance to use English.”