"Multilingual Education" at the affiliated schools

Participant Profile

A, K
Third-year students, Keio Chutobu Junior High School

A, K
Third-year students, Keio Chutobu Junior High School

Keio University's Integrated Education: Diversity within Unity

"Multilingual Education" at the affiliated schools

(Posted February 2025)

Chutobu Junior High School: "Interest in Languages Sparked by Spanish"

Interviewer: Shin Ebato (English Teacher, Chutobu Junior High School)

Why Learn Spanish?

──At Chutobu Junior High School, we have had initiatives to expose students to languages other than English since 2005, offering French and Spanish courses from the very beginning. We have since offered courses in languages such as Chinese, Italian, and Korean, but these first two have continued uninterrupted for nearly 20 years. Today, I would like to talk to two third-year students who have chosen the Spanish course.

At the junior high school level of Keio's affiliated schools, Keio Futsubu School and Keio Shonan Fujisawa Junior and Senior High School also teach languages other than English, but Chutobu Junior High School is the only one that offers Spanish.

What inspired the two of you to try learning a language other than English?

One reason was that I simply wanted to experience a language other than English. Another big factor was that my parents had told me that when you travel to different countries, it's easier to build friendly relationships if you can at least introduce yourself.

My father can speak Chinese, so I also wanted to experience a language other than English. I thought that learning a new language in addition to Japanese and English would not only allow me to speak that language but also to learn about a new culture. I decided to take Spanish thinking that by gaining that experience early on, I might be able to use it for something in the future.

──As K just mentioned, learning Spanish also means learning about the culture behind it. Have you ever experienced that in class?

Not in class, but when I actually went to Spain once, I felt that the way people spoke was softer than I expected.

After actually studying it, I found that there are some similarities to English. However, in conversation, especially when I'm asked a question, I have no idea what they're saying. Even if there are similarities to English, I feel that when the language is different, the culture and way of speaking are completely different.

Also, when I watched a Spanish movie before, I felt that while there aren't major differences in human relationships and ways of communicating even between countries, the food, clothing, and atmosphere of the towns are quite different.

──I see. In terms of the number of speakers, the most spoken language in the world is English with 1.5 billion speakers, the second is Chinese with 1.4 billion, and the next is actually Spanish, with about 500 million speakers.

So it's a major world language, but in your daily life in Japan, do you have any opportunities to hear Spanish?

I haven't really encountered Spanish in Japan.

I've seen scenes in American movies where Spanish is spoken a few times, but not in Japan. In fact, I don't think you get much of a chance to encounter it unless you take a class like this.

──Actually, most people in the Americas, especially in Central and South America, speak Spanish. For example, in interviews with baseball or soccer players, they often respond in Spanish rather than English. In that sense, I think it's a language you have many opportunities to encounter through the media.

So, what similarities do you think there are between Spanish and English?

The pronunciation and basic sentence structure, and also the fact that it uses the alphabet, are similar. Though there are some letters that aren't in English.

──That's right. But there are many differences too. In terms of grammar, you sometimes omit the subject. The word order is also quite different.

Making Use of Spanish

──Is there anything you'd like to do if you go to a Spanish-speaking country?

If I have the chance, I'd like to try and see if I can use what I've learned, even just a little. I think I'll use English a lot in the future, but I don't think there will be many cases where I can use Spanish, so I'd like to go there and see how much of what I learned in this class is understood.

──What specifically would you like to do?

First, greetings. Then, I'd like to be able to ask questions in Spanish when I'm shopping or if I run into any trouble.

──Through the class, have you gained confidence in your ability to converse in Spanish?

I think I can introduce myself. I believe I can handle a simple conversation. Though I'm not very confident (laughs).

──What is your Spanish teacher like?

They are very easy to talk to. They often say things in Spanish like "well done" (excelente!), which gives you a feel for the local atmosphere. There's an atmosphere where you feel you can speak even if you don't understand everything.

As with English and Japanese, speaking for myself is very difficult. I think I've gotten better at vaguely understanding what I hear, more so than speaking.

──It's a big deal to be able to understand what a native-speaking teacher says. Output—speaking and writing—is even more difficult. From now on, as you move on to high school, I hope you'll practice your output and expressing yourselves.

The Importance of Being Bilingual

──I am currently the Deputy Director of the university's Research Center for Foreign Language Education, and at the Center, we are currently working on the theme of secondary languages. This is because many people in Europe live their lives using two languages, partly due to the large number of immigrants entering their countries. I hope that through learning Spanish, the Chutobu Junior High School students will also get a sense of this.

We talked earlier about how English and Spanish are similar, but have you noticed any differences?

I noticed a difference in the emphasis of pronunciation. I felt that the pronunciation of sounds like 'R' is stronger than in English.

The rolled 'R' is strong, isn't it?

──Yes. It's strong in French too, but even stronger in Spanish, right? That's part of what makes it sound like Spanish. How about the vocabulary?

I felt there were more similarities in vocabulary than in grammar. Similar words are very similar. However, there are also words that are completely different, and I found that difficult.

──Did you notice a difference between the group of similar words and the group that wasn't?

Yes, I did. For example, I thought it was very similar how 'zero' becomes 'cero'.

On a test, there was a question where we had to match pictures with words. I could figure out about half of them because the words were similar to English, but the other half I didn't know at all. I felt that many of the names for things we encounter daily or for school facilities were similar.

──When you compare similar words in English and Spanish, which do you think came first?

Since we learn English first, I can't help but think English came first, but...

──It's interesting when you study various languages and discover that a certain word actually originated in French. I think it's also fun to trace the etymology of words like that.

What I Learned Through the Class

──What was the most memorable thing about the class?

The teacher's reactions were memorable. 'Excelente'—which is like 'excellent' in English—I prefer the Spanish version. Also, when the teacher used words that express emotion in Spanish, like '¡Vale!' or '¡fenomeno!', it made me happy and I wanted to try using them myself. I've come to prefer the Spanish pronunciation of 'Excelente'.

The class starts with trying to actually use the language, so I was able to learn by using things in practice that I had been wondering about. Even with a single word, you find the answer to questions like 'Why is it pronounced this way?' by actually speaking it. It was memorable that I could study while having questions in a good way.

──That sounds like a very valuable experience. Lastly, if you were to learn one more language besides Spanish, what would it be?

Chinese. My father studied it, so I'd like to try it too. And just as Spanish is similar to English, I think Chinese also has parts that are similar to Japanese, so I'd like to learn it. Also, my mother told me that when interacting with people from overseas for work, the most useful language after English is Chinese.

For me, it's French. Since I've already learned Spanish, I'd like to try a language that is connected in some way, rather than something completely different.

──I hope you can apply your experience of learning Spanish this time to when you learn other languages in the future.