Hello, my name is Rio Nara the principal of Oita International Preschool. I would like to take this opportunity to tell you more about the school itself and the reasons behind its creation.
I know firsthand how difficult learning English can be. From the time I was a junior high school student until I graduated from university, I spent countless hours struggling to learn English.
It was only after graduating from university that I actually started to live in English, spending several years in Canada. Vancouver, the city in which I lived is an international city. It is a virtual melting pot of different cultures and nationalities. Just walking down the street, experiencing the various sights, smells and sounds I was nearly overwhelmed by it all. How can life in this multicultural city go on in such harmony? The answer quickly became obvious; everyone was using English as the common language.
I had heard that English was the global lingua franca, but I didn’t truly realize what that meant until I traveled to non-native English countries like Nepal, China and Korea to find that here too English was the common language for communication between people of different backgrounds.
When I returned to Oita from living abroad, I was pleased to see that Oita too was steadily becoming an international city and yet I was surprised to discover that the city was without a facility for fulltime early childhood English education.
So combining personal English teaching experience and my educational background in early childhood care, my husband and I opened Oita International Preschool.
From pop music lyrics to employment examinations, English is now a major part of modern Japanese culture. English will play an important role in your child’s future. Speaking English and understanding other cultures will broaden your child’s horizons and change their view of the world.
In the natural homestay-like environment at OIP children learn English when their capacity to learn another language is at its best through everyday activities like playing, singing and interacting with people from different cultures.
Please come by and experience it for yourself.
