Children with Roots Abroad Support Sendai Consultation Desk

  • Organiser: International Relations Department, SenTIA
  • With Cooperation from: City of Sendai Board of Education

We provide support for children with roots abroad and their parents/ guardians, for schools that have said students and their teachers. Support is provided in various areas, such as school entry and school transfer procedure help, help getting used to school, consultations about further education, and with high school entrance exams.

Who are children with roots abroad?

  • Children who have come to Japan from abroad due to their parents’ circumstances
  • Children born and raised in Japan, but one or both of their parents is of foreign nationality
  • Children with multiple nationalities, which include Japan
  • Children whose language at home is not Japanese due to their parent or guardian being married to someone non-Japanese

And more（※There are various cases, not only limited to children who are of foreign nationality.）

There are special challenges these children face

  • Entering school with an insufficient level of Japanese language ability
  • Taking time to get used to life at school due to having been brought up with a different culture and customs
  • Even if there is no problem with everyday conversation, the child is unable to keep up with their studies due to being unfamiliar with language used when studying
  • Their parent or guardian cannot speak Japanese well and is unable to help with the child’s studies at home

Please feel free to consult us about the following issues

For parents and guardians

  • I’m not sure how to teach Japanese to my child(ren)
  • My child cannot speak Japanese and is going to enter a public school
  • I’m not sure how to communicate with school teachers because I cannot speak Japanese well
  • I would like interpreting help when going to school events and having meetings with teachers
  • I want to know about places that teach Japanese other than school

The following kind of support is available

Dispatching experienced coordinators

  • Support for both parent and child, and the school when going through school entry procedures
  • Advice on how to teach children who cannot speak Japanese, and things to be careful of

Introductions to and arrangements for volunteer interpreters

  • Accompanying when you go to carry out school entry procedures
  • Help with interviews with teachers at school
  • Contacting school when there is an emergency

※Arranging for an interpreter can sometimes take time

FAQs

Ｑ．What kind of child support programs are there?　▼

Ａ.

There is a dispatch system for interpreting support volunteers, and Japanese language courses for children.

The Sendai City Board of Education system which dispatches volunteers to school to provide nterpreting support/ to help with Japanese studies,Japanese language courses for children run once per week by citizen groups, primary school entry seminars for parents and guardians, further education guidance for high school entry, and more.

For details, please enquire at the consultation desk.

Ａ.

Experienced staff give advice to help children smoothly integrate into school.

Staff who are experienced at providing support for children with roots abroad provide help with school entry procedures, checks for children’s Japanese ability, advice on teaching methods for Japanese study and how to adjust to life at school.
（※This is not interpreter dispatching）

If necessary, we will introduce you to an external program. There is no dispatching cost.

Ａ.

You can at certain times, such as when carrying out procedures, or going for a parent/guardian interview.

In cooperation with citizen groups and foreign resident volunteers, it is possible to have an interpreter dispatched to City Hall, a school, and other places. There is no dispatching cost.
This service is limited to certain times（school transfer procedures, parent/guardian interviews, career counselling etc.）

For information on support in lessons and long-term dispatching, you will need to make use of the volunteer system at the Sendai City Board of Education

「Children with Roots Abroad Support Sendai」

SenTIA’s child support project started in FY2017. In Sendai, the number of foreign residents is now over 10,000, and with this, the number of children with roots abroad is also increasing. SenTIA cooperates with the City of Sendai, the Sendai City Board of Education, and citizen groups to support children with roots abroad and their parents/guardians, dispatch coordinators to schools, and hold training aimed at people who wish to provide support and regular citizens.