Perspectives and Reflections : Report on Planning, Organizing and Conducting a Cross-Cultural Event

摘要

On August 10th of 2012, eight students from Fullerton, California, aged 12 to 19, visited Jin-ai University for an all-day event. There were three male and five female students. They were here on a twenty-day visit to the Fukui area. The students were on a trip sponsored by a local chapter of a worldwide organization of business and professional leaders who provide humanitarian service to help build goodwill and promote peace.　The broad purpose of their trip was to engage in cross-cultural exchange with the people of Fukui prefecture. During their stay, the Fullerton students met with local government officials and attended various social events. Jin-ai University, through cooperation with the sponsoring organization, has been hosting students from the Fullerton California area on a two-year rotating basis for the past several years. In accordance with previous occasions, this year’s students from Fullerton also visited the Jin-ai campus.　This presented a valuable opportunity for some current Jin-ai students to meet and interact with English speakers outside of the traditional classroom setting. In an effort to capitalize on this opportunity, it was proposed that as a special class project, students at Jin-ai University would handle the planning and organization of the Fullerton students’ visit.　This report is an account of the Fullerton students’ visit. It covers the in-class planning, organization and rehearsal stages and it culminates with a reflection on the event as a whole. The authors of the report, one faculty member and one student, provide their perspectives and thoughts on each aspect of the visit. Additional insight is provided by the results of a survey, which was administered to Jin-ai students immediately following the Fullerton students’ visit.