Children with Roots Abroad Support Sendai Consultation Desk

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

We provide support for children with roots abroad and their guardians, for schools with said students and their teachers. Support is provided in various areas, such as school entry and school transfer procedure, 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, including Japan
  • Children whose language at home is not Japanese due to their parent or guardian being married to someone who is not Japanese

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

Please refer to the following guide books created by SenTIA.

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 kinds of support are 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 are struggling academically
  • Sitting into guardians-teachers meetings and three-party meetings, and provide advice on learning and career guidance.

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 take some 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 interpretation 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 inquire 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.
SenTIA will bear the full cost of dispatches. This service is free for schools and guardians.

For details, please inquire at the consultation desk

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.
However, 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

For details, please inquire at the consultation desk.

「Children with Roots Abroad Support Sendai」

SenTIA’s child support project started in FY2017. In Sendai, the number of foreign residents is going up, and 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.