Japanese-language instruction forum held in northeast Thai town

BANGKOK, Jan. 8 Kyodo

A Japanese civic organization promoting Japanese-language instruction overseas held a forum in the northeastern Thai town of Nong Khai on Saturday to discuss plans to boost the number of volunteer teachers there.

The forum was organized by the Sapporo-based Citizens' Education Exchange Society, which sends Japanese-language teachers overseas, develops and provides materials for studying the language and provides scholarships for students overseas.

The group plans to send more teachers to Nong Khai, situated along the Mekong River opposite Laos, over the next year at the request of the Thai side.

It currently has four Japanese instructors in the town, who work mainly at two senior high schools and three junior high schools, teaching Japanese to some 700 students.

The teachers are doing volunteer work in Thailand at their own expense.

Organizers said the purpose of sending Japanese-language teachers to Thailand is to contribute to world peace by promoting grassroots exchanges between the Japanese and Thai peoples to enable them to understand and trust each other.

The group is also involved in projects to increase awareness and understanding of the difficulties that the elderly and people with disabilities face in daily life.

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