Locals must teach foreign languages, official says

INSTITUTIONS teaching foreign languages as part of their curriculum should have local Papua New Guineans teaching those languages.
First secretary of the Japanese Embassy Hiromitsu Iwamoto made these remarks when referring to the desired outcomes sought by Jica and the embassy.
Hiromitsu and an attaché, Masanao Adachi, visited UoG (University of Goroka) as part of their public relations drive to boost meaningful ties with Japan through a movie marathon to be held in October.
The movies are Nonchan Noriben; In This Corner of the World; Thermae Romae; A Tale of Samurai Cooking – (A True Love Story) and a Ballad, Namonaki Koi No Uta.
Vice Chancellor, Musawe Sinebare said the Japanese had strong historical ties with PNG ,and to continue any partnerships, any time, was welcomed.
He added that an K8.4 million aid grant in 2000 was given by Japan to UoG which was utilised in many of the buildings and as such Jica was a strong external partner.
“We need to harness the Japanese culture and technology.”
Donald Gumbis, Pro Vice-Chancellor (policy and planning), indicated that any assistance, whatsoever, from the Japanese was a step in the right direction.
Hiromitsu said funding was now diverted to other civic duties while education was not given much attention.
“We want to see a lot of Papua New Guineans be interested in Japanese and to speak Japanese fluently”, he stressed.
Both gentlemen were very impressed with the short tour of the Confuscious Centre (where Mandarin will be taught); the Bahasa language classroom; Centre for Melanesian Studies; the restaurant and the language and literature department.