Belgium　Tさん（January 2025）

January Report

It has been five months since I arrived in this country, which means my exchange program is now at its halfway point. Time has passed so quickly, and I feel that I have learned a lot, but there is still much more to experience.

In January, we held a party for New Year’s Day, and school started on the 6th. During this period, our French teacher is absent because she is sick, so we don’t have French classes until after next vacation. In Belgium, it is quite common for teachers to be absent, and when that happens, we simply don’t have classes. Instead, we can either do self-study or go home if we want to. This is very different from Japan, where substitute teachers usually take over the lesson.

In addition, there was a two-day nationwide teachers’ strike in Brussels and Wallonia to protest against poor working conditions. Because of this, many classes were canceled, and some students didn’t come to school at all. It made me realize how different the education system is compared to Japan.

I started taking a class called FLE, which is for students from other countries who don’t speak French as their native language. Whenever I have time, I try to go there as often as possible. I really enjoy studying French, so this is my favorite class. We can practice listening, speaking, writing, and reading, which helps me improve my French.

Additionally, our school held an event called “Language Day,” where we taught different languages to sixth-grade students and interacted with them. It was fascinating because students with roots in various countries, such as Estonia, Armenia, Romania, Sweden, the Congo, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, were teaching their own languages. A teacher who teaches Belgian Sign Language also came, and I was happy to learn a little from them during the break. For me, it was my first time being on the teaching side, so I was really nervous, but it was a great experience.

I also went ice skating with my friends. We went to Luxembourg, and since it wasn’t expensive, I was happy. In addition, in Luxembourg, trains and buses are free, so it is easier to hang out than in Belgium.

Although my time here is already halfway over, I hope that I am growing, even if only little by little.

1月レポート

今月でベルギーに来て5ヶ月が経ち、この留学も折り返しが始まりました。新年のお祝いもほどほどに日本より少し早い6日に学校が始まりました。

今学期は、フランス語の先生が体調不良でお休みで、全く授業がありません。日本では代わりの先生が来て授業をすることがほとんどだと思いますが、ベルギーでは先生がお休みの場合、授業はなく自由時間になります。前にも書いた気がしますが、ベルギーでは先生がお休みするのは結構多くて日本との感覚の違いにびっくりします。

それと、今月は２日間の教師によるストライキがブリュッセルとワロン地域と呼ばれるフランス語圏でありました。ブリュッセルには20万人もの人が集まりデモを行ったそうです。

私の学校にはFLEというクラスがあって外国から来たフランス語を話さない子にフランス語を教える授業を行なっています。授業がなくなってFLEの先生と時間が合うときはできるだけたくさんいってできるだけ多くのフランス語に触れられるようにしました。四技能を満遍なく学ぶので、毎日がすごく新鮮で楽しいです。

また、学校で、言語の日という、小学6年生にいろいろな国の言葉を教えて交流するという行事がありました。エストニア、アルメニア、ルーマニア、スウェーデン、コンゴ、イタリア、スペイン、ポルトガルなどいろんな国にルーツを持つ生徒がそれぞれの言語を教えていて面白かったです。ベルギーの手話を教える先生も来ていて、合間の時間に少し教えてもらえて嬉しかったです。私は、教える側を初めて経験したのですごく緊張もしたけど、いい経験になりました。

あとは、留学生の友達とスケートに行きました。ルクセンブルクにある常設のスケートリンクに行ったのですが、料金もそこまで高くなかったしルクセンブルク内は交通費もかからないのですごくよかったです。

少しづつですが確実に語学力はついてきていると思うのですこの調子で残りの5ヶ月、頑張っていきたいです。