Mr Wheelhouse, Subject Leader Languages, reports: 

The addition of the Japanese Language Support Assistant (LSA) to Tonbridge Grammar School’s modern foreign languages provision has been an immediate and notable success. Students have commented upon their increased confidence with speaking and with the grammatical background to the Japanese language as a direct result of their work with the LSA.  

Students have cited the opportunity to practise recently covered vocabulary and grammatical structures as a very useful process that was not previously available to them. The benefits of this supportive environment were repeatedly mentioned by students.  

The assistant’s ability to work one-to-one with students, as well as in larger groups, allows for the tailored inclusion of content or processes specific to the students’ needs, in a number of different situations. Also, in a previously unconsidered success for the programme, the new Japanese LSA has been able to provide an invaluable second opinion on students’ produced work, demonstrating a keen understanding of mark schemes and assessment criteria for the standardised assessment of the students at the IBDP level.  

The increase in student confidence will be even further improved as the current Japanese LSA is able to continue her efforts with the Year 12 cohort during the remainder of the academic year. 

Japanese is a firmly established option for IB Diploma applicants and the options for furthering study and pursuing Japanese both at university and in the world of work, are actively considered by students at Tonbridge Grammar School.  At the recently TGS hosted careers evening, two of the sixty volunteers who offered one to one exploratory conversations with students, were Japanese professionals (Japanese Funds Trader; Japanese Translator). 

With thanks to the Japan Foundation.