OSF5 Textbook

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OSF5 Textbook

5 In the Clubhouse

One Step Further ACTIVITIES

Here are some more responses from the Ibunka Survey on the topic of club activities. Let’s examine them for underlying cultural trends. We can see that the language in many responses hints at two basic patterns.

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SURVEY

LOOKING FOR PATTERNS

CULTURAL PATTERN A: Clubs as places for fun

CULTURAL PATTERN B: Clubs with rigorous demands In other cultures, such as Japan, club life is quite LQWHQVH LQ WHUPV RI GHPDQGV RQ WLPH DQG H΍RUW 7KLV SUHSDUHV PHPEHUV IRU WKHLU IXWXUH OLIH LQ VRFLHW\

In some cultures, being involved in a club is seen as a break from studies, and usually limited to a few hours per week.

Read through the Ibunka Survey responses below. Most are the impressions of foreigners who have had experiences of clubs at Japanese schools or universities, either as students, teachers or parents. Highlight in one color the words and phrases that hint at Cultural Pattern A: Clubs as places for fun or gaining skills, and in another color the parts that suggest Cultural Pattern B: Clubs with rigorous demands. You can work and discuss this in pairs or small groups.

I studied at a Japanese university on exchange for a year when I was in my second year. I was happy to be invited to join the basketball team, because it was my favorite sport. I also MFI YMJ HMFSHJ YT UWFHYNHJ R^ /FUFSJXJ &KYJW YMJ ƳWXY UWFHYNHJ F YJFRRFYJ YTTP RJ FXNIJ She praised my language skills, but told me that I should use MTSTWNƳH XUJJHM towards some TK YMJ TYMJW UQF^JWX \MT \JWJ KTZWYM ^JFW XYZIJSYX . \FX XZWUWNXJI GJHFZXJ .ƍI GJJS UQF^NSL basketball longer than any of them, but I later realized just how important seniority in age is in a Japanese team environment. $XVWUDOLDQ IHPDOH PDUNHWLQJ PDQDJHU KDV OLYHG LQ WKH 8. DQG -DSDQ 1 Last year I joined my Japanese university’s yosakoi circle. It was really different from the clubs we have in Hungary! Not only did we have three practices a week in different campuses, the attendance was mandatory! Once I skipped F UWFHYNHJ FSI NY \FX WJFQQ^ INKƳHZQY YT catch up with the others. That year’s summer break was one of the busiest periods of my life.

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. YFZLMY KTW Y\T ^JFWX FY F /FUFSJXJ MNLM XHMTTQ &Y ƳWXY . \FSYJI YT OTNS YMJ UNSL UTSL club to have fun and play with the students. Some of them chose this club because there were only three practices per week. Two or three hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and from 9 am to 2 pm on Saturdays. +WTR FR YT UR YMFYƍX XJ[JS MTZWX TK HQZG YNRJ ! The teacher who supervised wasn’t a professional, so the students didn't learn any techniques. They simply played FLFNSXY JFHM TYMJW STS XYTU 8TRJ FHYZFQQ^ XUJSY RTXY TK YMJNW YNRJ HQTHP \FYHMNSL ! I love living in Japan, but this is one area that I really don’t feel comfortable with. Perhaps the boredom that students sometimes experience at clubs is supposed to prepare them for the boredom and alienation of the working world. Not having a day off and "suffering together," for example, is the norm. Absence is frowned upon more than poor performance. )UHQFK IHPDOH WHDFKHU OLYHV LQ -DSDQ My son loved playing basketball until high school, when the demands became too great. He decided he wanted to quit and I had to go to the school with him, where the two of us sat with the coach, the principal and vice principal, his homeroom teacher and a few more attendees. We were pressured for about an hour for him to stay in the club. I asked about his academic results and how he was supposed to study when he had to devote so much time to practice and tournaments. They told me he could study while he was on the bus going to tournaments and in between games. For me, the decision was not hard. If academics are your priority, then quit the team! My son was on board with that. He quit. It was hard for him, socially a team members who had been besties no longer talking to him KTW J]FRUQJ GZY MJ XZKKJWJI ST QTSL YJWR consequences. Truth be told . YMNSP NY NSƴZJSHJI MNR G^ YJFHMNSL MNR YMFY MJ ITJXSƍY MF[J YT bend to societal pressure, which can be so strong in Japan. $PHULFDQ IHPDOH SURIHVVRU OLYHV LQ -DSDQ 6 When I was in junior high school, I joined the tennis club because there was a rule that I had to belong to a club. I had to attend practice every day, and sometimes we had to go away on weekends for games, etc. We had to treat our seniors with great deference and respect. .Y \FX YMJ ƳWXY YNRJ . MFI ever experienced such hierarchical relationships. -DSDQHVH IHPDOH FDUHHU FRQVXOWDQW KDV OLYHG LQ )UDQFH 7 In New Zealand, a small number of students dedicate their life to clubs (usually outside the school or university). Many rugby players play in a school team, a local area team, and then a representative team. The difference is that this is only a very small group of people. Most ordinary students would never do this because they would fail all their classes! 1HZ =HDODQGHU PDOH SURIHVVRU OLYHV LQ -DSDQ 4 5

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Write a paragraph on the topic of club activities. Include your opinions and reactions to the cultural patterns you found in these survey responses.

EXPRESSION

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