Students Hold “Australia Day” to Introduce Culture, Practice Japanese

On February 5, twelve students from the Australian National University held “Australia Day”, as part of their Winter Intensive Japanese Language and Culture Program. The students decorated the Language Development and Intercultural Studies Center (LDIC) with posters, aboriginal mosaics, boomerangs, and, of course, stuffed koalas, then took turns explaining the significance of each display to visitors. They also took turns giving half-hour presentations on various sides of Australian culture in the multipurpose rooms.

The ANU students are all upper-intermediate to advanced Japanese language speakers, near the end of their study program at AIU. Despite the pressure of several professors, staff, and fellow students from Japan and around the world, they gave confident, detailed presentations in Japanese, going beyond the surface of tourist-level culture to explain concepts that many outsiders would not otherwise understand.

At the aboriginal culture display table, one student explained the breathing pattern required to play the didgeridoo then moved into an explanation of the aboriginal creation myth of the Rainbow Serpent. Without missing a beat, he then fielded a question about a touristy “Koalas Crossing, Next 80 km” keychain by joking that in Australia, 80 km is just a drive to the supermarket.

In the multipurpose rooms, the in-depth presentations covered six topics: Food Culture, Language, Aboriginal Culture, Terrestrial Environment, Aquatic Environment, and Basic Introduction to Australia. Two students presented on each topic, with three presentations going on at any time. It was easy to see how much work the students had put into the preparation, from their detailed notes and scripts to their use of visual aids and clear delivery. You could almost forget that they were second-language speakers, at least until they mixed in English phrases with Australian-accented pronunciation, as when explaining the cultural significance of Vegemite advertising campaigns.

Speaking of Vegemite, there were samples of Australian foods there as well, from the famous spread, to Tim Tam chocolate biscuits, to “Sausage Sizzles”. It is difficult to say how the students obtained permission to bring food into the LDIC, but a few well-distributed Meat Pies and Milo drinks might have had something to do with it. Naturally for a university, the “taste test” table was one of the most popular destinations, especially for those who built up an appetite in the “Food Culture” presentation. But one important lesson for newcomers to Australian culture was that, although Vegemite may look like Nutella, it should not be applied in the same quantities.

If there was one downside to the presentation, it was that there was just too much interesting information for a single attendee to take in over the three-hour event. Still, it was a wonderful opportunity both for the students to practice their Japanese and for the rest of the university to learn fascinating details about a new culture.