NHK films educational television program at Yokota

  • Published
  • By Airman John D. Partlow
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  The Nippon Hoso Kyokai international broadcasting company visited the Yokota Commissary Aug. 9, to film an episode of the Pre-Kiso Eigo, or the Pre-Basic English, television program.

"We want children to become familiar with hearing English," said Kensuke Shiga, the show's production supervisor. "They are taught to read and write English in junior high school, but before they reach that point, we want them to be familiar with the language."

The premise of the episode was to show English words of common supermarket items to the approximately 15 Japanese speaking children and have them look throughout the Commissary to find them.

"I usually go to local schools and ask kids English questions," said Doji Shigeyama, who dresses up as the mascot for the show. "But since it's summer vacation, we thought a trip to Yokota would be a great idea instead."

The Commissary was also chosen because of its American style and environment. Using the facility presented a unique situation for the children since it was the first time they had been in a supermarket where everything was written in English.

"It was difficult to locate some items," said Satoki Takahashi, one of the Japanese participants. "But it was easier to learn English when we saw the word and the item together."

The children weren't the only ones to benefit from the visit. Commissary employees also found it to be a great opportunity to strengthen the relationship between the community and the base.

"It was a good outreach opportunity for Yokota and the local community," said Dolores Magallanes, the Commissary store manager. "We were very happy to have them visit our facility."