Japanese staff

Press, 11 May 1984, Page 12

Japanese staff

Sir, — It puzzles me that Mrs Seay, who speaks no Japanese, can claim to understand the Japanese people, and then say that ng. New

Zealanders “whatever their training” are capable of doing so. Regardless of her understanding of the Japanese, it is obvious that she has not learned that New Zealanders have never accepted that a task was impossible, simply because we were told it was. We are no longer an isolated country, and it is time for us to strengthen ties of friendship and good will with our neighbours. Learning something of their language and customs can help to achieve this. Those of us who have had the pleasure of having young Japanese people staying in our homes, realise that different cultures and background notwithstanding, there is remarkably little difference between Japanese teenagers and our own. — Yours, etc., LORNA FOX. May 7, 1984. Sir, — Russell Black has proved my point, in that he found it commercially more convenient to fire untrained staff, than to spend time training them. Mr Black has never taken the time to see what is happening at the Polytechnic, otherwise such comments as “perhaps we need native Japanese to do the teaching,” would not be forthcoming. We have two native Japanese to doing the teaching, (one area where they are indispensible) so in criticising our language courses, Mr Black is criticising two Japaneseborn trained teachers, plus competent New Zealand speakers of Japanese. I look forward to an approach from him on suggestions of how language courses can provide for employers’ wants. Will Mr Black then do something positive about employing and training New Zealanders? — Yours, etc., A. McLAUCHLAN, Course supervisor, foreign languages, Christchurch Polytechnic. May 9, 1984.