Tuesday Japanese Language Class students learned what to do in case of emergency. (No. 17-31)

Date and Time : Tuesday, March 6 10:30 a.m. ~ 12:00 p.m.
Venue : Hall at Abiko Civic Plaza
Participants: 12 students, 16 volunteer teachers, 4 volunteer babysitters and 2 coordinators

In AIRA Japanese Language Class students usually learn in groups according to their Japanese ability. On that day a special class was held and all the students learned together about emergency response, which is one of the matters foreigners living in Japan feel uneasy about.

The class was facilitated by Ms. Kubota and questions on basic knowledge about ambulances were given.
What’s the color of an ambulance?
What kind of sound do they make?
Where do you need to call in case of emergency?

None of the students had ever called or ridden an ambulance.

In Japan you call 119 for an ambulance. How about in other countries? They call 120 in China, 911 in The Philippines, 03 in Russia and 119 in Taiwan and Korea, which is the same as in Japan.

In the simulated experience of calling an ambulance, they practiced expressions to explain symptoms of patients, such as “unconscious” “difficulty in breathing” “very weak and sick” “vomiting” and so on.

At the end of the class Mr. Kawashima introduced two ways when you cannot call an ambulance for yourself.
One is to ask someone else near you for help. There are four important expressions. “Onegaishimasu. (Please.)” “Tasukete kudasai. (Help me.)” “Watashiwa ~ jindesu. (nationality)” and “Kyukyusha o yondekudasai. (Call an ambulance.)

The other is to call 119 and put your smart phone on the phone, conveying the translated message through downloaded translation application.

The students practiced hard and learned a lot through the simulation experience.

(Translated by Chizu Yamaguchi)