MEUNVISETH YOMMALA

Name	MEUNVISETH YOMMALA
Country	Laos
Year / month of graduation	September 2020
Degree obtained	Master of Education
Position / organization as of March 2021	Deputy of Curriculum Design and Development Unit, and Deputy of Writing subject Unit

This article was written in March 2021.

Why did you choose Japan, and Hiroshima university for your study?

There were many reasons of choosing Hiroshima University, Japan for my study. The most important reason is that the curriculum provided matches with the needs of international students. It means that there are many courses that students can choose to enroll for their study, and it has the Student Plaza Center to support students whenever they face difficulties in their studying life.

Another important reason is that the lecturers have high standard of educational qualification, and they have a lot of experience on research and good supports for students. Moreover, a multicultural class has caught my attention to select Hiroshima University, since I can exchange my experience and ideas with diverse people. Moreover, I am able to exchange cultures with local people and international students. Finally, there are various scholarships to support international students.

What did you learn and study at Hiroshima university?

There were a lot of things that I gained from Hiroshima University. First, I gained in deep understanding and insight about how to conduct a research; especially, my research topic “Perception of Inclusive Education in Higher Education in Laos: A Case of Students with Visual Disabilities, Students without Disabilities, and Teachers of Inclusive Classes”.

Also, I had more chances to do field works outside the university. Besides, I had good opportunity to participate in various conferences; for example, presenting my research topic in Cambodia funded by the PEACE Student Exchange Program and attending a conference in Tsukuba University. Furthermore, I had a good opportunity to join Hiroshima Global Academy school as facilitator in opening new school, and it was very exciting experience for me to be in a Japanese high school for the first time interacting with polite and courageous students for two days in HIGA. Many thanks to all HIGA team for their warm hospitality and caring on Osaki-Kamijima Island. My stay in HIGA could not have been very comfortable due to unfamiliar environment, but the HIGA people’s care, kindness and services really made me feel at home. I also participated in Hiroshima Prefectural Hiroshima High School’ activities, which helped me gain more knowledge and experience.

Did you enjoy your stay in Hiroshima?

I am pretty sure that I had golden opportunities to live in Hiroshima, since I could spend my time with Japanese people, which was able to deepen my understanding of Japanese people’s life style and cultures. Also, I had a wonderful time to experience the cherry blossom with both Japanese and international students, which was really good for us to exchange our cultures.

In addition, I had a good opportunity to visit Miyajima to see the floating torii gate, and there were so many activities that people were able to see and do; especially, hiking, seeing forest trails, visiting temples, shopping on streets and seeing beautiful aquarium. Moreover, living in Hiroshima was not too difficult although I did not understand much Japanese, since there was a communication corner for international students to have a consultation to deal with difficulties of life in Sun Square, where there were good quality staff waiting to serve and support international students and so were there in the City Hall. I was heartfelt when I was received good help to translate document and process my paperwork there, where I think I will never receive such a good service elsewhere in the world. Furthermore, living there (in Hiroshima) was not so lonely because the Hiroshima University held many activities; especially, university’s festivals, camping, sports events, and visiting famous interesting tourist sites. Those events were able to help the international student like me to explore new experience beside outside class.

Please tell us your current work. Does what you learned or studied at Hiroshima university help you?

The skills that I obtained from Hiroshima university are very useful and meaningful to my job. For instance, I have more opportunity to conduct research related to inclusive education in primary and secondary schools in Laos for the next couple years, this is because, the findings are important evidences for educational policy-makers in order to support or help students with disabilities to learn effectively in inclusive education.

Furthermore, stakeholders can then provide course contents and educational experiences that will help teachers to develop the knowledge and dispositions they need to be successful teachers for all students. Moreover, I am going to conduct research related to factors influencing students’ low English achievement in four main universities in Laos. Moreover, I have more chances to be a part of the curriculum design and development of the Department of English Language, Faculty of Letters. My main responsibility is to evaluate curriculum, edit or develop text books, organize professional development workshop to teachers at my workplace. Furthermore, I have a golden opportunity to be a trainer to train students in Asian Foundation program. This task is very challenging for me, but the skills that I gained from Japan can help me work effectively with my colleagues and students. In addition, the results from my research topic provides deeper insights into the core problems or factors of inclusive education at the National University of Laos. This is beneficial for decision-makers, administrators, staff, and other stakeholders to improve inclusive education. Also, it can assist students with and without disabilities, as well as teachers of inclusive classes.

Do you recommend Hiroshima university for others to choose?

Of course, I will do, since there are lots of benefits to study in Hiroshima University. Students can study here in a comfortable friendly environment and have high satisfaction for their life. This is because, its peaceful environment of the university makes it an ideal place to study. Also, it is very easy to access to the faculty library and the university central library, where students can collect updated books and articles. It also provides a wonderful opportunity for foreign students to learn and develop their research skills with the benefit of excellent facilities in a soothing environment. The university provides various courses/fields to match with the needs of students and study under distinguished qualified lecturers.

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