ようこそ！ラボ桜井パーティへ

This is Labo!!

This is Labo!
"Language opens the door to your child’s future" and "learning a New Language?the younger the Better!" were the slogans marking the beginning of the Labo program in 1964. The Labo education center was officially founded in 1966，and within three decades has become recognized as one of Japan’s foremost education organizations.

There are 30，000 Labo members all over Japan. Most are school children， but there are also pre-schoolers， university students， adults， and senior citizens. Each Labo member belongs to a neighborhood Labo club， called a LABO PARTY， which is directed by a volunteer LABO TUTOR.

Tutors are the backbone of the Labo program. Usually housewives， they have a strong interest in social and international issues?especially education. In addition to a Tutor training course， there are periodic lectures and classes to keep Tutors informed about the latest developments in education. Tutors not only lead their own Labo Party， but they also work closely with Labo staff members to plan and co-ordinate all aspects of Labo’s activities.

Labo offers an integrated program of language learning， cultural exploration， and personal discovery and growth. Labo hopes to develop well-rounded， open-minded， and responsible members of society.
The primary emphasis at Labo is on teaching foreign languages to children. English is the most popular， but there are also programs in Korean， Spanish， Chinese and French. In learning a new language， one’s eyes are also opened to new customs， cultures and a new way of life. The Japanese， isolated from the rest of the world for hundreds of years， are anxious to learn about different countries， and Labo is helping them develop an awareness of their new rope as international citizens.

There are many ways to see a foreign country， but Labo believes that rather than a sight-seeing tour， children will gain the most by living with a foreign family as a family member----experiencing their daily life， and making friends with other children. To that end， Labo works with organizations in foreign countries to arrange homestays with a family， which has a child of the same sex and age as the Japanese participants (12-18years old). The homestays are only for one month----during the summer vacation----but the effects last a lifetime.
By sharing in the daily chores and games， eating ’every’ food and making friends with children their own age， the exchangers will be able to better understand their host country and it’s people. Host families， too， will learn a great deal about Japan and about the joys of opening their homes and their hearts to a child from another country.

English is a required subject in all Japanese junior and senior high schools; however， teaching method usually center on grammatical analysis with much less concentration on verbal， or other non-verbal， communication. Labo， on the other hand， promotes foreign language and communication skills acquisition through rich， "wholistic" programs in Labo Party Activities. Labo children have fun learning in stimulating and interesting social settings.

Labo uses children’s stories and songs to teach English. The Labo Library includes popular stories from around the world ? Aesop’s fables， stories by Hans Christian Andersen， and other favorites such as Peter Pan， Tom Sawyer， and Doctor Dolittle. These stories are recorded line by line in English and Japanese， with accompanying music and sound effects. Children of all ages love these stories and， listen to them many times at home.
At their weekly Labo Party meeting thy work together to act out the stories. At first they use Japanese， but after listening to the CD’s many times they find that they are able to express themselves in English! They may not understand the grammar， but their English comes to them naturally， just as a baby start talking to its mother! These dramatic presentations of Labo stories are called THEME ACTIVITIES， and are the heart of the Labo program.
Labo also has CD’s with international folksongs， nursery rhymes. Singing and dancing to these SONGBIRDS is fun， and it allows the children to relax and get to know one another. Songbirds and Theme Activities are practiced at all Labo gatherings.

There are Labo Camps all over Japan， and 4-day sessions are held in the spring， summer， and winter. At camp， Labo members can make friends with children of many different backgrounds while doing Theme Activities and Songbirds， and there are a Activities and Songbirds， and there are a variety of outdoor hikes and games， crafts， and special events. University students are responsible for most of the program planning， and Tutors and high school students volunteer to serve as counselors and camp leaders.

ジャンル別一覧