Students receive certificates for proficiency in Japanese

STUDENTS who passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test were presented their certificates at the Japanese Embassy in Kiulap yesterday.

More than 40 students from Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) and the Continuing Education Division of the Ministry of Education received their Grade 3 and 4 certificates issued by The Japan Foundation.

Whilst the proficiency test is optional, UBD Japanese language lecturer Minako Keaney told The Brunei Times that those who passed the test had an advantage because the certificates were recognised worldwide.

She added that receiving the certificates was a good motivating factor for the students to continue learning and improving their language skills.

Keany said that the test, which consists of listening, reading and writing components, was held in December. This was the second time that it had been conducted in Brunei. Before 2008, those wanting to take the proficiency test had to travel to Kota Kinabalu in Sabah to do so.

Japanese Ambassador to Brunei Noriki Hirose was present to hand out the certificates.

Before the handing-out ceremony, the ambassador addressed the audience and expressed his pleasure that so many people were learning Japanese.

"You are a bridge between two cultures. To understand another person's language means understanding their culture. Without this, we cannot connect with each other," he said.

Certificate recipient Hernie Suliana Hj Othman displayed her language skills by giving a short speech in Japanese.

Hernie said that she was very happy to have received her Grade 3 certificate and was looking forward to taking her Grade 2 test.

Asked why she decided to learn Japanese, Hernie explained that when she was younger she liked reading Japanese comics and watching Japanese cartoons.

"At the time they didn't have subtitles, so I decided to learn Japanese to understand what I was watching. Next I taught myself how to read Japanese with the help of dictionaries and word (computer) program," she said.

Hernie is also teaching Level 1 Japanese language with the Continuing Education Division.

The Brunei Times