Collaborative Learning in Engineering and English

Students in the 5th year CLE2 class visited the Betsukawa Corporation in Hakusan City on May 17th to learn more about the company and its products so that they can do a better job translating Betsukawa company brochures, website, and catalog. The visit also helped students learn that what they are doing in the classroom is part of the real world and not separate from it. They are like two rivers joining and flowing together.

Students were greeted by Senior Managing Director Kenichi Asaka, and Personnel Group Manager Atsushi Rokkaku. They made a brief presentation about Bestsukawa Corp. and talked proudly about its employees and products before taking students on a tour of the offices. Chihiro Oguma, Information Technology and International Communications (ITIC) major, was impressed by the list posted on the wall of all the employees who had received a variety of high-level engineering qualification licenses.

Next, students toured the factory. Hiroki Furuta, Electrical Engineering major, commented, “The atmosphere at the work place is quite good,” and the cleanliness in the factory also made a favorable impact on him.

After touring the factory, students had a chance to ask Mr. Asaka and Mr. Rokkaku questions. Yuichiro Shimizu asked, “What changes occurred after getting the ISO 9001?” Mr. Rokkaku responded, “It made for a better work environment and increased reliability.”

On a previous visit to Betsukawa Corp., Furuta remembered Betsukawa Corp. likening themselves to Gucci in terms of costs and quality and inquired, “Aren’t your products too expensive for developing countries to buy?” Mr. Rokkaku responded, “Yes, that’s right. Usually customers from other countries buy products available in their countries but, once they see our work and finished products, they want to buy them even though they are more expensive.”

Students were asked to reflect on the visit and write about their impressions. Kenji Wada, ITIC, wrote, “It helped me get some ideas of this project,” and Furuta realized, “English is really more fundamental that I thought.” Takumi Takamura, ITIC, found the employees’ harmony, that is “the circle of the group,” to be most interesting. Tatsuya Yamamoto, ITIC, is interested in learning more about the multi-step painting process and in their next meeting wants to ask, “What are the differences in each painting system?” Shimizu and Wada wondered why Betsukawa Corp. doesn’t make similar products and systems for residential use. Oguma wrote, “I’m really glad to work with Betsukawa. They have great systems, so I’ll try to translate their brochures carefully.”

Betsukawa Corp. is the second company to partner with Kanazawa Technical College (KTC) students enrolled in the 5th year CLE2 class. Tamada Industries, makers of underground tanks, was the first local industry to work closely with KTC students. Betsukawa Corp. employs over 400 people, including 23 of our graduates.

We hope that after today’s visit, students won’t feel that there is a great separation between their school life and the working world, and see that the two join together like two rivers that flow into the sea.

(Doreen M. Gaylord, Ian Stevenson)