Voices From Kokusai

This episode is a special episode, in honour of Mr.Okura leaving Kokusai. This episode is delivered to you in Japanese by IB10 history HL students!! From information about university applications to Mr. Okura's personal interests!! Have a listen and we're sure you'll understand the love we have for Mr.Okura

In this episode, we sit down with Ms. KP, an experienced college advisor who has helped students got in Oxbridge, Princeton, UPenn, etc. We took an honest look at what it actually takes to get into a great university. From building a smart college list to writing a personal statement that stands out, Ms. KP shares practical strategies rooted in years of working with IB students. The conversation covers Early Decision risks, how to choose the right recommenders, using AI responsibly in your application, and why widening your university pool can change everything. Whether you're just starting to think about applications or deep in the process, this episode offers an insightful perspective to maximize your chances.Read transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jXmcOgNc4-wU4JT-MRWHiC2rcmwVZ9cof_ABwBZTmtM/edit?usp=sharing

This episode invites Ms. Kirkpatrick, offering a glimpse into her educational background, hinting to us how her upbringing shaped her to become who she is. From her family to her mindset, this episode will shock you as you hear new facts about Ms. KP. Not only that, as a chemistry teacher, EE advisor, a college professor, and beyond. Aside from education, MS Kp walks us through her favorite aspects of the different countries she has roots in! WE guarantee you will learn about Ms. KP!!Read our transcript here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jXmcOgNc4-wU4JT-MRWHiC2rcmwVZ9cof_ABwBZTmtM/edit?usp=sharing

In this episode, we sit down with a Jamaican educator whose life stretches across continents. She shares the cultural heartbeat of Jamaica: street-corner jerk pans, 17 types of mangoes, reggae legends like Bob Marley, and sprinting icons like Usain Bolt.But beyond the food and music, this conversation dives into something deeper: surviving natural disasters, choosing courage over comfort, and why “the world is too big to stay in one place.”View our transcripts here:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jXmcOgNc4-wU4JT-MRWHiC2rcmwVZ9cof_ABwBZTmtM/edit?usp=sharing

What happens when your first choice doesn't work out—and it turns out to be exactly what you needed?In our very first episode of Voices from Kokusai, we sit down with Daniele Willie, IB English Language & Literature and TOK teacher, to talk about unexpected paths, the core of studying literature, and why self-discipline matters more than academic ability in university. From "falling into" English as a university major to her love for Macbeth and Animal Farm, Ms. Willie challenges common misconceptions about English being either "boring" or "easy".Along the way, she shares honest advice for IB English A students tackling Paper 2, reflects on choices she wishes she'd made differently in high school, and leaves us with a powerful reminder: the world is far too big to stay in one place.This is a thought-provoking, funny, and grounding conversation about learning, risk-taking, and becoming a wiser version of yourself. Don't waste a second and listen right ahead!!Check out transcript here:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jXmcOgNc4-wU4JT-MRWHiC2rcmwVZ9cof_ABwBZTmtM/edit?usp=sharing

Introducing our exciting podcast to our dear listeners!TransriptHello everybody, we are Grace and Kana, here to deliver you a brief introduction to our exciting podcast!! This is Grace, I come from Shanghai, China, and I came to Japan just before high school started.  I’m a native Chinese speaker, and I also speak English and some Japanese. I love playing the piano, listening to some classical music at times, I’ve been playing Go for a long time, and I’m a big fan of tennis and table tennis. I also like watching movies, reading books of all sorts, and collecting travel magazines! So if any of our listeners happen to share the same interests, I’d be more than happy to talk!This is Kana, I am Japanese, though I mainly grew up in Spain. I came back last year, and joined Kokusai as a September student. I speak three languages; English, Japanese, and Spanish! I love listening to all types of music, and going on long walks. I’m a humanities student, and I simply enjoy conversations, whether I’m the listener or the speaker!To begin with, what makes our school so unique is the diversity and multiculturalism of our community. We acknowledge that all students and teachers have their own unique experiences, as well as valuable insights that would enlighten us in all sorts of aspects in our lives. Most of the teachers we will interview are foreigners who came to Japan for various reasons, and are now teaching the IB program at our school. In this podcast, we would like to present them not only as teachers, but as vivid individuals shaped by very distinct cultural backgrounds. They come from every corner of this world, and somehow their journeys have led them to Japan, to Tokyo, and to this very school.With that in mind, we want to start a podcast that features interviews and conversations with students, teachers, and graduates of Kokusai, to share their insights, in a way that widens our perspectives! Also, as we aim to make our podcast fun and educational, we will add English captions and transcripts to each of our episodes, so that all listeners will be able to enjoy our podcast regardless of their English levels! We are hoping that this could also be a good opportunity for those who have not been in an English environment to familiarise themselves with some technical vocabulary and learn from our teachers, most of whom are fluent English speakers!We have 4 general categories; The first category is academic and personal experience based, which would include motivations and study tips for different subjects, misconceptions, along with thought provoking questions, for example asking teachers which subject they’d teach if not their own!This will be a mythbuster of our teachers and could dramatically alter our perceptions of some teachers.The next category focuses on our society, diving into opinions and views on social hotspots, and current events. You will be able to hear opinions from various perspectives, and have a better sense of how people in different parts of the world think about the same event.The third category will give listeners a glimpse of what Kokusai life is like, offering a view into the learning environment, as well as prevailing trends among students and teachers.Another category will be mini crash courses by students or teachers about specific topics of interest!!! For example, our outstanding and remarkable history HL student, Kana can explain to you the intricate causes of the Opium war. And our outstanding Bio mega HL ++ student Grace can explain to you about the intriguing immune system in our bodies that protects us from pathogens.We will have bonus episodes where we conduct a Q and A based on questions students have, or even questions teachers may have!  We would like to wrap up this introductory episode with a quote by William Arthur WardCuriosity is the wick in the candle of learning.Have a wonderful day, and stay tuned for the episodes to come!