We talk of teaching Japanese and helping people to adapt but there are limits to how much such assistance can achieve. That said, given that foreign pupils’ situations are so diverse, it goes without saying that assistance has to be provided according to each child’s needs. The paper addresses modes of assistance and issues that remain in this complicated situation. It demonstrates, for example, how rather than mono-linear support, the range of problems faced by foreign pupils and the circumstances surrounding them make multi-linear support essential. The starting point for multi-linear support to foreign pupils is to understand the situation in which they are placed and what troubles or disturbs them in it.