Japan. Best. Year. EVER! Past Review
By Scott S (Sociology., Western Washington University) - abroad from 04/06/2012 to 01/31/2013 with
Asia University: Tokyo - Intensive Japances Course
I've become very independent now and I've learned enough Japanese to converse without having to think about what to say next.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The Asia University Intensive Japanese Program is not the easiest of programs. It was designed for students of whatever background in Japanese, whether you studied for many years, or simply have no knowledge of Japanese to become a full time Asia University student and enter the University after completing the one year course. You would have classes from Monday through Saturday for the entire year and the amount of stuff you learn in class forces you to study a lot outside of class, so please study when you can! |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The administration at Asia U was and will always be incredible. All the staff are so warm and understanding of students. Even if you have a hard time using your Japanese to explain to them something, they will sit and listen intently and will not try to correct your Japanese or make you feel like crap. They instead encourage you to use as much Japanese as you can and they are probably some of the best people to converse with. My adviser, Mr. Yukio Nakamura, went to Western Washington University at one point so his English is top notch. If you have any problems and cannot find the right Japanese to use, you can be sure to rely on him at any time. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Although most students live in the dorms, I chose to live alone in an apartment. I have no complaints for living in an apartment. Dorms: I would advise not to live in the dorms. There are strict curfews (11 PM, and the doors are locked) and other rules, which include no guests, no showering after 11 PM or before 8 AM, cleaning duties almost every day, and if you stay out after 11 PM more than twice, you're not only kicked out of the dorm, but also the university. Please chose to live in an apartment~ |
| * Food: |
There are a lot of places to eat in the university and around the city, so there's no problem. Lots of variety ~ |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
After a year of living here, I can say that I feel really comfortable here. Musashino city, where the university is, has a lot of foreigners from mainland Asia and foreign students from Asia University of course, so people are used to foreigners. So in that regard, Musashino is very accepting and warm to foreigners so it becomes easier for a foreigner to learn local customs and ways. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had no health problems in Japan and I chose not to get health insurance here, which is risky but I had no problems at all, so things worked out okay I guess. |
| * Safety: |
100% safe. There are strict laws in Japan, so people tend not to break laws and since guns are illegal in Japan, you don't have to worry about walking outside of your living spaces around 3 in the morning. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
I'll just say this. Get a job here if you can. I've spent so much money here and I barely survived without any income for a while. Having a job here helps a lot with paying expensive bills. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Roughly 3,000 yen ($40) a week. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Get a job. Don't buy things you don't need until the last month you are staying in Japan. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
Asia University requires its students to learn English. If you speak the language fluently enough, you don't have to take any English classes. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | Japanese 201-202 (second quarter Japanese) |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Speak as much as you can. Whether you're Japanese is really low level or not or cannot make complete sentences, speak. This will kill all your nervousness and fears of speaking the language and trying to impress the natives. This will also help your speaking drastically. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 10+ |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish I knew how to be better at being able to be financial dependent. I also wish I knew that it would be best to find a job as soon as possible. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
B class |
| Course Department: | International |
| Instructor: | Jun Shimizu |
| Instruction Language: | Japanese |
| Comments: | Background: In the Intensive Program at Asia University or Bekka Program in Japanese, the class levels are divided into 3 classes: A, B, and C, with A being the highest level (at least N2 level on the Japanese Language Proficiency Test) and C being the lowest (no knowledge of Japanese to N5). From day one starting from 9 AM until 4 PM (4 one and a half hour classes and lunch) until the end of the year, the classes are taught entirely in Japanese. The teachers only have a limited understanding of English or any other languages the students speak, so this is where the difficulties may start for most students. B Class: As a B class student, the main goal of the class was obviously to learn enough Japanese to enter the university, but to also take the JLPT test near the end of the school year. The goal is either an N2 or N1 for this class. That being said, it is not that easy. There will be homework everyday, which includes new words, grammar, kanji, and reading. At most, the homework can take about an hour per day, so I advise you not to be lazy and do everything last minute (I would know, I've done it a few times haha). As for tests and quizes, there are kanji quizes along with weekly tests on Mondays 3rd period (starts at 12:50 PM). The kanji quizes are fine as long as you study a little bit, but the tests are incredibly hard. You have to be able to understand the grammar very well in order to get a passing grade. Luckily, class work, tests, and homework are not counted in the final grade. The final grade depends on two tests, the end of the semester test and the end of the year test. The first test determines whether or not you can pass the year long bekka program. You need a 75% passing grade in order to continue to the next semester. For the final test, its even harder. This test determines whether or not you can graduate the program and you need a 80% or higher in order to pass. As for field trips, during summer break (end of first semester), the students and teachers go on a trip to a hot spring at Hakone, which is in Kanagawa Prefecture. The trip is incredibly fun and best of all, its completely free! Teachers: Although the classes are extremely difficult, it is incredibly fun and rewarding in the end. The teachers in all the levels are nice, warm, and love to teach. B class has 6 teachers, Shimizu sensei, Ikeda sensei, Ikota sensei, Kanno sensei, Takahashi sensei, and Satou sensei. The male teachers, Shimizu and Ikeda sensei are really good at teaching and extremely cool guys. At one point, I went drinking with Shimizu sensei and 3 of the female teachers, Ikota, Kanno, and Satou sensei and it was a blast! Ikeda sensei is a funny teacher that never fails to make you laugh! Both teachers are really young (in their 30's so its easy to relate to them). The female teachers were a bit more strict but nonetheless fun in their own right. Kanno sensei is probably the more strict, but I probably learned the most from her. Whenever I understood something in her class, I felt the best compared to my other classes. Takahashi sensei is the more chill teacher in that she never likes to make students feel bad. Satou sensei is the brightest in personally of all the teachers so its a pleasure being in her class. My personal favorite is Ikota sensei, who I would say made me enjoy the program the most. She is incredibly funny and has the best sense of humor EVER! Overall: The program was designed to be difficult, so this is probably a good program if you want to be studious and want to learn as much as you can. That certainly does not mean that you will not have fun. Don't get me wrong, I still hung out with friends and had a social life even with the amount of homework and studying. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I'm currently in the process of transferring my credits, so I cannot answer as of yet but there should be no problem. |
