Experiencing Nagoya Japan Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload was a manageable amount in all classes. The language courses were excellent and kept me very busy. I was, however, very disappointed with the Japanese Area Studies courses (society, business management, and religion) they offered. They were very laid back, and I would have liked more in-depth, intensive exploration of the subjects. Instead, they were dry, spoken in often difficult to understand English (as opposed to Japanese where at least we would be being exposed to the language that we came to learn and could possibly translate after the class ended), and had little to no stated standards of performance. I understand there are cultural forces at work here that differentiate American and Japanese higher education, but my experience with these Area studies classes seemed to transcend those differences that might be interpreted as culture shock and instead just seemed indicative of bad educational techniques, at least when dealing with foreign students. I would also like to say that when I criticize these instructors' English skill, it is because if I see that a course is to be taught in English, I expect perfectly coherent English. If the instructor is not perfectly fluent in English, this should be mentioned to the student beforehand so that student can determine if he/she would like to attempt it. I would much prefer a class taught in perfectly fluent Japanese over a class taught in difficult to understand English so as to not only learn about, for example, Japanese society, but to also learn Japanese in a different context from a standard language course. I understand teaching a course in a language other than one's native tongue is excruciatingly difficult, but my tolerance was worn thin when I took a class said to be taught in English and was too hard to understand due to the instructor's poor English skill. That being said, it's worth reiterating that the most important classes, the language courses, were highly enjoyable and demanding. The teachers had work for us every day, expected us to speak in Japanese which was facilitated with small class-sizes (my class had 10 people in it), and were always available for questions as long as we tried our best to ask in Japanese.

On-site administration of your program

People were always available for answering questions, and everyone was very nice. The only complaint I have is, as I mentioned above, communication prior to arriving in Japan was difficult. I ended up missing a ceremony that I was expected to attend at the end of the semester because I booked my flight too early. There was no departure date from Japan to America, so I made an educated guess.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The food was easily attainable, and the school cafeteria had a nice selection. I would advise future students to attempt to cook for themselves. Food can get expensive in Japan, and I think I should have cooked for myself more to save money and gain a skill.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Our field trip was to a rural area of Japan. I really enjoyed it. Nagoya is a great city, but the countryside was breath-taking. I would go back in a second just to walk through it. There was also a weekend home-stay opportunity, though I didn't participate in it. Many people thought it was wonderful, though.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I felt very safe in Nagoya. I was able to walk around late at night and feel no danger at all. The crime rate is very low. I did not have any health problems there, though we were required to get health insurance right away. I did not get any special vaccines, and there were no prevalent health issues that I was aware of in the host city. Of course, Japan had just gone through a natural disaster that had nuclear side-effects, so that was a worry for many. Nagoya was not affected by the plant, however.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

I made some Japanese friends to speak with, one with whom I still speak over with internet today. There wasn't a need to use the language very much in everyday interactions, though it could have been used if one wanted to try it out. Most people did not speak very much English other than Japanese students majoring in English and the people involved in the international club.

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• Dorm

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• International Students

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• Americans

• Helpful people

• Availability of information about host university