Questions for School of East Asian Studies Students

I'm about to go into my 3rd year of Korean Studies. Helloworld is very correct in that most people in the East Asian Studies department know each other. This is partly because we're quite a small department as departments go, but also because we mix a lot in the studies modules. As for modules you should take or avoid, I think that's very dependent on your own interests and learning style. I would say that in first year take the modules that you have the most interest in, and use those as knowledge for what does or doesn't work for you in terms of types of courses and teachers.

I hear that Japanese Studies students should have their hirigana and katakana memorised before the start of term ready for their placement tests. If you prefer to work on paper then flash cards are a good idea, but usually previous years of students will have meticulously created courses on Memrise for the things you will be learning. Dictaphones are good if you are often absent or bad at note taking, but some lecturers (Dr Pentleton at least) record their own lectures and upload them for you to look back on.

My tutors had everyone's names memorised after the first month, but my class was a lot smaller than I hear the Japanese classes are.

I knowthis isn't about the thread but I am writing my personal statement right now, looking to do Korean Studies in 2017, and was wondering if you had any tips on how what things to put in my personal statement ^^