Wow! I only know basic Japanese at the moment but I am very interested in the culture. Sounds like a great way to immerse yourself in the language. How long are you in Japan for?
Are you in high school or uni? And how are the other students, are they friendly? I'd love to study in Japan but I imagine the whole experience would be very stressful for me.
How much Japanese do you know? How did you learn it? What is everyone like? Jiw long are you there for? I'm very jealous
I did it for A level in the UK. I would say I'm at an intermediate level, but studying Japanese in England to pass an exam and actually living in the country and using the language in pretty much every aspect of your day to day life are two very different things!!
Wow! I only know basic Japanese at the moment but I am very interested in the culture. Sounds like a great way to immerse yourself in the language. How long are you in Japan for?
It is! I'm there until July, so in total about 9 months.
That's amazing! Are you in high school or college? I forget what ages everyone graduates there. Do you have a ridiculously high workload?
I'm in a high school. The ages are similar to in the UK (you finish school at 18), but the school year starts in April and finishes in March instead of September to July, so Japanese students are 'older' than their UK equivalents (uni starts at 19 here). Can't comment on the workload yet as it's only been one day, but the teaching style is very different to the UK!
Are you in high school or uni? And how are the other students, are they friendly? I'd love to study in Japan but I imagine the whole experience would be very stressful for me.
High school. The students are really friendly. They've all been very helpful in explaining how things work and helping me in the lessons, as I was complete and utterly confused
I did it for A level in the UK. I would say I'm at an intermediate level, but studying Japanese in England to pass an exam and actually living in the country and using the language in pretty much every aspect of your day to day life are two very different things!!
I can imagine! Have your whole family moved there?
Probably far too early to tell; but I'm interested anyway: How different does their education vary to ours?
How did you end up going to school in Japan of all places?
It's only been a day, so I can't give you a detailed answer, but there are quite a few differences I've noticed.
The lessons are mostly just lectures by the teacher, and you sit there and take it in. The only lesson where there was a lot of interaction between the students and the teacher was English (and the teacher was an American). Also, testing plays quite a major role in school, and there are routine tests for nearly every subject every week. Classes are also massive. In sixth form my classes ranged from 1 person (just me in Japanese) to 16. Here in Japan, there are around 40 people in every class, and you have nearly all your lessons in your 'homeroom' (form room).
In terms of how I ended up here, my previous school in the UK has a partner school in Japan, and they run an annual week-long exchange. Last year I went on the exchange and was very involved which I think impressed them haha, and so after the trip the school got in touch with me in England and invited me to come and study here for a year after my A levels!