The Student Room Group

Leeds vs. Sheffield for Japanese?

Title says it all really. Which university do you think is better to study Japanese at?

The only real difference I can see is that you go abroad in your 2nd year at Leeds whilst all other universities (including Sheffield) do their year abroad during the 3rd year. But are there any other differences to take into account? What about accommodation, the cities, general uni life etc. - is one way better than the other? I'm torn between both of them so any input will be really appreciated :redface:
I'm currently studying Japanese and Economics and Leeds (first year) and so far I think the teaching for Japanese has been amazing. The teachers are really nice and very patient and the lessons are always interesting. The workload is very intense but that's a given, especially considering the year abroad is in the 2nd year at Leeds. Personally I prefer this structure and all the past year students I have talked to say that during their year abroad their Japanese improved immensely.
I don't know much about the Sheffield course to give my opinion on it but I hear it's very good too. I chose Leeds because the Japanese courses are more flexible and I am able to take my particular degree combination here (Birmingham and SOAS are the only other two that do it). Being the 3rd largest city in the UK, Leeds has a lot to offer. The night life is great (although I'm not a party person haha). There's a lot of societies at the uni and because it's so big and there's so many students, you're bound to find people with similar interests etc. I stay at Montague Burton which is really close to the Uni, about 5 minutes walk so that's really convenient. There are loads of accomodation to choose from, fulfilling different preferences and the prices are pretty reasonable. Also if you qualify, you can also receive Leeds financial support which ranges from £1500-£3000 depending on your household income (the uni will automatically get this info from Student Finance).
There's a lot of Japanese students on exchange at Leeds so it's a great place to find a speaking partner and practice your Japanese conversation. There's a Japanese society as well which holds various events such as weekly pub outings, "kukki and koucha" where you can come to the common room for some free snacks and meet new people (a lot of Japanese students come!), Halloween and Christmas events etc.
Hmm there's a lot to talk about and I'm not very good at summarising so hope what i've said has helped you with your choices x)
All the best! And if you do come to Leeds, I'll probably see you around :wink: (well, when i'm a 4th year anyway).
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 2
Hey, thanks so much for taking the time to reply! I really appreciate it :smile: I was starting to lose hope of anybody replying haha.

That's great to hear about the course - I heard from some people that the Leeds course isn't as intensive as the one at Sheffield despite Leeds students going abroad in their 2nd year so that's reassuring to hear. Sounds like studying Japanese at Leeds is great! If there's one thing I can't stand it's impatient or mean teachers so I'm really happy to hear that the teaching staff at Leeds aren't like that at all.

I've heard good things about the city (and saw it for myself at the open day) and I've heard from many people about how crazy amazing the nightlife is :tongue: I was having a look at the accommodation and I'm impressed at the wide range of accommodation they have available to students but I have to say Central Village is looking to be my favourite. I also knew about the Leeds bursary but thank you for mentioning it!

Good to know there's a lot of Japanese exchange students at Leeds (despite expecting that) but I didn't know that the Japanese society was so social so that's really good! If I do end up going to Leeds you can be assured I'll be joining in the fun :wink: I would really like to make friends with some Japanese exchange students when I'm at university and this society sounds like the perfect way to do so!

I don't know if you'll see this message and this is just me being completely nosey about you lol (so feel free to ignore me), but may I ask what grades you got at A-levels? Also, did you do a GCSE or A-level in a modern foreign language?

Your post has been immensely helpful and once again, thank you so much for replying! :cute:
Original post by Ice Dragon
Hey, thanks so much for taking the time to reply! I really appreciate it :smile: I was starting to lose hope of anybody replying haha.

That's great to hear about the course - I heard from some people that the Leeds course isn't as intensive as the one at Sheffield despite Leeds students going abroad in their 2nd year so that's reassuring to hear. Sounds like studying Japanese at Leeds is great! If there's one thing I can't stand it's impatient or mean teachers so I'm really happy to hear that the teaching staff at Leeds aren't like that at all.

I've heard good things about the city (and saw it for myself at the open day) and I've heard from many people about how crazy amazing the nightlife is :tongue: I was having a look at the accommodation and I'm impressed at the wide range of accommodation they have available to students but I have to say Central Village is looking to be my favourite. I also knew about the Leeds bursary but thank you for mentioning it!

Good to know there's a lot of Japanese exchange students at Leeds (despite expecting that) but I didn't know that the Japanese society was so social so that's really good! If I do end up going to Leeds you can be assured I'll be joining in the fun :wink: I would really like to make friends with some Japanese exchange students when I'm at university and this society sounds like the perfect way to do so!

I don't know if you'll see this message and this is just me being completely nosey about you lol (so feel free to ignore me), but may I ask what grades you got at A-levels? Also, did you do a GCSE or A-level in a modern foreign language?

Your post has been immensely helpful and once again, thank you so much for replying! :cute:


You're very welcome! I remember being in the same position as you when i was deliberating my university options. It's one of the most important choices to make and so many factors need to be considered since we all have different preferences (like the city, location and distance from home, cost etc).
Haha trust me it's VERY intensive. It starts of slow in the first week and then BAM it really kicks you in the balls if you don't keep up. In first semester we had Kanji tests on mondays every other week and on the week we didn't have Kanji tests we had vocab tests on Fridays testing us on the lessons from the Minna no Nihongo textbooks for our course. Additionaly we had Sakubuns (mini essays in Japanese around 250 characters) every 2 weeks or so and Kanji worksheets every week to hand in which all collectively accounted for 25% of our semester 1 grade. There's also a mid-term worth 25% in week...8 I think after reading week which is worth 25%. Then in January we had a the oral and written exam worth 25% each. As long as you stay on top of work then you'll be fine. You need atleast a 40% average to pass overall.
Second semester just started for us but the work is already piling up and the grammar is a lot tougher. Kanji and Vocab every week, Monday and Friday. But to be honest I don't mind this since we cover less lessons worth of vocab/kanji for each test and it keeps us consolidating new information. Learning a language requires so much dedication and if you don't put in the effort then you'll struggle. I don't want to scare you and you probably already know all this though! x) If you do struggle don't worry because the teachers and uni staff are all really approachable and patient.
For A levels I got AAB, nothing spectacular haha. I did Economics, Maths and Human Biology. I also did GCSE Japanese during 6th form (I got A*, but GCSE is piss lol), so that did give me a extra footing at the start, but we've already surpassed GCSE level in the first semester so yeah, I'm not that ahead anymore xD
Feel free to ask me more questions, i'd be happy to answer.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 4
Original post by Thanatosis
You're very welcome! I remember being in the same position as you when i was deliberating my university options. It's one of the most important choices to make and so many factors need to be considered since we all have different preferences (like the city, location and distance from home, cost etc).
Haha trust me it's VERY intensive. It starts of slow in the first week and then BAM it really kicks you in the balls if you don't keep up. In first semester we had Kanji tests on mondays every other week and on the week we didn't have Kanji tests we had vocab tests on Fridays testing us on the lessons from the Minna no Nihongo textbooks for our course. Additionaly we had Sakubuns (mini essays in Japanese around 250 characters) every 2 weeks or so and Kanji worksheets every week to hand in which all collectively accounted for 25% of our semester 1 grade. There's also a mid-term worth 25% in week...8 I think after reading week which is worth 25%. Then in January we had a the oral and written exam worth 25% each. As long as you stay on top of work then you'll be fine. You need atleast a 40% average to pass overall.
Second semester just started for us but the work is already piling up and the grammar is a lot tougher. Kanji and Vocab every week, Monday and Friday. But to be honest I don't mind this since we cover less lessons worth of vocab/kanji for each test and it keeps us consolidating new information. Learning a language requires so much dedication and if you don't put in the effort then you'll struggle. I don't want to scare you and you probably already know all this though! x) If you do struggle don't worry because the teachers and uni staff are all really approachable and patient.
For A levels I got AAB, nothing spectacular haha. I did Economics, Maths and Human Biology. I also did GCSE Japanese during 6th form (I got A*, but GCSE is piss lol), so that did give me a extra footing at the start, but we've already surpassed GCSE level in the first semester so yeah, I'm not that ahead anymore xD
Feel free to ask me more questions, i'd be happy to answer.


How many kanji is in the tests? It definitely sounds very intensive but I'd much rather it be like that so we're better prepared in the second year :smile: Also, how many kanji (approx.) do you learn in the 1st year?

What are you averaging, if you don't mind me asking? A 2:2, 2:1, maybe even a first? I'm just being curious again lol :wink:

Nothing spectacular?! I could only dream of getting those grades! :frown: You did amazingly well and those subjects I've heard are quite hard to do at sixth form judging by my friends complaints lol. I wish I could've done GCSE Japanese but it doesn't seem to be available at any secondary schools in the north east. Oh well!

Also, as you go abroad in your 2nd year what sort of help do you get in terms of living there, finance etc? Oooh, and which uni have you chosen to go to?

Thanks so much for answering my questions, hope you don't mind I have even more :tongue:
Original post by Ice Dragon
How many kanji is in the tests? It definitely sounds very intensive but I'd much rather it be like that so we're better prepared in the second year :smile: Also, how many kanji (approx.) do you learn in the 1st year?

What are you averaging, if you don't mind me asking? A 2:2, 2:1, maybe even a first? I'm just being curious again lol :wink:

Nothing spectacular?! I could only dream of getting those grades! :frown: You did amazingly well and those subjects I've heard are quite hard to do at sixth form judging by my friends complaints lol. I wish I could've done GCSE Japanese but it doesn't seem to be available at any secondary schools in the north east. Oh well!

Also, as you go abroad in your 2nd year what sort of help do you get in terms of living there, finance etc? Oooh, and which uni have you chosen to go to?

Thanks so much for answering my questions, hope you don't mind I have even more :tongue:


Hmm In the first semester it was usually 4 lessons or so worth so around 40 (10 each lesson) and the test is out of 40. However the test has different sections so you won't necessarily be asked on every kanji. You'll be tested on things like writing a word that includes the kanji in hiragana, converting a phrase in hiragana to the form with kanji, the stroke order of kanji etc. It's not that bad to be honest as long as you practice and keep writing the kanji out. You don't need to remember every single reading for it like most people thought at the beginning, just the ones that appear in the main book.
I think they said we'd be learning around 500 kanji or something in the first year...but don't quote me on that xD I think it's around that figure.

Well we haven't received our results for January's exams yet so i'm not sure for the overall 1st semester, but in the other tests and bits of works I think a 1st. I just study a lot and take each test seriously because these little tests are where you can pretty easily rack up the points!
Haha thank you ^^ But yeah as you can see I didn't take a A level language but I don't think it's too necessary as long as you have a keen interest and perhaps some previous experience in the language or another similar language. I also did beginners Mandarin in the last year of 6th form although It was a bit of a doss lesson so i didn't learn a whole lot. It was still really interesting though and hopefully I can pick it up again. Oh yeah, another great thing about Leeds is that we can take discovery modules/electives where (if you have enough credits) you can take modules from any department across the uni as long as you have fulfilled the prerequisites (not all of them have those though). So you can take Mandarin, korean, arabic, spanish etc on the side if you want. But they're really popular so when you complete your registration, make sure you choose these quickly. I was too slow so i couldn't get the korean class that fit with my timetable (also be aware of timetable clashes which are so annoying since there were some modules I really wanted to take which clashed with economics -.-).

We're actually currently being inundated with year abroad information right now since they need to get all the paper work sorted out quickly. You'll be able to get loans from Student finance as you probably know. Also, different uni's may give scholarships (the uni i'm going to gives us like 200,000 yen which is about £1000, and all of us get it I think). There's also Jasso which is given to the people based on academic achievement (in all modules) which give you a monthly stipend of about 80,000 yen. Ummm but yeah obviously places like Tokyo are more expensive but I hear a lot of people from past years saying that it's not actually that expensive so I guess it depends what you do and choose to spend your money on. I think we can get plane tickets and stuff reimbursed if you keep the receipts from student finance. But the accommodation is generally a lot cheaper than what I pay for Leeds I think. This does vary from uni to uni though.
Sorry I must sound a bit temperamental. We have a meeting about all this tomorrow so i'll be more sure tomorrow xD

I'm going to Kobe Gakuin University. It was my joint 1st choice but after handing in the application I actually wanted to go to a different uni (TUFS in Tokyo) more so i was pretty disappointed when i found out I got placed there. However i'm really happy with my allocation now! I think it's easy to get caught up in things other people say and you need to remember that we'll all have unique experiences. If we make the most out of our year abroad then no matter where you go you'll have a good time and you'll improve in so many ways. Some uni's offer a number of places while other uni's like Osaka and Waseda offer only 1 as they're more prestigious but don't let that scare you from applying. This year both places went to beginners students. Also a lot of people put off applying to them as they don't think they'll get it so it's worth a try! (They will look great on your CV xD)
When you apply you need to remember that you won't be guaranteed that you'll get your first or any of your choices. They claim that they try to send you where they think will be best for you and they don't base it on academics. I think it's mostly true though from looking at where people have been allocated this year.

Wow I babbled a lot! But it's nice being able to help out a potential newcomer ^^ Oh btw, the Leeds Japanese society has a facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/luu.japanese/?fref=ts
It's a closed group but you can join if your coming to Leeds for sure. Or they'll probably accept you anyway if you ask to join xD But as you can see we have a lot of members (*cough* more than Sheffield *cough* and the group page is very active. Anyone can post and you can introduce yourself or share stuff etc and lol we'll all get a notification about it :wink: They also advertise events on the page so it's a great way to find out what's going on and meet fellow Japanese students or just other Japanophiles xD

Keep the questions coming :wink:
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 6
Wow, that's a lot of kanji! Good to hear the tests are more varied than just mindless kanji memorization and that we don't have to know every reading :tongue:

Sounds like you're doing it right! I'll probably end up doing the same tbh and well done on working so hard, you deserve that first :smile: I know you said you aren't really a party person but do you still have a social life?

Going off topic here but I'm taking a 1 year GCSE Spanish course at sixth form but I feel like I'm going to fail and I'd much rather spend my time revising my other A-level subjects instead of GCSE Spanish so I want to drop it. On my personal statement I put down that I used to have a private tutor for Japanese for a couple of years as well. In my conditional offer (both my normal offer and A2L offer) it doesn't mention the GCSE in a modern foreign language despite it being in the entry requirements so both my personal tutor at sixth form and I believe it means that if I don't meet that entry requirement then they won't care. Just to clarify, I also applied for Japanese and Linguistics (where I, again received a normal conditional + A2L offer) but in that offer it specifically mentions the GCSE Spanish so do you think if I dropped Spanish and firmed Japanese as a single honours then I'd be okay?

I've been considering taking some Korean language modules when I'm there (assuming I meet the grades, haha) but we'll see. Thanks for letting me know!

It's good they are preparing you so much for the year abroad, you can never be too prepared :wink: The scholarship sounds great! Do you get it just for going to their university or is it dependent on how well you're doing in the course like with JASSO? Never say no to extra money lol! I know Tokyo is expensive but I think people exaggerate how expensive it actually is as many people can live quite comfortably as long as they don't go out partying (especially in places like Shibuya) or waste all their money on things they don't need. It's all about budgeting.

Oooh, Kobe Gakuin! I spoke to a person at the open day who's currently a 3rd or 4th year and went to Kobe Gakuin - he had a blast and would highly recommend it but I totally agree that if you make the most out of your year abroad then it doesn't matter where you're placed, although of course we're going to have preferences in where we're placed - like for me personally it'd probably be somewhere like Kyoto. He also mentioned about doing a home stay which was "more expensive but SO worth it!" Are you going to be doing a home stay or know anybody that's going to be doing one? I'm actually really interested in doing one so if you have any information about them, please tell me :biggrin:

Thanks for the link! I've joined and I think I'm going to be firming Leeds anyway :smile:

Oh, btw I'm coming to the applicant open day on 11th March! I know this is probably a long shot (after all, I'm just a randomer from the internet) but if you're around then it'd be lovely to meet you :^_^:
Original post by Ice Dragon
Wow, that's a lot of kanji! Good to hear the tests are more varied than just mindless kanji memorization and that we don't have to know every reading :tongue:

Sounds like you're doing it right! I'll probably end up doing the same tbh and well done on working so hard, you deserve that first :smile: I know you said you aren't really a party person but do you still have a social life?

Going off topic here but I'm taking a 1 year GCSE Spanish course at sixth form but I feel like I'm going to fail and I'd much rather spend my time revising my other A-level subjects instead of GCSE Spanish so I want to drop it. On my personal statement I put down that I used to have a private tutor for Japanese for a couple of years as well. In my conditional offer (both my normal offer and A2L offer) it doesn't mention the GCSE in a modern foreign language despite it being in the entry requirements so both my personal tutor at sixth form and I believe it means that if I don't meet that entry requirement then they won't care. Just to clarify, I also applied for Japanese and Linguistics (where I, again received a normal conditional + A2L offer) but in that offer it specifically mentions the GCSE Spanish so do you think if I dropped Spanish and firmed Japanese as a single honours then I'd be okay?

I've been considering taking some Korean language modules when I'm there (assuming I meet the grades, haha) but we'll see. Thanks for letting me know!

It's good they are preparing you so much for the year abroad, you can never be too prepared :wink: The scholarship sounds great! Do you get it just for going to their university or is it dependent on how well you're doing in the course like with JASSO? Never say no to extra money lol! I know Tokyo is expensive but I think people exaggerate how expensive it actually is as many people can live quite comfortably as long as they don't go out partying (especially in places like Shibuya) or waste all their money on things they don't need. It's all about budgeting.

Oooh, Kobe Gakuin! I spoke to a person at the open day who's currently a 3rd or 4th year and went to Kobe Gakuin - he had a blast and would highly recommend it but I totally agree that if you make the most out of your year abroad then it doesn't matter where you're placed, although of course we're going to have preferences in where we're placed - like for me personally it'd probably be somewhere like Kyoto. He also mentioned about doing a home stay which was "more expensive but SO worth it!" Are you going to be doing a home stay or know anybody that's going to be doing one? I'm actually really interested in doing one so if you have any information about them, please tell me :biggrin:

Thanks for the link! I've joined and I think I'm going to be firming Leeds anyway :smile:

Oh, btw I'm coming to the applicant open day on 11th March! I know this is probably a long shot (after all, I'm just a randomer from the internet) but if you're around then it'd be lovely to meet you :^_^:


Hahaha, do I have a social life? Well It depends what you classify as being social. I don't do parties and clubbing and such but I do sometimes go to the Japsoc events such as Kukki and Koucha. Although since this semester has been so hectic and my timetable is so heavy, I haven't been able to go as regularly as last semester. But it's my choice in the end. I personally doing enjoy going to pubs and big social events because i'm too lazy/ It's not something I enjoy doing. But we're all different people and a lot of the people studying Japanese go to these events and have a great time. As long as you can balance your work and social life then there's no stopping you ^^ I'd rather just sit in my room and play games on steam or chat with just one person at a time. Oh yeah, I do have a Japanese exchange partner and we usually meet up every Friday. She helps me with my Japanese and I help her with her english so it's a great set up :smile: The Japsoc can help you find a partner or you can just find one yourself pretty easily. I have made a lot of Japanese friends and we sometimes meet up and go for a meal (Leeds has lots of nice places to eat! There's a Korean place called Bulgogi Grill just 10/15 mins away from the Uni, and a few Japanese restaurants such as Sushiwaka (which just recently opened so I went recently with my Japanese friend! The food was delicious!), Little Tokyo, and Fuji hiro. They're all very close and the food is great!


Hmm about the GCSE Spanish, I think it's best to contact Leeds directly about that. They may accept your exception if you give a valid example of previous language experience. Sorry, I don't want to give you false advice when I'm not entirely sure myself x)

I think we all get it because all previous students who went there all got it. But they might have a minimal standard I'm not sure.

I'm not doing a homestay since I felt like it's a bit of a risk. Not everyone has a good time on their homestay and it depends on what kind of family you get. But again, we're all different people with different preferences. I think some uni's offer weekend homestays where you just stay with the family for the weekend. Not all uni's offer the homestay so when you apply they'll ask you to check if you want to do a homestay or not and you'll be more likely to be allocation to a university that offers one (I think there's only a few: Konan, Nanzan...and one more I can't recall). So be wary of that if your choices don't include one of these uni's!

What time will you be coming? I think it's on a Wednesday which tends to be my least busy day so I should be able to meet you :smile:
And It's great to hear that you're going to be firming Leeds! I realise there's a lot of diehard Sheffield advocates around TSR and It's a bit asinine considering they're obviously going to be biased towards their uni. I see a lot of negative things said about Leeds which is totally unreasonable if they haven't even studied there. I don't know much about the Sheffield department to begin spouting nonsense and I actually think that they're an awesome and reputable establishment. But this reputation in my eyes is tarnished by those few condescending individuals who feel like they're better than everyone else.
Right that's my mini rant over (I could go on and on) xD
I do think Sheffield has better university links than Leeds so that's something to note. Other than that I can't compare the actual course and quality of the teaching.
At leeds if you're doing single Japanese you'll be taking a lot of discovery modules that won't all be related to Japanese. For some people this is a pain but If you have a lot of interests than this can be seen as a benefit. You'll probably acquire a more multifaceted skill set as well.

Anyway I better go back to study some 日本語. Good luck in applying and hope you go somewhere you enjoy!!
Reply 8
Oooh, I see. You sound so much like me lol! I'm not really a party/drinking type of person but I like to every now and again (as in, once every 1-2 months) but the society events and making Japanese friends sounds like something I'd be totally into :smile: I also LOVE Japanese food and have always wanted to try Korean food so I'll be making sure to check those restaurants out if I end up going to Leeds.

It's okay, I emailed the admissions tutor and it was a mistake so now GCSE Spanish at grade C is in both conditional offers :bricks: I'm unsure whether I should firm Japanese and Linguistics or just Japanese - I know it's my choice but what would you say? I always value a second opinion. Also, if I were to get a D in GCSE Spanish but meet the A-level requirements do you think they would be harsh enough to reject me? I will email them but again, second opinion appreciated :tongue:

Yay! I'm not sure what time I'll be coming exactly but I should be there late morning-early afternoon time, I'll let you know the details closer to the time.

Oooh, I see. Yeah, I know doing a homestay is a risk (the guy I spoke to at the open day said this as well) but I would like to at least do a weekend homestay, if possible. The university gives you lots of information about the families though, right? I mean you need to at least know about the people you'll potentially be living with for a year. Kobe Gakuin must do homestays as well as that's the university that guy went to :wink: I'm not that fussed about where I'm placed (Kyoto area is my preference, though) but I'm sure I'll be more comfortable about it when it's my turn to sort it out for myself haha.

Yeah, I noticed that the amount of Japanese Sheffield students way outweigh the amount of Japanese Leeds students around here and it's quite off-putting to hear them diss Leeds in the way some of them do. I went to both university open days and in my opinion, the course at Sheffield is better BUT not by much and overall (in terms of accommodation, city, university, course etc.) I found Leeds to be better. I was interested in the discovery modules and tbh I'd love to take all kinds of different modules due to being interested in many different topics and I've heard that it can make you more desirable to employers too.

Good luck! What are you studying atm?
Original post by Ice Dragon
Oooh, I see. You sound so much like me lol! I'm not really a party/drinking type of person but I like to every now and again (as in, once every 1-2 months) but the society events and making Japanese friends sounds like something I'd be totally into :smile: I also LOVE Japanese food and have always wanted to try Korean food so I'll be making sure to check those restaurants out if I end up going to Leeds.

It's okay, I emailed the admissions tutor and it was a mistake so now GCSE Spanish at grade C is in both conditional offers :bricks: I'm unsure whether I should firm Japanese and Linguistics or just Japanese - I know it's my choice but what would you say? I always value a second opinion. Also, if I were to get a D in GCSE Spanish but meet the A-level requirements do you think they would be harsh enough to reject me? I will email them but again, second opinion appreciated :tongue:

Yay! I'm not sure what time I'll be coming exactly but I should be there late morning-early afternoon time, I'll let you know the details closer to the time.

Oooh, I see. Yeah, I know doing a homestay is a risk (the guy I spoke to at the open day said this as well) but I would like to at least do a weekend homestay, if possible. The university gives you lots of information about the families though, right? I mean you need to at least know about the people you'll potentially be living with for a year. Kobe Gakuin must do homestays as well as that's the university that guy went to :wink: I'm not that fussed about where I'm placed (Kyoto area is my preference, though) but I'm sure I'll be more comfortable about it when it's my turn to sort it out for myself haha.

Yeah, I noticed that the amount of Japanese Sheffield students way outweigh the amount of Japanese Leeds students around here and it's quite off-putting to hear them diss Leeds in the way some of them do. I went to both university open days and in my opinion, the course at Sheffield is better BUT not by much and overall (in terms of accommodation, city, university, course etc.) I found Leeds to be better. I was interested in the discovery modules and tbh I'd love to take all kinds of different modules due to being interested in many different topics and I've heard that it can make you more desirable to employers too.

Good luck! What are you studying atm?


Hmm well it depends. Do you think you will be able to keep up with doing a joint honours? I don't mean to sound patronising but I just want to emphasise how it's a lot tougher. You'll probably have quite a few essays for linguistics but if that's something you enjoy then go for it. If you do find the workload too tough then there is an option to drop one side of your joint honours in the first year so it's worth a shot :smile:

They probably will give you prior details of the families otherwise it would be a bit weird xD

Haha yeah I hear mixed things with Sheffield. People who decided not to go there usually say it's not as good as Leeds and the vice versa. So yeah it depends on individual preferences. Japanese tends to have a high drop out rate at Leeds and at other places like Sheffield and SOAS too since it's really intense. If people want to study it in order to fulfil some weabo fantasies then they'll probably struggle to keep up.

I'm studying Economics and Japanese (I think i mentioned that xp). Or did you mean specifically in terms of Japanese?
Well, for Student Finance I have put down just Japanese as the course I'll be studying at Leeds and I've asked my friend who does Linguistics as a cornerstone module at Leeds about the course so hopefully she'll be able to give me enough insight to make my decision :smile: I have been considering International Relations instead of Linguistics as the joint honours course but I'm getting ahead of myself here lol. I'll ask about it at the applicant day possibly and fingers crossed I get the A-level results I'm hoping for. I'm aware joint honours are much more demanding than single honours, especially with Japanese being hard enough on its own but I don't mind a challenge if I'm doing subjects I enjoy.

That's reassuring to hear.

Indeed - people living in weeaboo land don't understand the complexity and challenges Japanese will bring them. There's a reason it's considered one of the hardest languages in the world to learn. I'm quite nervous about starting the course because of how intensive it is but I know my passion, motivation and dedication to Japanese will get me through it :smile: Plus I did have a private Japanese tutor for like 3 years. She lives in Sheffield now though.

I'm just thinking to myself - do I want to keep at Spanish and risk not getting a grade C (with lower A-level entry requirements) or do I want to drop Spanish and aim for higher at my A-levels but risk not getting ABB? It's a hard decision to make.

No, I meant specifically in terms of Japanese lol :tongue:
Original post by Ice Dragon
Well, for Student Finance I have put down just Japanese as the course I'll be studying at Leeds and I've asked my friend who does Linguistics as a cornerstone module at Leeds about the course so hopefully she'll be able to give me enough insight to make my decision :smile: I have been considering International Relations instead of Linguistics as the joint honours course but I'm getting ahead of myself here lol. I'll ask about it at the applicant day possibly and fingers crossed I get the A-level results I'm hoping for. I'm aware joint honours are much more demanding than single honours, especially with Japanese being hard enough on its own but I don't mind a challenge if I'm doing subjects I enjoy.

That's reassuring to hear.

Indeed - people living in weeaboo land don't understand the complexity and challenges Japanese will bring them. There's a reason it's considered one of the hardest languages in the world to learn. I'm quite nervous about starting the course because of how intensive it is but I know my passion, motivation and dedication to Japanese will get me through it :smile: Plus I did have a private Japanese tutor for like 3 years. She lives in Sheffield now though.

I'm just thinking to myself - do I want to keep at Spanish and risk not getting a grade C (with lower A-level entry requirements) or do I want to drop Spanish and aim for higher at my A-levels but risk not getting ABB? It's a hard decision to make.

No, I meant specifically in terms of Japanese lol :tongue:


Sorry for the really late reply. Been really busy and kept forgetting to reply >_<
With joint honours you'll probably find that the majority of your time will be taken up by Japanese. I sometimes feel like Economics is not even half of my degree because of the amount of time i spend focused on Japanese. But that's because we have a lot more contact hours and studying a language from beginners level (i wasn't advanced enough for intermediate class) means a lot more work. It's great though. I prefer being kept busy otherwise i'd just be lazy and do nothing xD

I think you'll be fine. There are people who started at complete beginner level and are already at the same level or perhaps better than me haha you can never be too complacent even if you've had past experience. How good would you say your japanese is then? I'm assuming you've learnt how to read kana etc.

Yeah that is a tough choice...what A levels do you do? It definitely possible. Just try to study as much as you can in advance. It's easy to make the mistake of leaving it too late and regretting it afterwards. Focus on past papers since you'll be able to understand how the mark schemes work. But i'm sure you already know that. The had work is always worth it in the end! You'll feel a lot more confident for the exam and you'll be able to enjoy your summer without feeling too stressed :smile:

We're doing lessons 31-33 of Minna no Nihongo next week. We do 2 lessons one week and then 3 lessons the other and so on. 3 lesson weeks are tough >_> but it's necessary since there's so much to cover and so little time. Even still the teachers cover the material in depth and teach it very well. But it's up to us in the end to review everything and make sure we consolidate as we go along. I say that but i already feel a bit behind ahhh lol
So we just covered things such as te-form shimaimasu, te form okimasu etc I'm bad a listing things from the top of my head but if you want more information then if you can get a hold of the textbooks then you can look at it in advance :smile: Or you could probably find some scans online somewhere.
Original post by Thanatosis
Sorry for the really late reply. Been really busy and kept forgetting to reply >_<
With joint honours you'll probably find that the majority of your time will be taken up by Japanese. I sometimes feel like Economics is not even half of my degree because of the amount of time i spend focused on Japanese. But that's because we have a lot more contact hours and studying a language from beginners level (i wasn't advanced enough for intermediate class) means a lot more work. It's great though. I prefer being kept busy otherwise i'd just be lazy and do nothing xD

I think you'll be fine. There are people who started at complete beginner level and are already at the same level or perhaps better than me haha you can never be too complacent even if you've had past experience. How good would you say your japanese is then? I'm assuming you've learnt how to read kana etc.

Yeah that is a tough choice...what A levels do you do? It definitely possible. Just try to study as much as you can in advance. It's easy to make the mistake of leaving it too late and regretting it afterwards. Focus on past papers since you'll be able to understand how the mark schemes work. But i'm sure you already know that. The had work is always worth it in the end! You'll feel a lot more confident for the exam and you'll be able to enjoy your summer without feeling too stressed :smile:

We're doing lessons 31-33 of Minna no Nihongo next week. We do 2 lessons one week and then 3 lessons the other and so on. 3 lesson weeks are tough >_> but it's necessary since there's so much to cover and so little time. Even still the teachers cover the material in depth and teach it very well. But it's up to us in the end to review everything and make sure we consolidate as we go along. I say that but i already feel a bit behind ahhh lol
So we just covered things such as te-form shimaimasu, te form okimasu etc I'm bad a listing things from the top of my head but if you want more information then if you can get a hold of the textbooks then you can look at it in advance :smile: Or you could probably find some scans online somewhere.


No problem, I have to apologise for the same issue :tongue:

Oooh, I see. Do you think it'd be the same for other joint honours degrees (assuming the other half of the degree isn't a language)? Also, do you find Economics easy?

Hmm, well my Japanese used to be much better but I've been slacking really badly for the past 2 years. I know the kana and a few basic words/phrases from pure memory. If I go back to studying Japanese over the summer I'm sure I'll be back to the level I was before which was good according to my Japanese tutor.

I do Sociology, Travel & Tourism and Leisure Studies along with GCSE Spanish but I only have 1 year to complete the GCSE in instead of 2, and as it's a language it's quite intensive. Half the time I feel like my time is taken up by the GCSE instead of the A2s lol!

I'm going to start revising for my A2 exams just after Easter (I would start during the Easter holidays but I'm away for the majority of it) which will hopefully give me enough time as my exams aren't until June. Thank you for the advice :smile:

How do you review/remember the information you're taught in class? I want to know the techniques and methods you use because whatever you do is definitely working :wink: It sounds tough but if you have the motivation and passion for learning the language then you'll get through it!
Original post by Ice Dragon
No problem, I have to apologise for the same issue :tongue:

Oooh, I see. Do you think it'd be the same for other joint honours degrees (assuming the other half of the degree isn't a language)? Also, do you find Economics easy?

Hmm, well my Japanese used to be much better but I've been slacking really badly for the past 2 years. I know the kana and a few basic words/phrases from pure memory. If I go back to studying Japanese over the summer I'm sure I'll be back to the level I was before which was good according to my Japanese tutor.

I do Sociology, Travel & Tourism and Leisure Studies along with GCSE Spanish but I only have 1 year to complete the GCSE in instead of 2, and as it's a language it's quite intensive. Half the time I feel like my time is taken up by the GCSE instead of the A2s lol!

I'm going to start revising for my A2 exams just after Easter (I would start during the Easter holidays but I'm away for the majority of it) which will hopefully give me enough time as my exams aren't until June. Thank you for the advice :smile:

How do you review/remember the information you're taught in class? I want to know the techniques and methods you use because whatever you do is definitely working :wink: It sounds tough but if you have the motivation and passion for learning the language then you'll get through it!


Yeah, I think it's the case for all joint honours since we all have to do the same amount of credits (120) but Japanese takes up the majority of the credits. Depends...some parts of economics are quite logical and common sense but there are lot of graphs we need to understand and interpret. Also I have to take maths and stats modules as well.
I'm definitely finding 2nd semester modules more interesting though but the workload is cray.

Yeah i forgot a lot of my Japanese when i came to Uni but once you start learning again you'll remember things more easily :smile:

Yeah my GCSE Japanese was done in a year as well since i did it in 6th form, but I don't think Japanese at GCSE is as intensive as other languages. Honestly, we just messed around in class most of the time and our whole class still got C or above.

To be honest i've been slacking a lot lately so i don't really have a set programme i follow but different methods work for different people as you know. For me, i have to be in the library or a study environment to get any work done. I get way to distracted in my room. I still get distracted in the library though if i have my phone! For Japanese revision i just go over everything, all the grammar and vocab and do all the exercises in the textbook and try to remember set patterns and useful phrases i can reuse in essays. I try to go beyond what we a prescribed and learn extra vocab sometimes some extra kanji or little bits of grammar if i feel like it. I think that's a good habit to develop and it will keep you one step ahead of the crowd. If i have one word of advice, and this is what pretty much all of the past years told me, practice Kanji as much as you can. Second semester kanji is insane and we have to remember like 30 or something a week.

I'm really busy these days so sorry if i reply really late or not reply at all! If you have questions you can always post in the facebook group or something :smile:
hello !! my name is Sara and I am from Spain. I will travel to Leeds and I am learning Japanese and English, someone could help me?

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