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Japanese Studies at Sheffield University 2015

Hi!

We're a group of students representing the School of East Asian Studies in Sheffield. I'm currently a second year Japanese Studies student and if you have any questions about the syllabus or anything related to the course at all, shoot! I'm also happy to answer questions about life in Sheffield, our Student Union, Societies, and so on

Hanis
Hey, just giving this thread a bump. :bump: Are you sure you’ve posted in the right place? Posting in the specific university or course forum should help you get more responses. :yy:
If you haven’t already found it, then university connect is a really useful way for finding people at your course/university!
Reply 2
Original post by SEASambassadors
Hi!

We're a group of students representing the School of East Asian Studies in Sheffield. I'm currently a second year Japanese Studies student and if you have any questions about the syllabus or anything related to the course at all, shoot! I'm also happy to answer questions about life in Sheffield, our Student Union, Societies, and so on

Hanis

'm back with some questions, hello! i'm someone considering doing either a single japanese course or (preferably) korean and japanese. i hope it's okay to ask some korea-related questions too.

here's some of the things i've been wondering about;
- for students doing korean+japanese (or any joint language degrees), how are you finding the workload?
- the ever famous question, how's the year abroad? i'm itching for a year in japan but if i choose k+j the year will be in korea; for some reason that really worries me though TT i feel these two countries have a different experience to them but japan has always felt a little more welcoming. anyone who's been in korea who can debunk this for me?
- for the student union, the asian-specific societies, are they friendly and with a good atmosphere? do they have outings or similar events?
- how do you find the city life in sheffield? what's the night-life like? is it possible to enjoy a wild night out one day and a quiet night in the next day without too much trouble?
- what's the accommodation like?
- are the students and teachers generally friendly? the townsfolk? in terms of my appearance and personality, i tend to be very quirky and stand out a lot, so i worry sometimes that in some cities i may stand out more than others (living in london right now means that's the last thing i need to worry about, lol).
- anyone who is studying an asian language in sheffield now, why did you choose sheffield? what were your other uni options, if any, and what was the deciding factor for sheffield?

i hope it's not too many ^^;
Hi khitman!

My apologies for the late response. I'll answer the non-Korean questions and try to get the Korean students to answer those ones as soon as possible.

I'm in Japanese Society and it's very welcoming whether you're Japanese, studying the language, have an interest in Japanese culture or are just someone wanting to socialise, they have activites such as bar crawls, christmas market outings (we have one in Birmingham this coming month), a trip to Paris Disneyland (!), a Christmas ball, language games, ice skating outings and so on, and for weekly activities we have a social gathering every wednesday called tandem where we just chill and make new friends :smile: I was also in East Asian Society last year and they have activities for everyone as well, so these societies (along with Korean Society) makes it extremely easy to get to know people from the SEAS department.

I'm not one who goes for wild nights out but I can definitely vouch for the nightlife here - there are good club nights, from what I've heard from my friends, and you can definitely find a balance and choose when you want to party and when you want a relaxed, quiet evening instead. It has a good amount of eateries and shopping areas in the city centre, so it meets my needs quite perfectly.

I lived in Endcliffe last year and I really enjoyed the accommodation. My room was warm throughout the year without having to even turn the radiator on and the quality of the place was not bad at all. One thing I'd have to warn you about is that if you're in Endcliffe and near the roads, it may get quite noisy especially if there are clubbing events that night. If you're in Ranmoor it's a lot quieter but it'll take longer to get to school (25-30 minutes). Walking to school from Endcliffe takes about 20 minutes and walking there from Opal takes 5-10 minutes. If you are open to meeting and living with new people then it'll be one of the most memorable uni experiences you'll have!

I'm an international student and I can safely say that Sheffield is one of the friendliest cities I've ever been in. The university in particular is very welcoming, open and diverse and you don't have to worry. Lecturers in the SEAS department are very patient and helpful and people in general are very sociable.

I chose Sheffield but my other options were Leeds, Edinburgh, SOAS and East Anglia. I ended up choosing Sheffield over the others because it has a very established Japanese department (50 years!). Sheffield's atmosphere was lively, welcoming and it just felt very homely to me and I think I've made the right choice ^^

Hanis
(edited 9 years ago)
A Korean with Japanese studies student reporting for duty! Sorry it has taken so long to reply, I've been busy with essay deadlines.

for students doing korean+japanese (or any joint language degrees), how are you finding the workload?
The workload is pretty huge especially year 3 onwards, not going to lie. I'd imagine it's even tougher if you've never done either language before, or never studied an Asian language. As it is, there are weekly assignments in both languages, and the vocabulary/grammar are very similar which can lead to confusion! But I personally love learning languages, so I'm still enjoying it despite all the work? I would say, if you really love the two languages, go for it. But there is always the possibility to go back to single honours Korean studies if it's too much to keep up with two languages at once.

the ever famous question, how's the year abroad? i'm itching for a year in japan but if i choose k+j the year will be in korea; for some reason that really worries me though TT i feel these two countries have a different experience to them but japan has always felt a little more welcoming. anyone who's been in korea who can debunk this for me?
Pretty much everyone has enjoyed their year abroad as far as I know. Obviously there are issues with culture shock, homesickness etc. but generally it's been a positive experience. Korea is different from Japan, in that everyone is much more uniform? If that makes sense. Japan is known for its quirky fashion and gadgets, but Koreans are still very much about 'blending in', so you're going to get stared at anyway just for being foreign! But I found that Korea is an interesting mix of Japan and China (technology like Japan, traffic like China aka cross the street and risk your life), old and new. Korea is very welcoming as soon as you say a word in Korean! Most Koreans are afraid of speaking English, so they probably won't approach you unless it's for English teaching.....but if you speak in Korean that fear will vanish and they turn out to be very friendly people and you'll get friends for life. I think your impression of Japan being more welcoming might have to do with Japan having a longer history of foreigners living there? Korea is still fairly new to it all, so it's not all smooth-sailing. But don't let that deter you!

are the students and teachers generally friendly?
Hanis has pretty much answered all other questions and I agree with her, but I'd like to quip in and say that Korean studies teachers and fellow students are very friendly. There aren't that many faculty members in Korean studies so you really get to know each lecturer (it's great for job references in the future). All the SEAS office people have been nothing but helpful the entire time I've been here. Students are like any students, really, you get both friendly people and the occasional loners. I'd like to think us in Korean studies are a friendly bunch~

Laura
Reply 5
Original post by SEASambassadors
Hi khitman!

My apologies for the late response. I'll answer the non-Korean questions and try to get the Korean students to answer those ones as soon as possible.
Hanis


hi! thank you so much for the informative response! it'll be really useful to me when choosing my course :smile:


Original post by SEASambassadors
A Korean with Japanese studies student reporting for duty! Sorry it has taken so long to reply, I've been busy with essay deadlines.
Laura


firstly also thank you for the reply!
ahh i was wondering, in terms of the amount of japanese you study on the joint course, would you say you'll graduate with a lower level of japanese than korean? as i've mentioned before i'm mostly keen on japanese (too bad japanese with korean isn't an option) but the only courses available for it along with korean seem to be centred around korean itself, which makes me worried i won't learn japanese properly :frown:

ah the quirkiness is indeed what i yearn for TT but given that i want to work in the kpop industry, korea just seems a wiser choice in that direction. if i may, which uni did you go to on your year abroad? how did the korean students treat you? were you given a mentor or anything of the sort? did you make native friends? did you have time to visit other cities, experience the culture and perhaps travel further?
Hi Khitman!

I was thinking maybe I'd address some of the questions to the best of my ability. We've got some tests recently and exams are coming up, so my apologies for the late response! Based on what I've seen with regards to the Non-Specialist Japanese handouts my friends who took Korean with Japanese have received, it's a really basic level of Japanese but it's still useful nonetheless. For example, they have lists of Kanji (about 10 a week?) that they have to figure out how to write on their own and they also have to find the readings for all of them. Granted, they don't have to research them so thoroughly like Specialist Japanese students do, but in this aspect you can tell that you won't have a proper, fluent grasp of Japanese beyond that of a basic conversational level. With regards to the Japanese and Korean course, I've heard that they've recently hired a new teacher for Non-Specialist Korean, but I'm afraid I can't promise you when it's going to be re-implemented.

In case you don't already know, Korean students get a choice between Yonsei Uni and Sungkyunkwan Uni, and I've asked a number of people about xenophobia and any problems they've had but they've told me they haven't really experienced anything major. I've also asked those who've recently returned from their year abroad and they said that they really enjoyed it and miss the country a lot. My friends who are in Yonsei now actually have a trip around Japan planned, so I'm sure you'll have time to travel :smile: I'll let Laura and the other Korean students go into detail about the university, though!

I'm not really sure about mentors on your year abroad, but Korean Studies have a tandem system in place where you get a Korean partner and you teach each other your native language. It's a pretty useful system!

Hanis
Reply 7
Original post by SEASambassadors
Hi!

We're a group of students representing the School of East Asian Studies in Sheffield. I'm currently a second year Japanese Studies student and if you have any questions about the syllabus or anything related to the course at all, shoot! I'm also happy to answer questions about life in Sheffield, our Student Union, Societies, and so on

Hanis


Hi :smile: I hope my question isn't too late to be noticed!


If all goes well I'll be coming to Sheffield in September to do a Hispanic Studies course, however with my 20 free credits I think I'd like to take a Japanese language module. I've been told that this should be okay but that I should check with the SEAS to find out whether there is a module that I could take that'd be the right level for me, as I will already have a Japanese A-level.


Thank you for your help!
Shona
Original post by shonamai
Hi :smile: I hope my question isn't too late to be noticed!


If all goes well I'll be coming to Sheffield in September to do a Hispanic Studies course, however with my 20 free credits I think I'd like to take a Japanese language module. I've been told that this should be okay but that I should check with the SEAS to find out whether there is a module that I could take that'd be the right level for me, as I will already have a Japanese A-level.


Thank you for your help!
Shona


Hello :smile:

I would suggest e-mailing the department or phoning up will be the best option as we are not very knowledgeable in this field >_<

Phone: 0114 222 8400
Email: [email protected]

Hope this helps :smile:

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