福岡女学院大学人文学部英語学科

Summer English Camp in OSA is an elective class, which is taken by the students who do not take Study Abroad Program or Short Overseas Program. It is an intensive English program. Students stay at an on-campus boarding house for a week, and take special English classes with the instructors from Britain. This year the program was held from 17 to 22 August. 

My life at Reading / report from T.O.

There are many international students at the University of Reading. Fortunately, however, there are only a few Japanese students, so I have more opportunities to communicate in English rather than Japanese. The first month after arriving here, I could not explain what I wanted to say, but gradually I got used to speaking English and was able to express my feeling and thinking.

On my course, most students come from Asia and take an MA or PhD degree here. They are studying English in order to do business or research in English. So, I can think with them what I want to do after graduating from my university in Japan.

I have speaking, listening, reading, writing and lecture classes. All those classes require us to discuss important issues raised in the classes. Moreover, each class has only 12-16 students, so there is always friendly atmosphere among students and teachers.

Comment from EAGL staff: Thanks, T.O. Everybody looks cold in the photo, but I am sure you had a joyous and productive year at Reading. T.O came back to Fukuoka in 2008. 

My life at Monash / report from M.H.

Australia is a multi-culturalcountry so there are many international people. I was lucky to be able to learn not only Australian culture but also the cultures of the people who came from other countries. For the first month I started living there, I could not speak English well because I worried about grammar mistakes. Since my hostmother taught me English patiently, I was soon able to speak English better.

I took Speaking and General English classes. Each class was small and we had a lot of discussion activities. We had to have our own opinions and show them in English. Most of my classmates came from different countries, so I learned a lot from them. It changed my views about the world. Sometimes we went to city as a class activity through which I learned how people lived there.

After class I usually went to ILC (Independent Learning Centre) to study by myself. There were a lot of study materials,and workshops were held from time to time. It gave me a chance to communicate with teachers and other students. Moreover I often joined the activities organised by the Japan Club. We exchanged cultural information. It was a good opportunity to understand each other.  

Comment from EAGL staff: Thanks, M.H. It's good to learn something about other cultures. M.H. came back to Fukuoka in 2008.

My greatest memories in the US / report from M.H.

I was in Washington for half a year. Central Washington University, where I studied English, had a beautiful campus surrounded by mountains and trees. I met many people who were interested in international communication. My friends often invited me over to watch movies and have dinner together. They were so friendly and really nice to me.

American students were hard workers. Every time I went to the library, I met friends there. It was an ideal atmosphere to study and work together.

I was not happy all the time, however. When I argued with a friend, I could not express my feeling well in English. Such an experience encouraged me to study English harder, and I learned how important it was to express my feelings and opinions in English. My experience in the US is truly precious in my life. 

Comment from EAGL staff: Thanks, M.H. You became strong through the programme. M.H. came back to Japan in 2008. 

Work, work, work! / report from H.O.

I’ve been in the UK for 6 months. In my language centre, a lot of international students are studying English. They are from all over the world, such as Saudi Arabia, Thai, China, Spain, Italy and so on. First few months, it was difficult to communicate with friends and teachers. There were no other Japanese, so I had to speak English absolutely, but sometimes I couldn’t say what I wanted to say. I was not used to a strong British accent either, and most students spoke English with their own accents, which made me more confused. However, I got gradually used to communicating in English.

There are reading, writing, listening/speaking and project classes. All classes require hard work, and it is not easy for me to follow the classes because most students are studying here to go to graduate school and get a master's or doctor's degree. The class levels are set for them to achieve their goals. We have a lot of homework every day. I sometimes feel it’s too much, but it helps me to improve my English skills in many ways.

In my daily life, we have parties and one-day trips with friends. We had an international party last month. Each of us brought traditional or cultural foods and we played some games. I enjoyed it very much.  I’m going to go back to Japan in December. I’ll make good use of my last two months.