Students' Voices

How do you think you'll be able to take what you've learned here and translate that into continuing your education in Canada?

I’m a history major, and I really want to be a teacher. I wanted to teach somewhere in Asia. I chose Japan as the place where I want to teach, so I've been learning about Japanese history. Being able to read some kanji has actually really helped with being able to remember words and Japanese names, like Oda Nobunaga. Now I can put more names to faces, and things like kofun and Osaka Castle, I can make sense of them.

Finally, what would you say to prospective students who are thinking about studying here at KG? Do you have any advice or recommendations?

I would recommend trying to get into as many areas with other Japanese students, because I found my Japanese accelerated so much when I actually talked to Japanese people, and when I went back to the dorm, everyone was speaking English.

My university has kind of a small-town feel, and KGU has that too. There's a lot of greenery around, it's very welcoming, and all the people here are nice and have smiles when you see them, which is not always the case when you go into the city… (laughs)

The teachers are nice, even though they are pretty strict, and the (five week) program I'm taking is very intense. My Japanese has gotten so much better, I learned more in these four weeks of schooling than I did in one year back home. When I first got here I didn’t really understand what the professor was explaining, but now I'm learning in Japanese. I actually don’t know if the professor speaks English or not.