J. Roman
Center for Japanese Language
I have always had a great time with the ICC Language & Culture Exchange Program, and for that reason, I keep participating. The program not only helps you to practice the language you are interested in but also allows you to share your language and culture with others, making your participation in the program a very nice and fulfilling experience. Sometimes meeting people while studying abroad can be a bit challenging, but this ICC program can make it easier for you to make new friends as having a mutual interest in each other´s culture and language is a good starting point.
You can freely decide when and how to meet, which is very convenient at times when your schedule becomes busier due to mid-term or final exams for example. As the Covid-19 situation improved we had more chances to meet in person on campus for our weekly meetings, however, meeting on Zoom can also be helpful sometimes and is still a fun way to keep in touch with your exchange friends.
We normally started our sessions by sharing what we did during the previous week. Besides helping us to practice conversational skills it also allows you to get to know your language exchange partner. At the same time, we helped each other if we had questions related to vocabulary and grammar, which is very convenient if you are taking language courses and there are things you might have not understood completely during class.
Besides studying and practicing language skills, it was very interesting for me to learn about my friend´s hometown and prefecture, and also about Japanese culture, while at the same time I had the opportunity to talk about my country. Finally, my partner and I shared some similar hobbies, so we shared recommendations of interesting places around Tokyo like art museums and cafes. I think that choosing freely how to do the meetings and what to talk about is another great part of this program as it helps you to learn and have fun in a very casual and relaxed way.
