2024年春学期のエクスチェンジを行った早大生、協定校の学生の素敵な経験談を載せています！
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気軽に異文化交流
文化構想学部 Y
私は英語力を向上させたく、また日本語で日本語を学びたい方と交流したいと思い、このプログラムに参加しました。私はオーストラリアの大学の学生Ｃさんと交流しました。
最初はLINEで連絡を取っていてどのような方なのか不安もありましたが、実際に交流してみると年も一個違いで、話しやすい方だったので安心しました。また、オーストラリアと日本の時差は1時間なので交流しやすく、だいたい平日の20時、21時に1時間程度Zoomで話していました。今日一日どのようなことがあったか、何の授業があったのかなどを話すことが多かったです。Cさんが英語で話して私が理解できない部分があると、ゆっくり話してくれたりしました。逆に、私が日本語で話してCさんが分からない部分があると、簡単な日本語や英語で言い換えたりしました。お互いに話したいことを伝えよう、理解しようと努力しました。でも、授業ではないので、くだけた雰囲気で話せて楽しかったです。
私たちの場合、英語と日本語のバランスを気にしすぎることはありませんでした。「今まで英語で話していたからここからは日本語で話そう」というように、どちらかが気づいたときに言語をチェンジするような形でした。また、話していくうちに、趣味が似ていることが分かり、お互いのおすすめを話すこともできて楽しかったです。国が違うにもかかわらず、同じ話題で盛り上がれたことが私にとってすごく嬉しかったです。お互いの国で有名なスポットや文化も教え合ったので、聞いていてとてもオーストラリアに行きたくなりました。
Cさんは日本食が好きで、オーストラリアで「今日はこのような日本食を食べた！」や、「スーパーでこの日本食や日本のお菓子が売っているよ！」と教えてくれたりしたので、オーストラリアにいても日本を感じることができることを知りました。また、こちらが夏でとても暑かったときに、Cさんが「今日は寒かった」と言っていて、自然と話していて忘れてしまっていたが、遠く離れた国の方と繋がって会話しているのだということを実感することがありました。
一度、Zoomの回線が悪く、中断してしまったことがありました。自分の状況を母国語で説明することも難しいときに、私は頑張って英語で話したりＣさんは日本語で話したりしながら、お互いの状況を説明して解決したことは、とても良い勉強になったと思います。お互い課題で忙しかったり、体調が悪かったりしたときには言い合い、日にちも調整しました。このように気軽に言い合える関係作りができたのは良かったと思います。
海外の学生と話してみたいと思っても、個人で一から始めるのは難しいのではないかと思います。なので、このプログラムを活用し、日本にいながらにして異文化交流ができて良かったです。現地にいる学生とリアルタイムで繋がるという経験は貴重だと思うので、迷っている方はチャレンジしてみることをお勧めします。
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Cultivating Cross-Cultural Connections, Both Online and In-Person!
Jerome
Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
photo by author
Hello to all who are reading this! My name is Jerome, a second-year student at Singapore’s NTU. I began developing a strong interest in the Japanese language when I was in Junior College (Singapore’s equivalent to high school in Japan). After self-studying the language from textbooks and online apps for two years before entering university, I figured that it was about time to apply what I had learnt in real-life situations. Therefore, I took chances whenever I could to practise my conversational Japanese – which included asking questions to my university’s Japanese professors, chatting with native speakers on HelloTalk, and of course, participating in this programme. I thankfully managed to get paired with a partner – Haru! We first contacted each other via email, and from there, agreed to communicate solely through Instagram.
I remember feeling quite nervous before my first call with Haru. I feared that we wouldn’t connect well, or that the difference in language skills would make communication awkward. But those worries quickly faded. Haru’s spoken English was exceptionally clear and comprehensible, and she spoke to me kindly and patiently. We even shared interests such as music and gaming! All of these reasons made communicating with her a breeze.
We initially planned to split our hour-long weekly sessions into four 15-minute segments, alternating between communicating solely in English or Japanese, similar to the arrangement I have with my other language partners. However, we soon found ourselves naturally switching between both languages without strictly following this structure. We talked at great length regarding a variety of topics every session – life, school, music, games, and much more. Through doing so, we learnt more about each other’s native languages, including everyday phrases and slang. Turning on our cameras to show our surroundings or to introduce our different friends and family members to each other also helped us generate more topics to keep the conversation flowing. We also understood that just talking all the time might become mundane quickly, so we’d occasionally even play phone games together! It was a fun way to learn commands and directions in Japanese. All of these tactics helped to keep each session extremely engaging, and made me look forward to every call. Sometimes, we would be so engrossed in our conversations that we’d go well over our planned time limit!
photo by author
In June this year, I went on a holiday to Tokyo with two of my university friends. I took this rare opportunity to meet up with Haru in real life in Waseda! Both my friends tagged along, and she brought two of her friends as well. After giving a short tour of Waseda’s campus in the late afternoon, Haru and her friends brought us to Shin-Okubo for a Japanese-Korean fusion dinner. We all had a great time chatting about many topics over food and drink! Even those at the table who spoke only English or Japanese joined in enthusiastically, with Haru, myself, and one of her other friends translating as needed. The hours flew by, and after exchanging our gifts we bought for each other, we each went our separate ways.
Our time together in person may have been brief, but it was incredibly meaningful. Through that short session, I made two new Japanese friends, gained more knowledge on Japanese culture and etiquette, and learnt even more slang words such as ‘あざす’ (a slang for ‘thank you’)! Meeting Haru in real life added so much depth to our connection. It’s far more enriching than only seeing through a screen, and opens up the possibility for more memorable and valuable interactions. So if you ever get the chance to meet your language partner in person, go for it!
I strongly recommend this programme for anyone who wants to take their Japanese learning to the next level! The signup and pairing process was hassle-free, and it fit perfectly into my schedule without taking up too much extra time. The hands-off approach from the school also allowed our conversations to develop naturally, so they never felt like a chore. Plus, there’s so much you can learn from real conversations that textbooks just can’t teach.
I’m incredibly grateful to Waseda for giving me the opportunity to make new friends I can practise my Japanese with, and for boosting my confidence in speaking the language. Only by stepping outside my comfort zone did I manage to meet Haru and the rest of my wonderful Japanese friends. Even though the exchange period is over already, I’m glad our weekly calls are still ongoing. I guess there’s just too much we want to talk about and learn from each other! Here’s to a long-lasting friendship!! 😀
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Thank you for the new friendship!
Lee Soon Yang
Nanyang Technological University
Taiwan Exhibition at Ueno Park (photo by author)
I participated in the Japanese-English Online Exchange Program (Spring 2024) where I was able to meet a new friend, Wang Yu Ting.
Throughout the few months, we communicated with each other through Instagram chat and Zoom. We also had the opportunity to meet in Tokyo when I was in Japan in June and November!
I like that the program provided topics and suggestions for us to begin our communication. These helped to break the ice between us when the program first started. I think the program can be enhanced by having online workshop where the Japanese students as well as the oversea students share about their culture and countries through some simple PowerPoint presentation. This could be done through 1 session monthly.
At Wasedasai 2024 (photo by author)
Through this program, I was able to pick up new Japanese words and meet Yu Ting in Japan – who also share with me more about her life as a student in Japan. All in all, the program was very fun and informative for me to learn about Japanese culture and norms.
To future students who are interested in joining the program, take this opportunity, even if you are not familiar with the language, to meet someone new and learn about a new culture. Beyond the newfound knowledge, you would also make a new friend from abroad!
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