Help with choosing a program, please...

[kopiikat]

Hey all,

I'm a college sophomore who really wants to study in Japan next year. Unfortunately, because my Japanese teacher is always ridiculously vague and our other Japanese teacher is an AKP rep or something, I have no idea which program to choose.

Here are the choices that were suggested:

- Associated Kyoto Program (AKP) - affiliated with our school so credits will transfer. I wasn't sure about AKP because the classes offered (other than Japanese) seemed very limited, however, the language classes are supposed to be very good. How is Kyoto for a gaijin? Homestay.

- Nanzan - Lots of class choices, it seems, but it's hard to tell what I'll actually be able to take. I don't know much about Nanzan.

- Sophia - This was just suggested by my teacher the other day as an alternative to the other two. I know ABSOLUTELY nothing about this one.

If any of you have had good experiences with any of these programs or can compare them in any way, please help. Would you suggest homestay over a dorm? In your experience, where in Japan is a good place for foreigners to study? Sorry for the whiny post.

[Seraphis_Set]

http://www.isp.msu.edu/JCMU/

Their program is geared towards the intensive study of Japanese while in Japan. It's a 10 credit hour language course supported by one 3 credit hour course that involves some aspect of Japanese society, including Art-History, Culture & Society, Japanese Business, and Japanese Environmental Science. The program is set up for students from Michigan, however, they accept students from all over the US and world.

I did 3 semesters at that place, learned more Japanese than I ever thought I would be able to 10 years. They offer 4 levels of Japanese taking level 1 will enable you to pass the 4-kyuu, completing level 2 will get you past the 3-kyuu and if you complete level 4 odds are you'll be at 2-Kyuu proficiency. And that's one level per semester so if you've already completed introductory Japanese you could theoretically complete 400 Level Japanese in 3 semesters. I know fellow students who have been to Kansai-Gaidai and Temple, they all agree that that place has a much better language program, so if want to learn Japanese, that'd be the place to go IMHO.[/i]

[Charles]

Nanzan can arrange transfer credits. I know several people who went there and attained high levels of fluency.
However, I do not recommend beginners to study overseas. My university doesn't even consider recommending anyone for overseas studies unless they've completed 3 years of US classroom study. I attended a school in Japan where total beginners attended, they were hopelessly overwhelmed. It seemed to me to be a very expensive and stressful way to learn kana. You could do that in the US more cheaply and effectively. You get more out of studying in Japan if you're well prepared.

[mas]

Man, fuck JCMU. If you're going to spend a year in Japan, why would you want to spend it at Michigan State - Shiga?

I actually started the JYPE program at Tohoku Dai not knowing any Japanese, and left with a good conversational base (Not sure how I'd do on the JYPT, but I'd guess somewhere in that murky area between 3 kyu and 2 kyu). AIEJ scholarships are pretty easy to come by at Tohoku, which is 8 man a month for your living expenses. Plus, you'd be at one of the *cough* best universities in Japan *cough*.

But credits transferring? Good luck with that. I got the language credit to transfer back, but not much else (it all came back as 'elective' credit, which didn't count for shit towards my bachelor's). Then again, they offered no civil engineering courses, so take that as you will.

[Samurai_Jerk]

Charles is right about getting a solid base in the language at home before studying abroad. Even if you're only going to take language courses. People who do get more out of their studies and overall experience.