International Exchange/Overseas Program
Voices of Program Participants Exchange Student: Taiwan/Jingxuan University (4 months)
The reason I decided to study abroad was because I wanted to be able to speak both English and Chinese, and because I wanted to confirm that Taiwan is known as a pro-Japanese country. In preparation for studying abroad, I started learning Chinese for the first time. I took Chinese classes at university and participated actively, learning about Taiwanese culture, history, and basic manners.
The atmosphere of the university was international and lively. There are cafeterias, convenience stores, cafes, tapioca shops, daily necessities stores, etc. on campus, so you can rest assured that you have everything you need for daily life. In addition, there is a gym, pool, and playground on campus, so you can exercise a lot.
Chinese was compulsory and taught for two hours every day. Other than that, I was free to choose classes, but there were only a few classes I could take due to restrictions on the number of students.
As for my impressions of the classes, I was able to communicate well with my classmates in the compulsory Chinese class. In other classes, we basically used English, and students with low levels of understanding went to the teacher individually to ask questions. During group work, local students also helped me, which was fun.
My university had a Japanese language department, so I took classes there and deepened my interactions with local students. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to make local friends because I couldn't speak Chinese, but there were many students who were good at Japanese, and they taught me a lot of Chinese, and I also taught them Japanese. It was like an exchange language, and we were able to learn each other's languages and cultures.
After returning to Japan after finishing my studies abroad, I took more advanced Chinese classes and was able to serve customers in Chinese during my part-time job, so I felt like I had grown. In addition, this university holds many field trips and events for exchange students, so I became more familiar with Taiwanese history and culture. As for advice on studying,2We recommend that you take Chinese in the spring semester of your second year. In addition, you will need not only Chinese but also English when you are abroad, so we recommend that you continue to study English.
To students who are thinking about studying abroad, I know you may have many worries about living in a foreign country that is completely different from the environment in Japan, but I hope you will do your best as there are many more fun things and things that make you glad you went.
English Communication Department 3rd Year AI
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