Name of the Institution: Summer 2020 Short-Term Online Study Program hosted by Dalian Neusoft University of Information
Duration of Program： August 31st (Monday) - September 11th (Friday), 2020
Name of students：4 students (◆YAGI Shion ◆HAYASI Ren ◆TASAKI Hiroshi ◆SEKIZAWA Naoki)
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◆YAGI Shion (3rd-year undergraduate)
This was my first-time online studying abroad and I was not used to it, but it was a lot of fun. I had never studied Chinese before. Chinese characters have some similarities to the Japanese "KANJI", but it was very difficult to pronounce. Our Chinese teacher was very kind and taught us in English and Chinese.
In class, I learned the dates and hobbies, hotel reservations, and how to get to my destination in Chinese. Through the class, I thought that I want to learn more Chinese myself, and I will be able to speak Chinese with my Chinese friends. In the Chinese culture class, I learned about the differences in cooking depending on the Chinese economy and region, popular apps in China, mail-order sites and video apps.
Recently, I often see Chinese electronic payment marks in Japan, and Chinese apps are also popular. Just because I was not familiar with it, I felt that there was actually a lot of Chinese culture around me, and I was able to become more interested in Chinese culture. The exchange party was also very fun. I was surprised that Chinese students are very good at Japanese. We talked about recommended dramas, movies, and dishes. I felt close to China that Japanese dramas were popular in China and that the anime that is being broadcast on TV today is also being broadcast in China. On the other hand, there were so many things I did not know. I was able to actually talk with Chinese students, ask questions, and get to know them. At first Japanese students were nervous and we couldn't ask the Chinese students questions, but they gradually got to know each other and everyone seemed to be having fun.
Finally, we exchanged WeChat ID with each other. I am looking forward to learning more about each other and seeing them when I go to China.
◆HAYASI Ren (2nd-year undergraduate)
I took this class. One is that I thought that I could share values with many people by better understanding different cultures. The other reason was that I thought that it would actually lead to practice in positivity. In this report, I will focus on the Chinese class.
The class that impressed me was Chinese class. The Chinese class is in English. Specifically, after explaining the Chinese grammar and the meaning of words in English, the lessons were conducted by speaking Chinese through practice. At first, I thought it was a class that uses Japanese, so I was surprised at the class that uses English. However, I thought that this sudden change in the environment would be an opportunity to connect to classes at the University of Aizu in English. Thanks to this idea, I was able to speak more positively. There is no doubt that this change in the environment was a good thing for me.
However, I think there were some weak points. It is an online class, not a local class. Certainly, online has the advantage of being easy to join. However, there was also a weakness that made it difficult to communicate and feel the atmosphere with the teachers and other students. It could be a one-sided class or statement, and I can't say that we students were able to create an atmosphere in which many opinions were expressed. This experience gave me an opportunity to think about how to create an atmosphere where opinions can be expressed not only locally but also online.
I had roughly two experiences in this study abroad program. One is that I adapted to sudden changes in the environment and acted positively. The other is that positive remarks are not most of the factors that create an atmosphere of many opinions. I want to apply what I have experienced in communicating with people.
◆TASAKI Hiroshi (2nd-year undergraduate)
In this online study-abroad program, I participated in the lecture of Chinese culture and meetup between Japanese students and Chinese students of the Dalian Neusoft University of Information.
During the lectures, I learned both about traditional and recent culture. Most of the contents covered in the lecture like entertainment and remarkable custom were the ones which stimulate student's curiosity strongly and I could enjoy the lecture.
Through the lecture, I realized how much I didn't know about China even it is a neighbor country of Japan and I became interested in knowing more about China and its culture.
During the meetups, I interacted with Chinese students of the university. Participants talked about several themes like favorite movies, music, each country's food culture, and so on. Through the meetup, I could know the pleasure of communicating with foreign people and learning about different culture. Besides, I could become proactive in the meetups since it is needed to do so.
In conclusion, I'm sure this online study-abroad was a valuable experience for me.
◆SEKIZAWA Naoki (1st-year undergraduate)
This was my first attempt at an online study abroad program. I thought I could feel free to participate because I don't have to go there. Also, since I can take this program as long as I have a computer and an internet environment, I actually took the latter half of the class while returning to my hometown. Until now, even if I wanted to study abroad, it was difficult to put it into practice due to high hurdles such as study abroad costs and language preparation, but I think that this method will reduce the burden considerably for many students.
In the class, a Chinese teacher actually taught us, so I got to know the real Chinese culture. The customs peculiar to China that I don't usually know are often different from Japan, and I was surprised often. In addition, I was able to experience the entertainment culture of Chinese people by being shown the apps and videos that are popular in China. In particular, there are various types of mail-order apps, which are more popular than in Japan, and I wanted to know more about the system. For the lecture, we didn't have any problems because the teachers and students have high level Japanese skill.