The Yamanashi trip was a wonderful experience.
Which events or activities did you find the most satisfying and why?
The Yamanashi trip was a wonderful experience. I enjoyed the opportunity to explore outside of Tokyo as a class, while getting information about the sites we were visiting from the teachers and KCP staff.
What were the most productive and interesting aspects of the program for you? The least interesting and productive?
I appreciated that we had more than just one instructor. This gave me exposure to different methods that different teachers used in teaching Japanese. I enjoyed every instructor I had in both the group sessions and the regular classes. For me, I do not believe that having tests at the very beginning of class was particularly productive. It was difficult for me to switch gears within five minutes of a class starting.
What activities or materials did you find most helpful (e.g., pair work, drill practice, tests, small group sessions, textbooks, games)?
I found the merging of the summer short term program with the regular classes to be the most helpful. The addition of Korean and Chinese students who could not speak English and were restricted to a similar level of Japanese as I forced me to communicate using Japanese in a way that is less intimidating than trying to speak Japanese with native speakers.
Any further thoughts or tips for those considering the program or new KCP students?
Jet lag can have a variety of effects on people and it does not effect the same two people the same way. I wish I had arrived a few days early to recover and rest before the group sessions began. Also, the heat and humidity in the summer in Tokyo can be overwhelming, so it is important to stay hydrated.
