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Exempted from Japanese Language Preparatory Course?

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osging

Memories of Japan
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Hi All,

Anyone of you knows about any Monbusho scholars who are exempted from the first six months of japanese language courses? I mean for those who don't know the language yet.

Thanks.
 
hello osging, nice to see you are finally decide to write here!

about your question, I'm not sure I understand. did you change your arrival to Japan to October or what? even if you did, that not exclude you from courses. I think I never heard that one will not take Japanese language courses :?
 
I was exempted way back when I went. But I think that was mostly because of the special sister school arrangement under which I went.
 
Mike Cash said:
I was exempted way back when I went. But I think that was mostly because of the special sister school arrangement under which I went.
Click to expand...

but.. but.. you knew Japanese already? or you learnt it otherwise when you came? but if it was some special arrangement, then it is not so common

:?
 
Reply

Hi,
I do not have any prior knowledge of Japanese. That is exactly the reason why I am surprised of d exemption. I also havent heard of anyone been exempted from the japanese language course.

On top of that, the person in charge at d embassy in my home country also do not know why did this happen..just tryin my luck here in case any one experience this before..

alma, which place in japan ru heading to? btw alma, i m goin in april n not october
 
well, that is surprise! maybe at your university or all of your classes will be held in English :? but, even with that (which i do not believe), you need to know Japanese in order to live outside of classroom... you should get more info from MEXT, then. ask the person from embassy to ask for explanation.

I changed my arrival to Japan to October, because I haven't graduate yet here from university, and my final exam will be in April here, not before. so I had to change it. but anyway, I will go to courses first. and I will go to Tokyo, first to Tokyo Gakugei university to learn Japanese, later to Musashino art university.
 
Exactly my thoughts too. Even if I dun have to use Japanese in my studies, I still need them for daily life. Anyway will just have to wait till I go there only do I see how things work out..

Wow, in Tokyo..I will be in Kyoto, so see u around in Japan should the chance arise..Good luck with your studies in Japan..
 
thank you

then let me know what is happening, I am really curious to know. I hope you will know situation before you go there.
and Kyoto is also wow.. really it is. I'm sure you'll love it. what university, and what are you going to study there? good luck to you too.

 
Hi Alma,

Thank you too. I will certainly let u know of any updates. I ll be going to Kyoto Uni, most probably will be studying something related to biology..Keep in touch
 
Alma said:
but.. but.. you knew Japanese already? or you learnt it otherwise when you came? but if it was some special arrangement, then it is not so common
:?
Click to expand...

I had some ability, but nowhere near enough to benefit from university classes in Japanese. In my case it was just a special arrangement because of the sister school relation, the fact that students were sent over for only 10 months, the fact that they didn't really expect us to learn anything, and our sole function was to serve as props for university publicity photo ops.
 
well, that explains a lot. especially, as I understand, if you were part of group. but, this is something completely different. osging (and so will I) is coming alone, and suppose to live and study in Japan for 3 years. if he already do not know any Japanese, he shouldn't be exempted from course.
 
I wasn't part of a group; I was the only person that year (normally they did two per year). It was just that our exchange period was so short anyway (10 months) that it seemed pointless to spend six months of it preparing. I personally think it would have been better to just put the people in Japanese language couses for the entire period. But, as I said, they really weren't interested in the foreign students' education. They were interested in having human props for publicity events and photos.

They took students who had submitted study plans for things they didn't even have at the university. I remember a Mexican teacher who came to study education administration. They had nothing at all relevant for her. There was an American who came to study at the school of Agriculture. All they had for him was an American high school agriculture textbook from the 1950s. Seriously, that was it. I'm not exaggerating one bit. I came to study English teaching in Japan and was put into the English section of the Education school. I came away with a greater understanding of why English education is so horrible in Japan. I learned 100 times more useful stuff standing and reading in the local Kinokuniya bookstore than I did in the classrooms.

At one of the many events where they had us out for publicity purposes, I commented to a gentleman from Thailand that our situation was like Vietnam prisoners of war who were kept in horrible conditions and neglected, but from time to time washed up, given clean and neat clothes to wear, photographed for propaganda, and then immediately thrown back into neglect again.

He agreed 100% with that assessment.

I hope that things are better now.
 
osging said:
Hi All,
Anyone of you knows about any Monbusho scholars who are exempted from the first six months of japanese language courses? I mean for those who don't know the language yet.
Thanks.
Click to expand...

I'm not quite sure about this, but some students are exempted because they have to take Japanese class that the University will prepare for you when you start studying over there. Or they already have prior Japanese knowledge. Or you probably already have knowledge in Kanji and your Language Course is shorten. Not sure though.

And, 6 month? Isnt it 1 year or something like that? I'm not sure about the monbusho students, but the petronas and mara student over here had to take 1 1/2 year of Japanese course.

Last I check Kyoto University doesnt offer any English Course. Or is it other University that you're going?
 
Hi Rio,

I dun have knowledge either in Katakana, Hiragana or Kanji, unless u count Mandarin characters as Kanji. But for my case, its not that the course is shortened, i totally do not have to attend any classes at all for japanese. For Monbusho, its six months of language course, before u take d entrance exams.

And I m indeed going to Kyoto Uni, for the courses that u mentioned, I guess u meant undergrad courses. I m doing my Masters.

TQ
 
Ah then thats explains it.
Quite alot of the masters studies over here is done in English. Depending on the Major, the class is usually done in Japanese or English. But quite alot of it is done in English so that might explain the reason you're exempted from the Japanese course.

Some of my friends are going for masters studies in different University (like Tokyo University etc) and most of them said that their class going to be in English. But they still take the Language Course anyway. (Not monbusho scholarship students, they go to different school)
 
I heard lots of cases when classes are held in English, and professors are willing to speak English with foreign students. but they are just considered as ''lucky''. and, even with that, all monbusho scholarships I know, attended Japanese first.
osging, are you started studying Japanese by yourself?
Mike Cash, thanks for details! It was, as I see, quite a situation there!
 
Hi,

Alma, I have not started studying japanese myself, not really in d mood to do so
 
what about you alma ?



Isn't it cool to review what you were wondering about by that time (although that's not so far) ?
anyway, i wanted to know if YOU Alma studied or at least had some notions in japanese before your trip. I'm asking this because you seem to face some difficulties in your INTENSIVE COURSES (personnaly, i believe it IS difficult,because you have to finish the two genki books by the end of the six months. Isn't that right ?) .
 
I'm confused about something. If you go in April and you start your Japanese classes, then that means your school year will start in October? I'm talking about research students-master.☝ It seams you can start in april or in October.
 
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