Monbukagakusho Scholarship for Postgraduate!!

[JapanDream]

I think being able to read Chinese would give you a good advantage in learning Japanese kanji.

Hi Clockworkorange,
It is true that having some knowledge in chinese will give you an advantage in kanji. After all, kanji is mostly chinese characters. I think you're doing the right thing for starters -- reading with a dictionary on hand! The grammar part, though, is what I find to be one of the most difficult aspects in learning written Japanese. Verb conjugation, sentence patterns, etc all take time to grasp. From what I heard, even though you are conveying the same message, you'll be saying completely different words depending on who you talk to and your relative social position. As for listening, maybe it will help if you start watching Japanese drama or anime with english subtitles. But when it comes to spoken Japanese, I think you will have to be either in Japan or know some close Japanese friends to get a good practice. Oh yea, not forgetting Japanese songs and karaoke--I'm sure you'll pick up a thing or 2 there as well! I'm also taking Japanese lesson once a week nowadays, and I will be sitting for JLPT 3 this december. But it's gonna be tough for me because my instructor told us we won't be able to get to that level by then at the current rate we're going, so he advised those that signed up to do self-study outside of class. Anyone here also taking the JLPT?
There is a link that I find pretty useful for learning Japanese. You might wanna check it out.
www dot mlcjapanese dot co dot jp
All the best to everyone!

 

[kouki]

No worries, not knowing Chinese might help you in some way. Most of the Japanese Kanji looks familiar but they bear a different meaning in Japanese. So knowing Chinese will somehow makes you feel you know that word, but not exactly what it means in the usage. By large, Japanese Kanji has a different pronunciation from Chinese, so you have to memorize it all over again. But knowing a dialect or two of Chinese might help. So don't give up!!!

JLPT level 3 sounds good!!! At least according to the specification by the Japan Foundation, you can actually engaged in the daily conversation with the Japanese. At least you would no feel so stressed when you are in Japan.

But anyway, learn as much as you can before departing to Japan.

 

[Charles Barkley]

There is no reason to panic about not knowing Japanese now. If you work hard, you will pick it up quickly. It just makes life much easier and more enjoyable at the beginning. If you don't know Japanese, just make sure to be patient, realize you won't always understand what's going on, don't get discouraged if you can't participate in conversations, and try to be outgoing using your English.

If you are friendly, flexible, and patient, you probably won't have any serious problems if your Japanese is lacking. If you get frustrated easily, it could be a problem, so keep that in mind.

Why 4 years to get a masters? I am trying to do it in 2.5--I just applied to enter the master's program, so hopefully will start in april, putting me at half a year as a research student and 2 years to get the masters...

 

[jim84]

There is no reason to panic about not knowing Japanese now. If you work hard, you will pick it up quickly. It just makes life much easier and more enjoyable at the beginning. If you don't know Japanese, just make sure to be patient, realize you won't always understand what's going on, don't get discouraged if you can't participate in conversations, and try to be outgoing using your English.

If you are friendly, flexible, and patient, you probably won't have any serious problems if your Japanese is lacking. If you get frustrated easily, it could be a problem, so keep that in mind.

Why 4 years to get a masters? I am trying to do it in 2.5--I just applied to enter the master's program, so hopefully will start in april, putting me at half a year as a research student and 2 years to get the masters...

I think yours is a special case, charles.
For the rest of us, the fastest we can do is in 3 years. 6 months jap language, 6 months as research student and enroll in April 2010, ending March 2012. Unless we opt for the October departure, then it'll be like yours, first 6 months kinda 2 in 1 (jap language + research student + preparing for entrance exam in Feb). The total length is shorter, but will still complete everything in March 2012 (based on 2-year Master program scenario).

 

[c0ok1e]

Charles,
You're taking masters in engineering as well??

Speaking about the duration, how many years do you guys expect to be studying in Japan?? Anyone plan to finish up to phd?? Some courses the minimum is 2 years but usually we need to extend.. Lets discuss about the duration and plans of our courses here..

For me, I think that my course will need to extend more than 2 years thats why im worried if i have to finance myself after the scholarship expires.. If this is the case, I wont be able to finance myself and have to stop halfway..It would be a waste of my 2 years if this happens.. so sad.

 

[Charles Barkley]

Ahh, yes, if your school only conducts new admissions once per year, and that one time takes place in the spring, 3 years would probably be the minimum. Though I did arrive in the fall, had I arrived in the spring I still would have been able to try to start after 6 months, as my school has twice yearly admissions. So perhaps others are unlikely to be in a similar situation.

I am in the Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies at Waseda.

 

[JapanDream]

Ahh, yes, if your school only conducts new admissions once per year, and that one time takes place in the spring, 3 years would probably be the minimum. Though I did arrive in the fall, had I arrived in the spring I still would have been able to try to start after 6 months, as my school has twice yearly admissions. So perhaps others are unlikely to be in a similar situation.

I am in the Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies at Waseda.

Hi Charles,

I am interested in finding out more about your class auditing activity, if you don't mind. Did you mention that you'll be receiving a grade for it? If you do, does that mean you'll also get the credits? This leads to the next question: are we actually allowed to attend classes and get the credits which can be used to fulfill the Master's requirement, even b4 we change our status from research to Master's student?

I understand that 30 credits is the standard requirement for a getting a Master's in a Japanese Uni. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Do you know how is each class translated to 2 credit hrs? Does it have to do with how many hours you spend in the lecture each week? Thanks for your feedback!

 

[clockworkorange]

Hello everybody,

What i meant was a total of 4 years in Japan....not 4 years to complete the masters.
4 years = 2 years (research student) + 2 years (masters student). If i go in October, then 3.5 years = 1.5 years (research student) + 2 years (masters student). I think it is possible for the duration (of being a research student) to be shorter depending on your Japanese language proficiency. My course will most probably be conducted in Japanese which means that I do need to be proficient.

I'm also thinking of the worst case scenario. If i am not able to gain entry into any Japanese university after taking entrance exams, i would like to think that the time i spent as a research student gave some valuable experiences. 1.5 years isn't too long a break from the work force, i think.

Having said that, i do desperately want to get into Tokyo University. But of course, I've read that Tokyo University is notorious for their killer entrance exams. One blogger described it as "murderously difficult". So I'm just being realistic and looking at it from all possible angles.

Thank you very much for all the suggestions and encouragement regarding learning the Japanese language.

JapanDream, was JLPT 4 difficult?

 

[kimberleylhj]

Don't worry so much if you have basic Japanese language knowledge. You'll pick it up once you are there. I can see that all are already learning and taking the initiative to sit for JLPT. So no worries there.

I too do no have Chinese characters reading and writing knowledge prior to learning Japanese. I hated Kanji and find it so tough at one point, I decided to just learn Japanese conversation and stop my normal language class. However, this year I went for regular classes again and now I'm slowly improving and in fact, can read some Chinese. I am worried too coz I'm also going to attend lessons in Japanese if I get in my 1st priority university, but I think if we have the determination to learn, it will be okay.

 

[menrui]

I, personally, am in no rush to finish school and enter the working world. I really hate the idea of "growing up". Yes, I know its a bad thing, my parents/friends/brother tells me that all the time. I love school and everything that comes with it: learning, friends, school life, etc. Also, I want to be able to teach at the college level once this is all over. So, I plan to enter as a research student and attempt to go as far as a PhD degree. I have no idea how long it will take and I dont really mind.

One of my concern is extending the scholarship. I am bounded to it, so if I cant extend it, my studies in japan will end there.

It seems like every one is busy working... but me. I recently graduate like 3 months ago, and have been living with my parents. I dont really do anything, I just "take care" of the house haha. I study japanese and for the GRE a little bit every day. Anyways, it been 3months and i feel like im going to explode.

As for me, im studying for the JLPT lvl 2 test. im not actually taking it because there are no test location near me(but there is one in Arkansas for some reason...), but it sets me a goal. I sure I can pass lvl3, but lvl2 is significantly alot harder so i have a long way to go.
Anyways, keeps studying guys.

 

[clockworkorange]

You know, menrui, i agree with you. I love learning, i love student life, i love school, i love books. I like the smell of books and i like taking classes.

You can learn at work but its not the same. The one thing i hate about working is the rigid schedule. From 9 - 5 (9 - 7 really), your time is not your own. I kind of feel like sheep sometimes.

I would like to be an academician myself. Maybe i will be some day, hopefully, but the thing is, it takes a long time. I need to work to support my parents and myself in the future. Else, i'd be studying with you!

I took care of the house for more or less 3 months as well after i graduated. I wanted to take care of it longer but my parents weren't having any of it. so now my cat takes care of the house. Grin.

if your studying for the jlpt 2 but not taking the test, how do you know how you'll fare for the actual test? You take a practice test or past paper or something? Sorry, i'm not really familiar with jlpt.

 

[JapanDream]

I too do no have Chinese characters reading and writing knowledge prior to learning Japanese. I hated Kanji and find it so tough at one point, I decided to just learn Japanese conversation and stop my normal language class. However, this year I went for regular classes again and now I'm slowly improving and in fact, can read some Chinese. I am worried too coz I'm also going to attend lessons in Japanese if I get in my 1st priority university, but I think if we have the determination to learn, it will be okay.

Yup, if you have the determination and if you're dedicated, it shouldn't be too much of a problem to do well in Japanese language.

JLPT 4 is alright and I personally think it's not too difficult. It's the beginner's level and it shouldn't be. =) In fact, don't worry too much if you don't have any background in chinese. Kanji only takes up a small portion of the test in Section 1. Section 2 is the hardest in my opinion. It is the listening part and you have to be quick to answer the question on the spot, or else you will have no time to go back to the question later on. Bear in mind you need to bubble in the correct answer PLUS the other 3 incorrect choices for each question. Section 3 is the grammar section and if you study and know the rules, you will fare well. All in all, I think you will have just about enough time to finish the whole test, with not much time left to spare for checking your answers. I would say that level 4 is not that hard to PASS (60% of total score) but if you want to score well, then you will have to put in the extra effort. Do you plan to take it in Dec?

 

[menrui]

I need to work to support my parents and myself in the future.

I hate hearing that... it really makes me want to cry. I grew up believing that too, and it felt really awful. but its different now so i dont need to work so soon.

my parents dont like my staying at home all day... so i need to find a part time job soon.

there are plenty of old jlpt test online. there is also a recommended kanji/vocab(and i think grammar) list for each lvl. I just browsed through lvl4 and lvl3 test/recommended list, and i could answer most of the questions and i know most of the recommended list. lvl2 however, i get really lost because of vocab and kanji. so, im going to study lvl2 stuff until i feel like i can complete a lvl 2 jlpt test with ease.

 

[c0ok1e]

I did have the same thiking like menrui before, just study and enjoy our life until we are ready for the working world.. Maybe for female it is ok to do that..im not sure but as a male i dont think we can afford to do that..maybe not in the asian society.. Once you get a girlfriend you start thinking about family and your responsibility as a man... It becomes something like your life doesnt belong to you yourself anymore.. you have to take care of the people around you..

Just a question here, the 6 months language course that we will be taking, what level do you think we will be at after we finish the course? JLPT lvl 2?? Can we take jlpt in japan? cuz after finish the course might try to take jlpt so we have extra qualification..

 

[kimberleylhj]

Level 2 is crazy! For me that is. I passed my Level 3 & 4 ages ago but until today, still struggling to take Level 2. Haha..

 

[jim84]

Hi guys,
for me I'm in no hurry to work. Having been working both in my own field and corporate before, I have a rough idea of what's out there and frankly it isn't very tempting. So I don't mind spending a couple of years in Uni building my academic capabilities and labaratory experience.
If possible, I may extend up to PhD, subject to the advise of my supervisor.
Anyway, I just want to kick start my postgraduate =)
Loved to go back to the book crunching days.
Been in marketing for almost a year, kinda tired now =) it's exciting, but exhausting and doesn't really enrich the intellectual mind, though the experience is great and tests on endurance and physique. =p

 

[kouki]

I think for the Japanese Language Course, they are going to allocate us into different classes with different levels, aiming at polishing our Japanese Language to teaching us Japanese Language. It well depends on how we faired our Japanese Language test in our preliminary round. Perhaps there are some small test to group us again, I am not sure. But certainly, they will try to make us being able:

• to use Japanese in our daily life (JLPT level 3 or EJU Japanese C or Basic Japanese)
• to engage ourselves with others in daily life through active writing or expressive level of Japanese(JLPT level 2 or EJU Japanese B or Intermediate Japanese)
• to have proficiency in Japanese and being able to present ourselves technically via writing medium, especially theses (JLPT level 1 or EJU Japanese A or Advanced Japanese)

Haha, maybe I am thinking a bit too much!!!

>c0ok1e

Yes, you can still sit for JLPT test in Japan, in many places in Japan, but perhaps at a price a lot higher than you are in Malaysia, it is about RM50-60 in Malaysia, but expect it to be much more in Japan. But you are getting the results earlier.

Some universities even give incentives to their students who score high marks in JLPT, i.e. >360 in Level 1. One university which I know is Kyushu Institute of Technology. The amount is not small either. Maybe you can give it a shot when you are there. Haha.

 

[Charles Barkley]

Hi Charles,
I am interested in finding out more about your class auditing activity, if you don't mind. Did you mention that you'll be receiving a grade for it? If you do, does that mean you'll also get the credits? This leads to the next question: are we actually allowed to attend classes and get the credits which can be used to fulfill the Master's requirement, even b4 we change our status from research to Master's student?
I understand that 30 credits is the standard requirement for a getting a Master's in a Japanese Uni. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Do you know how is each class translated to 2 credit hrs? Does it have to do with how many hours you spend in the lecture each week? Thanks for your feedback!

Again, I am sure it varies based on school and department within the school, but at my school I will take classes for grades while a kenkyuusei, and when I become a regular student, up to 10 credits (with the exact same grades) can be applied to my degree.

2 credits per class and each class meets once a week for 90 minutes. At my school, research project counts for 8 credits so 11 other classes are required for the masters.

 

[Charles Barkley]

Though you are a japanese student for "6 months," if your school is like waseda, you might only spend 3.5 months of that time actually in school, as our japanese program runs on the same semester system as the normal university. If you are dedicated to study the other 2.5 months and really push yourself while at language school, you should be somewhere in between 3kyuu and 2kyuu. If you keep up the study for a year, particularly if you are korean or know chinese, you should be able to pass 2kyuu without problem--the others might be able to do it as well. I am assuming you come over knowing the kanas but not much else.

One thing I am happy about is that even after my first 6 months, I can continue to take japanese courses. I expect by that time I will be able to pass 1kyuu without serious difficulty, but that alone doesn't mean I'll be able to keep up in graduate classes conducted in Japanese. At my current level (in between 2 and 1) I wouldn't stand a chance....

 

[c0ok1e]

Charles,

Can i know how the masters programme run?? Im taking masters in the science field and in my country, usually the masters is a full research course without taking any lecture classes..

However I have the feeling that in Japan, it doesnt focus much on research but more on classes.. So will we have a hard time presenting our research thesis since we divide our time into lecture and research.. this way, our research would be less impactful cuz we did not concentrate fully on it..

 

[Charles Barkley]

I really am not qualified to answer that question yet, and since I am studying in the humanities, I am not sure at all that my answer would be relevant to a sciences based degree program.

 

[JapanDream]

Again, I am sure it varies based on school and department within the school, but at my school I will take classes for grades while a kenkyuusei, and when I become a regular student, up to 10 credits (with the exact same grades) can be applied to my degree.
2 credits per class and each class meets once a week for 90 minutes. At my school, research project counts for 8 credits so 11 other classes are required for the masters.

Hi Charles,

Thanks for checking back often on this forum even after you've settled down in Japan. Your advice and the experience you share have really given us a better idea of what there is to come.

In your dept, how many students does each class have on average? What is the most represented nationality, other than Japanese?

 

[Charles Barkley]

I haven't started classes yet, so ask me again in a few weeks (I start on monday).

My department is made 70% international students, 30% Japanese.

Of the international students, 30% are chinese, 15% korea, 9% american, 5-6% of each of Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, and Indonesia, then smaller percentages of other countries. So the majority come from Asian countries not including Japan.

My department is...unsual.

 

[menrui]

2 credits per class and each class meets once a week for 90 minutes

This made me giggle a bit.

 

[dblbstrd]

Hey guys...
Any of you US folks have any good ideas on what to do for deferment of federal student loans?
My post-graduation grace period is just about to end, and I know I can't get an "in-school" deferment because my school isn't part of the US financial aid system...
I'm thinking about shooting for the "graduate fellowship" one, though I don't know if they would accept that or not. Seems the other option is "economic hardship" deferment, but that's only good for three years (if they approve it in the first place) which isn't long enough for me to stay for my PhD if that's what I choose.

Anybody know anything? I get told something different every time I call the people to ask about it, so I have no idea what is going to happen...
I don't think I can really afford to make those payments just yet haha.