English
In order to encourage and motivate Japanese students interested in English and studying abroad but who lack confidence in doing so, the English Study Abroad Immersion Program was created.
On 15 October, 13 students spent the day at the British Hills resort in Fukushima where they experienced full immersion in the British culture – not only through the surroundings and architecture, but also through communicating by only English. At British Hills, students enjoyed experiencing British culture through the classes, especially the Pub Games held in an authentic pub. Throughout the day, students communicated with staff and other students as if they were actually in the UK, using only English. Although students said it was very tiring listening and speaking in English, they felt a sense of achievement that they were able to survive a day in “the UK”, as well as motivation to improve their speaking skills.
On 18 October, the Study Abroad Seminar was held at the International Lounge, joined by two guest speakers. In the seminar, students were introduced to studying and living abroad in the UK, Canada, and the USA. Students were then able to talk to the speakers directly and ask them questions. Although the seminar was only supposed to be two hours long, some students stayed two hours longer, talking to the guest speakers who enjoyed speaking with the motivated students.
Although we do not know how effective the program was yet, we hope that the program, although challenging, was able to encourage and motivate students to go abroad to widen their horizons as well as to keep improving their English.
