Jiang Haiyang (江海洋)さん（中国） 中級　2022S1S2

「日本語のクラスを受講して」

【日本語】

去年１０月入学以来、二つの学期にわたって中級３レベルの「会話」「作文」と「読解」の授業を履修しました。

「会話」のクラスには、先生や目上の方と話す時使う敬語の基本を教えていただき、研究室の教授と自然な会話を交わす模擬訓練も行いました。更に、自らの意見を述べることができるようになるため、クラス全員が投票で選んだテーマを用い、ディベート大会が開催されました。二週間で、チームメイトと討議を重ね、原稿の書き直しを繰り返し、最終結果よりディベートの準備を通じて覚えた単語や表現とクラスメイトとの友情を深めたことのほうが貴重だと思います。

「作文」のクラスには、ほぼ毎週４００字近くの文章を書く宿題があり、時間がかかりそうですが、文章力の成長を実感しました。授業中に自分の研究テーマに関する文章を一つずつ作っており、学期末において最後の宿題では１０００字以上の研究計画書も書けるようになりました。その研究計画書は、奨学金申請などにも大いに役に立ちます。

今学期履修した「読解」のクラスには、多くの興味深い文章を読みながら、語彙力を鍛えました。身の回りの東大構内での技術の活用事例から、災害予測や超音速旅客機まで、毎回の授業で様々な最新技術に関して先生と私たちは自由に意見を交換していました。

日本語教室で出会った先生たちはとても優しく、責任感が強く、オンラインでも対面でも親切にご教授いただき、心から感謝しております。今後も日本語力を身につけるため努力してまいります。

皆様もぜひ日本語教室の様々なクラスをお試しください！

【English】

I have finished Intermediate 3 level Speaking, Writing, and Reading courses in the past two semesters after entering the University of Tokyo since last October.

During the Speaking class, we were taught basic honorific terms in Japanese that are necessary when talking to teachers and superiors. Simulated natural conversations with our own advisors and professors were also held. Furthermore, to prepare ourselves for expressing our ideas clearly, a debate contest was held, with its topic selected by students voting. In two weeks, we discussed with our teammates, writing speech scripts again and again. Personally, what we learned throughout that preparation, and deepened friendship with classmates are much more precious than the final result.

The writing class assigned essay tasks that require nearly 400 characters almost every week. Though it seems to be time-consuming, it does make me feel concrete elevation in my writing skills. During classes, we were writing materials about our own research projects sentence by sentence. By the end of that semester, we were able to write a full research proposal in Japanese with over 1000 characters.

Reading class allows us to enrich our vocabulary while reading interesting passages. From applications of techniques inside U-Tokyo campus, to disaster prediction and super-sonic planes, everyone in the classroom is free to speak anything about latest technology.

All the teachers I encountered in JLCSE courses are truly warm-hearted, and have strong sense of responsibility. Regardless of it being an online classroom or face-to-face one, teachers always make sure everyone in the class learning the most as he or she can. I am genuinely grateful for these wonderful classes.

Please do not hesitate to plunge yourself into such golden opportunities of learning Japanese!

Nikki HALLさん（アメリカ）中級　2022S1S2

「日本語のクラスを受講して」

I am very happy with the courses I have taken within the JLCSE! I started in the Beginner-4 classes last year and this upcoming year I will continue into Intermediate-2. Even though I have only taken classes online, the teachers have all been very engaging and the structure of the lessons is easy to follow. I have also met many classmates from within the School of Engineering that I wouldn’t have otherwise crossed paths with, so I am grateful for that as well. I highly recommend taking the integral class and the skill classes (I really enjoyed Intermediate-1 Speaking and Technical Reading!). I look forward to continuing with the JLCSE courses for the rest of my degree program, and I hope I can get to an advanced level with my Japanese. Thank you!

JLCSEの先生達、初級４レベルから中級１レベルまで教えてくれてありがとうございます！オンライン授業を受けたけど、本当に楽しかったです。クラスメートと会って色々話して、よかったです。上級レベルになるまで、JLCSEの授業を受け続けたいと思います。これからもよろしくお願いします。

John Andrew Kane JOVELLANAさん  （フィリピン）初級　2021A1A2

「日本語のクラスを受講して」

I am John Andrew Kane Jovellana from the Philippines. I am enrolled as a research student from 2020S1S2 and continue as a nuclear engineering graduate student starting in September 2020. I have taken Beginning 4, Intensive Beginning 2, and Intermediate 1 Reading classes before, and I am currently taking Intermediate 1 Speaking, Integral, and Listening classes this 2021A1A2. I started taking JLCSE classes from April 2020, which is the start of online class setup. At first, I was worried if I could effectively study Nihongo online while outside Japan because I do not have the proper environment and immersion in the language. I did not have the chance to use Japanese everyday last year.

Thankfully, the instructors are extremely accommodating and enthusiastic in teaching and delivering the Japanese classes. The setup, content, and requirements of the classes ensure balanced and organized development of all language skills, which are relevant and useful in my daily life now here in Japan. I realized that the classes are professionally and expertly handled by the faculty, and the level of difficulty and pacing are appropriate for the courses. The teachers are also understanding when the students suddenly become busy with research, and also give tips and advice about living in Japan. I realized that the skills developed in the classes are not only useful for passing the JLPT but also important for daily life situations and conversations.

The classes are also good avenues to learn more about various Japanese situations and cultural notes, especially during conversation and role-playing activities, as well as learn about diverse international cultures during speech activities and presentations. We also have native Japanese student volunteers who participate in our classes to further enhance the learning by improving our pronunciation, intonation, diction, and word choices in conversation activities. JLCSE not only offers Japanese language courses but also visitor sessions where we can have conversations with native speakers to learn more about Japanese culture. I strongly recommend the JLCSE classes to international students for expertly organized and immersive Nihongo classes.

Jeferson Shin-Iti Shigakiさん（ブラジル）　上級　2021A1A2

「日本語のクラスを受講して」

はじめまして。私は工学系研究科の博士課程ジェフェルソンと申します。出身地はブラジルです。2019年来日してから、日本語教室（JLCSE）で、中級３から上級１にかけて様々なコースを受講させていただきました。留学生として、JLCSEは、世界中から来た多様な知識分野の人々と集まるため、最高な場所だと思います。スタッフは非常に協力的で、教師一同は信じられないほど情熱的です。授業の内容は、授業・研究活動に加え、日常生活にも役立っています。今学期、読解の授業を受けていますが、この前、総合・聴解・会話・文章のコースを受講しました。忙しいところもありますが、各コースは重要なスキルのレベルアップするために設計したもので、宿題・課題に頑張ってもやりがいがあると思います。さらに、オンライン学習に移行して以来、日本語コースの有効性に嬉しいです。このような変化の中、先生達は素晴らしく対応しています。それでも、文化交流と友情を深めるため、対面モードを再開することを楽しみにしています。

My name is Jeferson Shin-Iti Shigaki. I am a graduate student from Brazil. I came to Japan in April 2019, and since then, I have taken several courses offered by the JLCSE, from Intermediate 3 to Advanced 1. As an international student, JLCSE is a great place to gather with people from all over the world and diverse knowledge fields. The staff are very supportive, and the instructors are incredibly passionate. The content of the classes has been helpful for both study and research activities and everyday life situations. I am now completing the reading course, following the integral, listening, speaking, and writing I took in the previous semesters. Some courses can be demanding but designed to help us improve relevant skills. Besides, I was positively surprised by the effectiveness of online classes since we shifted to remote study. The teachers have been magnificent amidst changes. Still, I am looking forward to resuming the in-person interaction for cultural exchange and deepening friendship.

Meng Xuanlangさん　（中国）　中級　2021S1S2

「日本語のクラスを受講して」

My name is Meng Xuanlang and I am an international student from China. I got enrolled by U-Tokyo in September 2020, when I was still in China. And in my first semester there was a conflict between my major’s class and Japanese class. Luckily, responsible teacher rearranged me into a new class, Intensive beginning 2. In the second half of 2020, for me, who was unable to go to Japan because of the COVID-19, the teachers and students in my Japanese class were one of my closest ties to the school. My Japanese skill improved and our understanding of each other deepened during the weekly lessons. The classmates were so friendly that we were able to communicate happily even though we came from different cultural backgrounds and spoke a language we were not fluent in. Of course, we wouldn’t be able to do that without the help and encouragement of the teachers.

In this semester, I attend classes in intermediate level. The curriculum arrangement of the Japanese classroom is very reasonable. For beginners, they need a systematic study of basic grammar and vocabulary, and for intermediate or advanced learners, separate courses to improve their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills allow them to learn in a targeted manner according to their own situation. This year, I took an intermediate conversation course and a reading course, both of which were very rewarding. The course materials were carefully selected. The conversation course let us practice conversations in situations that we would encounter in our daily life, while the reading course came with a wealth of study materials that allowed us to learn about a variety of research topics while studying Japanese.

All in all, I would like to recommend all the international students who feel it necessary to learn Japanese with professional support to attend Japanese class. Also, I wish we can attend classes and activities offline so that I can meet my teachers and classmates!

Jorge Alberto Garcia Perezさん　（コロンビア）　中級　2021S1S2

「日本語のクラスを受講して」

My name is Jorge Alberto García Pérez, a graduate student who came from Colombia. Being honest, before coming to Japan, I had almost no knowledge about the language, besides a few words and barely how to write some hiragana and katakana. As such, I decided to remedy the situation by taking Intensive Beginning I in the first semester, and that was probably the best choice during the first months of living here. In the class you have the opportunity to make friends, to interact a lot with the teacher and other classmates in similar situations regarding sorting their lives through a new language and a new culture. The classes were amazing, very focused on getting a quick grasp on the language and the vocabulary, something which allowed me within a few months to start solving daily issues in Japanese.

By now I have been taking continuous classes for two years, and all the different classes have given me strength in different areas of the language, have given me the opportunity to learn grammar fast,  to have reinforcement in vocabulary, and have given me plenty of opportunities to practice speaking and writing.

I highly recommend the classes at JLCSE, as in each class the program is well organized, the different classes are well connected and they complement well to give you a solid foundation of the language. Moreover, the professors are amazingly kind, supportive and even understanding of the different backgrounds that each international student may have.

Besides all of this, JLCSE hosts different amenities and activities that will not give you time to feel demotivated about the language. There are opportunities to talk to native people, to watch films in Japanese, to borrow books, and even events for experiencing Japanese culture are organized, so, enjoy!

Marzia Aliさん　（インド）　初級　2019S1S2

「日本語のクラスを受講して」

My name is Marzia Ali and I am a MEXT Scholarship Student from India. I came to Japan for the first time in April 2019 without any previous knowledge of Japanese. I enrolled in the JLCSE Intensive Beginning 1 AM course and started attending the classes. The classes were very thorough and precise and I learned quite a lot within the span of 4 months. The teachers always provided handouts and other materials necessary for the class, not only that we had activities and games in every class which made Japanese even more interesting and fun to learn. The teachers were very supportive and helped me at every step of the way. By the end of the semester, I could understand and make simple conversations in Japanese. The Kanji characters which didn’t make sense to me earlier are more understandable to me now and I would like to continue next semester as well.

JLCSE also organizes cultural events like Ikebana, Japanese Tea Ceremony, Yukata wearing session etc so that you can experience Japanese Culture and learn new things which you might not know about Japan. There are also visitor sessions, one-on-one practice sessions and Japanese volunteers as well who will help you in improving your day to day Japanese conversations. There are a lot of activities planned throughout the semester and your duration of study at JLCSE will never be boring. You will get to meet a lot of people from foreign countries and make new friends in class and the teachers will help you whenever in need. All of this will slowly help you ease into your life in Japan.

The only advice which I would like to give to prospective students is “Don’t hesitate, go for the JLCSE classes if you want to improve your Japanese or even start from scratch and once you start, don’t rush through, just study at a normal pace and slowly you will get the hang of things.”

“Do your best and good luck!” 😊

Gerrard Laiさん（シンガポール）上級　2019S1S2

「日本語のクラスを受講して」

【日本語】

今学期日本組織事情と上級総合の授業を受講させていただきました。前者の授業では日本では（日系会社にしても外資系会社にしても）就職を検討している外国人学生におすすめします。経験豊富のみならず優しい先生たちから就活対策のコツを身につけます。授業で得られる日本における会社の特徴、就職のプロセスの知識は外国人学生の就職活動に役に立つと思います。その中でも、特にどのように自己分析を行い、興味がある会社の求める人物像に合うように、自己PRや志望動機を書くのか、また内定をもらった先輩達の話を聞く授業は有意義と思います。

後者の上級総合授業では、自分の意見を簡潔に整理し、日本語で「話す」と「書く」という形のアウトプットするスキルを身に付けたい学生におすすめです。いい点としては、授業では全員が全員外国人学生なので、ミスだらけの日本語で自分の意見を発言しても恥ずかしくない環境です(先生ももちろん優しい）。それを通じて正しい表現を学び、日本語力が上達できると思います。そして面白い点としては、授業では学生達は政治、経済、社会に関する問題や課題を理解し、日本語で議論することです。外国人学生として日常生活ではそんなことをする機会はなかなかないのではないでしょうか。

【English】

I took the Japan Business Information and Advanced Japanese (Integral) classes this semester. I would highly recommend the former class for students planning to look for a job in Japan after graduation. The experienced teachers are kind and encouraging, and care to help students understand the methods to overcome the challenges to job hunting for non-Japanese students. The information gained about characteristics of companies in Japan, as well as the usual job-hunting process in Japan are particularly useful. In particular, how to conduct analysis of your own strengths and weaknesses, and how to tailor that as well as your life experiences and career motivation to the candidate profile that companies are looking out for are very useful. Furthermore, there are classes where successful students from previous semesters come by and discuss about their own experiences and offer advice, which is useful given that it would largely be the same experience (with of course some personal differences) that you will go through.

The second class is highly recommended for students who would like to improve their skills in thinking about a particularly matter in Japanese, and then expressing him/herself logically and clearly through speaking or writing. As the students in the class are foreign students, it is a great learning environment where there is no shame in committing mistakes (no judging eyes staring at you), which through correction from the teacher will help students to improve quickly. It helps that the teacher is encouraging and cares for the students’ learning. The interesting point about the class is that you are able to discuss about all sorts of political, economic and social issues of the day with your classmates in Japanese. Think about it, there aren’t that many such opportunities to do so in your life. What’s more, it’s the fastest way to improve your Japanese rather than simple daily idle talk.

Evina Nebibangaさん（カメルーン）上級　2019S1S2

Arissa Satoさん    （育ったのはアメリカ）   中級３　2018A1A2

「日本語のクラスを受講して」

【日本語】
日本に住んでいたら日本語は上手になるとよく言われますが、ＪＬＣＳＥは、わたしや日本語に興味がある人に、より短い時間で日本語を上達させる機会を用意してくれています。
先生たちは、毎時間、知識を増やすためだけでなく、実際に日本語を利用するための授業とハンドアウトを準備し、１０５分の授業以外でもよくサポートしてくれます。
スタッフとコースに加えて、ＪＬＣＳＥは様々な文化や経験がある人に魅力的です。
いろいろな文化を学びながら、情熱がある上級レベルの学生に囲まれていると、もっと勉強しようと刺激を受けます。
ほぼ１年ＪＬＣＳＥで日本語を勉強したので、少しアドバイスをしたいです。
頑張った分だけ上達します。そして結果もついてきます。
みなさん、頑張ってください。

【English】
While it is natural to say that people will improve their Japanese while living in Japan, JLCSE provided me and those interested in learning Japanese an opportunity to improve skills in a short amount of time. Every lecture, the materials and handouts are carefully constructed not only to instill knowledge but also expand your wealth of knowledge with realistic applications of Japanese. Each instructor shows passion in their class beyond the 105 minutes of lecture each week.
Aside from the staff and materials provided by JLCSE, it also attracts people of varying cultural backgrounds and experiences. While being surrounded by other passionate, advanced learners that motivate me to improve my Japanese, I also learn more about a variety of cultures along the way.

As a student with almost a year of experience studying Japanese courses at JLCSE I can say, you get what you put into these courses. Challenge yourself and the results will follow suit.

YONG Cui Wern Christineさん（シンガポール） インテンシブ初級IIAM　2018A1A2

「日本語のクラスを受講して」

Having studied Chinese before, I had the (perhaps foolish) resolution to be mistaken for a native Japanese speaker by the end of my single year here. Although I am a GraSPP student, I chose to take the JLCSE Intensive Beginning II course to challenge myself to improve quickly.

Practicing for 8 hours a week really sped up my progression; my Japanese friends remarked that I was improving by the week.

Despite having taken the class with the main intention of building language skills, I find myself also engaging with questions of culture and symbolism. Though embedded in the nuances of the language, these topics extend well beyond the textbook. I also cherish the breaks my classmates and I spent in the JLCSE lounge discussing the many eccentricities of life in Tokyo.

Best of all, JLCSE organises free events where we can engage in traditional Japanese cultural activities in an intimidation-free environment (non-trivial in the context of Japan!).

The Intensive Beginning class is what it says on the tin and more—with every word you memorise comes many more wonderful memories.

I haven’t quite reached the standard of a native speaker yet, but on this Nihongo Shinkansen it shouldn’t me take long to get there.”

刘 庆昊(Qinghao Liu)さん（中国）　中級３　2018S1S2

「日本語のクラスを受講して」

私はリュウと申します。中国からのUSTEP交換留学生です。
四月からこの3ヶ月の間に、日本語教室ですごく勉強しました。
実は、日本に来る前に、日本語で行われる授業を受ける経験がないので、最初はなれるかどうかと心配しました。でも、ここの先生たちは本当に優しいし、使った言葉もわかりやすいし、それぞれのスタイルも持っています。
ここの勉強は今まで自分でしてきた日本語の勉強が大変違います。本を読んだり、単語を覚えたりだけではなく、いっぱい聞いて、自分の考えをみんなに伝えて、日本の文化を身につけます。そして、いろいろな文化がここに集まって、面白い話がどんどん出て来て、笑っている間にみんながまるで家族のような存在になります。
日本語教室はみんなに家のような場所を作ってくれて、本当にありがとうございます。

Supatat HOVANOTAYANさん（タイ） 中級１　2018S1S2

「日本語のクラスを受講して」

楽しい日本語教室を探していたら、それはもちろん東京大学工学系研究科の日本語教室‼
私は今、日本語教室の中級の授業を受けています。
東京大学工学系研究科の日本語教室では、色々な授業があります。例えば、初級、中級 そして 上級。それで、自分が取りたい授業を自由に決める事が出来ます。
私は日本にはじめて来た時、日本語があまり分かりませんでしたので、日本語で話す訳にはいかなかったんです。でも、日本語の授業を受けて以来、私の日本語が少しずつ変わって来ました。今、日本語で日本人と話せるようになりました。日本語の授業に加えて、日本の文化に関するイベントもあります、七夕イベントや浴衣イベントや相撲イベントなどです。
授業の雰囲気もとてもいいですよ。 皆さんは違う国から来ているので、友達が出来ます。私にとって、ここは友達に出会える所だと思っています。先生たちはいつも詳しく説明して、面白い日本語の教え方もあります。例えば、面白く漢字を覚える方法、日本人みたいに話す方法などです。
皆さん、東京大学工学系研究科の日本語教室で会いましょう!!

王　丹さん（中国） 中級３　2018S1S2

「日本語のクラスを受講して」