Exchange Student – Approaches to Language Learning

On September 11th, I arrived in Tokyo to start my exchange study. I wanted to come here because studying Japanese language is kind of my hobby, and I wanted to experience real environment. In the Lappeenranta University of Technology it is not possible to study Japanese. Therefore I had to study by myself. Actually after 1½ year of self-studying, I have taken my first Japanese classes in Japan. In this blog entry I would like to compare these different approaches to language study.

Basically when starting learning a language, there are two choices; take classes or study by yourself from textbooks or the Internet. Of course, these are not mutually exclusive. Common opinion is that classes are needed if one wants to start learning a language. That is definitely not the case, but classes have two things which can help a learner quite a lot. In language classes a learner can receive feedback and ask questions from an instructor, which can help a learner a lot. No matter what the topic is, self-studying can be exhausting. In classes, however an instructor can also motivate learners.

While classes have two powerful advantages, there are also disadvantages. Often in language classes pace is fixed, and often it is very slow. One research student in my laboratory is taking intensive Japanese courses every day and after following his progress, I think it has been very slow compared to self-studying I did when I started learning Japanese. Another disadvantage is, especially on language classes, examples used during classes feel so fake because they are missing context. That is specially problem with Japanese, because Japanese is very context based language. I believe, one should use material meant for natives since the first day because a purpose of learning a language is to understand material meant for natives.

Advantages and disadvantages of self-studying are opposites of learning in classes. The biggest advantage is definitely that a learner can define her or his own pace, which is much faster than classes for a motivated learner. Also it is not only pace, but a learner can actually select the methods. In language textbooks there are almost as many approaches to language learning as there are textbooks. Self-learner can try many methods and materials and select one most suitable to him/her. The biggest disadvantage of self-studying is lack of feedback and unableness to ask questions.

I think many of disadvantages of self-studying can be overcome with usage of internet which is what I have done so far. Finding native speakers of language that one wants to learn in Internet can be helpful. Of course, they will not be language teachers and therefore their explanations might be lacking a bit, but most importantly they can tell learner, if his language output sounded natural or unnatural.

Still I do not think that disadvantages of classes can be overcome that easily. Slow pace can be overcome just by adjusting the pace by self-studying. But on beginner level it isn’t very efficient because on beginner level language studying is quite straightforward. In advanced classes combining self-studying and classes can be useful, because learner can self-study different content than is being taught in classes. This is what I am actually doing currently. Classes I am taking focus on Japanese Proficiency Test N2 level material and I am self-studying N1 level material. See more information of the levels https://www.jlpt.jp/e/about/levelsummary.html

I would like to add one thing I have noticed here in Japan. People actually speak very differently Japanese than Japanese taught in textbooks or classes. It is not really slang or dialect, just some grammar structures tend to get modified in casual speech. Because I have read quite lot of comics and books and watched TV shows for natives, I was somewhat familiar with it, but still in beginning it was really hard to understand. What I want to say, real interaction is necessary no matter what. You won’t learn a language enough by just self-studying or taking classes.

My exchange can be followed on http://valtteriysep.wordpress.com/

Text:Valtteri Meriruoko, a student in Independent Study of English course

Analyzing the lecture behavior of different nationalities.

I have noticed big cultural differences in lecture behavior. In this post, I am analyzing the lecture behavior of students from different nationalities. I am trying to find out why students act the way they act in lectures: what is behind these differences?

In my opinion, one big factor must be the differences between individualistic and collectivistic cultures. People from collectivistic cultures tend to be afraid of confrontation and conflicts. This can be seen in lectures: when there is a debate between students, hardly ever someone from a collectivistic country rises their hand. This is due to loss of face concept, which arises from the eastern culture. In western cultures, person and opinion are thought as separate things. In eastern cultures, on the other hand, people think that everything is connected. Therefore “wrong” opinion (that differs from the common opinion) might lead to loss of face. In addition, collectivists tend to take disagreements more personally. This has to do with the fact that whereas individualists give the priorities to tasks, collectivists give the priority to relationships. Therefore eastern students seek group harmony, when western students focus on facts and the issue itself, wanting to find out the right answer.

Another significant factor could be the differences in power distance. Have you noticed that many western people have difficulties in accepting authority? It is hard for them to accept that someone is in a way above them, and they should obey him or her. This can be seen in lectures: students from low power distance cultures seem to protest a bit against the professor’s authority. Among high power distance (eastern) cultures, it is a whole new ballgame. They are used to the fact that power is distributed unequally. In their culture, teachers are highly respected and it feels natural to do what he or she says. Due to high power distance, eastern students can also feel uncomfortable with professors that want to be called by first names.

This is just a peek into the cultural differences in lecture behavior. Have you noticed these kinds of differences? Does my analysis seem legitimated?

Text: Anna Rassi, a student in Independent Study in English course

Crossing the Cultural Borders

Nowadays companies, organizations, and universities are all pursuing international fame and corporate image, which means the companies’ cooperation with other foreign countries and interest groups. Companies hire workers from different countries and expect their national employees to speak with many different languages. It seems that the more foreign languages are taught in Finnish Universities, the course contents include elements from different cultures and many courses are taught in English. These courses for international students are good opportunities to cooperate with other fellow students from all over the world.

Students should take an advantage of these kinds of situations and think, how rich of an opportunity there is to become acquainted with these cultures and cultural differences. Of course the content of the course can consist of different group works and by this way students will have an opportunity to get to know each other well. But also the students should be open-minded to learn different cultural habits and behaviour because it might be very useful in the future. The companies, where the students will be working someday, are becoming more and more international by hiring employees from different cultures and expanding their businesses abroad.

During their studying time, which is are a short period of their life, students could collect precious information of other cultures’ ways of doing business. Then before they step into the working life and start their career, they could learn some tacit knowledge of other cultures. Also it would be very important to create connections, networks or even make friends with exchange students because you never know what job opportunities the future has in store for you. I would encourage you to stay open-minded, social and be excited to learn at least one new foreign language during your studies, to take the advantage to spend a semester abroad as an exchange student and by this way to cross the cultural borders.

Text: NL, a student of Independent Study in English course