Evening language courses: learning Japanese in Brighton
Friday, 9th October 2009
We interview Cactus student David Willis about his experience learning Japanese with us in Brighton.
1. What was your motivation for learning Japanese?
I have had a strong interest in the culture of modern Japan and a fascination with its cultural imports for some time. I would like to live in Japan at some point in the future and felt that this course would be a good introduction to the language, and provide a great starting point to build on my learning.
2. Why did you choose the Cactus course?
I searched on the internet for locally based courses, and discovered Cactus were offering Japanese as an evening class in Brighton. My preferences were that it was affordable, locally based, in the evening and for a good duration. This course offered all those elements, and the comments from past students who have attended the school were impressive.
3. What were the best things about your course?
The course was not too intense which I think is a positive at this level. I liked the balance of speaking practice and writing and the book we were provided with was helpful. The best thing about the course for me was it has made me hungry to continue my learning and develop my Japanese to a much higher level.
4.What were the best things about your teacher?
Yuki is a very friendly and helpful teacher and she seemed to genuinely want us to learn. I think her correcting of our pronunciation and patience with this, homework assignments and going a little further to explain the reasoning behind how the Japanese language is constructed was helpful. I liked her telling us about her experiences living in and growing up in Japan, and about what we should expect as foreigners going over to the country. I particularly liked her use of learning materials brought back from Japan, which complimented the text book provided by Cactus very well.
5. What things did you feel could have been improved overall?
Overall I think it would be difficult to significantly improve the course at this level. I would expect a slightly more intense form of teaching for higher levels of study.
6. Will you be taking the next level course in your foreign language?
I am going to be studying the beginners plus level next term.
7. Did you manage to do any supplementary study outside of lessons?
My supplementary study has mainly involved watching Japanese cinema, which I was an avid follower of previous to study, to attempt to pick up further words or recognise words I have heard in class. I am also planning on buying some magazines and trying to translate the text using what I have learnt. I think watching film in your chosen language is a beneficial and enjoyable form of further study. I also practice my Hiragana and Katakana symbols even when not set as homework so I do not forget what I have learnt.
8. What advice would you give to people thinking about signing up for the same course as you did?
I would advise them to be prepared to study every week outside of class to get the most out of the course. It is designed on the basis that the more you put into it the more you will get out. I would also suggest that the course is best looked at as a way of becoming accustomed to Japanese and comfortable with learning it, and would best serve people who are intending to study higher levels.
More about part-time language courses in the UK
Tags: japanese, brighton, course, language, cactus, evening class, learning, culture, english
Posted by Laura Lippert 2009-10 under
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