As a senior in high school, I’ve begun to take Japanese coursework. This year marks the first time that I’ve taken Japanese classes in an actual classroom setting, and today I plan to talk about my experiences contrasting US courses with classes in Japan—as well as self-studying in the future. Given that each classroom is across the globe from the other, I’ve noticed significant differences in the style of each.
Context
Some background information on each language setting will be important for understanding how they differ. For Japanese classes in Japan, I was earning credit for an upper intermediate level from a backing University in the US. For the class I’m currently taking in the US, I’m doing it at a local polytechnic institute, where the highest level available to take at the moment is elementary III. Thus, right off the bat, there should be a significant difference in skill levels treated between these two classes.
Formalities
During my classes in Japan, I realized that there was a certain method in which each class was conducted. At the start of each, we would have a class leader declare a “rei,” meaning that all the students bow for the instructor at the front of the room. This practice is more common in traditional classrooms, and we had a similar ritual towards the end of class as well. In the US, this type of formality is absent, mostly because of the diversity that exists within each classroom space. In the polytechnic institute setting, no other class does such a ritual, so incorporating one might not work as well.
On the other hand, I’ve noticed that the US classroom emphasizes gestures and body language. For instance, if I don’t hand in my quiz with two hands on the sides of the paper, my instructor will not take it. (Although, this particular quirk could be professor-specific.) Additionally, in this setting, everyone is called by their last name plus “san,” which is correct, but something that I didn’t think would be so strictly enforced in an American classroom. Overall, both classrooms observe specific formalities, and it really depends on the instructor of the class.
Classroom Content
I did notice a discrepancy in the course content, though. In the Japan-based classroom, I felt as if I was making true leaps towards greater proficiency. I would spend each day enhancing my speech, vocabulary, or Kanji skills. In the US, because I’m taking a less technical class, we are working through Genki I. This book is one that I had completed in 8th or 9th grade, and because it was so long ago, my overall performance in the class has weakened. I often forget very niche specifics mentioned in Genki I, and my instructor also prefers speech in certain ways that are different from previous instructors. I think I am uncovering that there may be significant variations in how Japanese instructors teach, so I hope to get more into this subject in a future blog.
Class Length
Additionally, I noticed that the duration of each class drastically differed. In the US, because I was taking Japanese as a university course, each class was the standard 50 minutes long; however, while studying abroad, each class would be ~5 hours long. Although, this difference in duration makes sense as my time abroad heavily emphasized language learning. Furthermore, I think that finding a daily, 5-hour immersive class in the US would be fairly difficult.
Grading Standards
I’ve touched a bit on the grading standards in Japan in a previous blog, but in comparison to the US standard, it is definitely quite a bit harder. For instance, as stated in that previous blog, I received a B+ despite having an 89.5 (and I was hoping to be rounded up but I wasn’t). This type of situation probably wouldn’t happen in the current class that I am in. Additionally, I’ve found that the standards are definitely lower in the US classroom. For instance, while in Japan, we would lose points for speaking any English in the classroom setting. Now, speaking English from time to time is acceptable, and no one bats an eye.
Conclusion
I believe that studying abroad in Japan as well as studying in the US both have their own pros and cons. Personally, I enjoyed studying abroad more in Japan because I was able to take greater leaps with my language skills. However, the whole process to study abroad itself definitely took more effort. Thus, it becomes a matter of weighing the effort to receive instruction versus the quality of the content. The way I see it, though, is that as long as you’re focused on learning Japanese, the classroom setting really doesn’t matter.