Hi there, I'm a student from
Hong Kong.
Last year (2015) I joined the
summer language course organized by KICL and had one of the BEST summers of my
life. Believe me, if you want to have a
GREAT summer learning Japanese and learning about Japan, look no further, KICL
is THE choice.
So why did I choose KICL in the first place? Well, mainly because of its location in Kyoto and the good price. Kyoto is a BEAUTIFUL city beyond comparison, and I love walking or cycling around in the city. In the summer course I learnt Japanese and stayed with a host family for four weeks, but it cost me about the same amount of money that I would have paid for a 3-week or even 2-week course in any other Japanese language school in Kyoto. In a word, it was great value for money. Besides, since KICL is located WITHIN a university, I benefited from the very cheap student food offered by the university canteen throughout the course! A bowl of ramen cost as little as 300 yen. Nowhere else in Kyoto could you enjoy such good food for such little money.
The course was fun and I have learnt so much. I was put into an intermediate class. I think the test KICL gave me to do prior to the course really helped to put me in the right class. And the best thing is that if you eventually find the level of your class too high or too low, you can still request to change to another class after the course has started. The staff of the KICL were highly professional, efficient and helpful. The correspondence with the staff of KICL prior to the course (in particular Ms. Habaue) as well as the assistance they offered me during the course was excellent.
There were four teachers taking turns to
teach my class (as far as I know it was the same for very class). The benefit was that I could listen to four
different teachers speaking Japanese and benefit from their respective
strengths. What they had in common though was their professionalism. I found their teaching both fun and
effective. Above all else, they were
also kind, friendly and helpful.
As for my classmates, there were students
from different countries: the US, Thailand, Italy, Taiwan, and
Switzerland. I really enjoyed the
international atmosphere. I believe it
was KICL's purpose to have students of as many different nationalities as
possible in each class. The class size
was small (around 15), so each student could get a lot of individual attention
from the teachers. What's more, the
classrooms were spacious, clean and modern.
One could also use the free wifi and the university library for
free. I could not have asked for more.
However, to me, the best part of the whole
KICL experience was the homestay.
Through KICL’s arrangement, I was so fortunate
to be able to stay with Kojima-san. She
was nice, kind, patient, interesting, generous and a great cook!
She introduced me not only to Kyoto and Japan,
but also the authentic everyday life of Japanese people. I met her daughter, son, daugher-in-law,
grandchildren, friends, former homestay students, etc. And of course I had to
speak Japanese most of the time! (But
whenever things got a bit difficult for me, Kojima-san would explain to me in
English because her English is very good.)
My Japanese improved tremendously during my stay. And I got to experience and know so much more
about the country and its people. I have
now fallen head over heels in love with Japan and its culture, thanks to this
great KICL experience. KICL, ありがとうございます.
So to conclude, if you are reading this
post because you are looking for a great summer experience learning Japanese
and experiencing Japan, trust me, choose KICL.
You will surely have an unforgettable summer, just as I did.
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