Student exchange experiences

[White Ninja]

I've got a client that is interested in having students come and study Japanese at his school. I'm trying to find out some of the issues that go around this, so I'm putting up the following survey.

This survey is for people who have come from their home country specifically with the goal of studying Japanese.

1) How long did you spend studying in Japan (days/weeks/months/years)?
2) How old were you at the time?
3) Were you studying in a high school, a university, a Japanese language school, or something else?
4) Did you get your own accommodation, or was it provided for you?
5) Was it complete immersion, or were there English based activities as well?
6) What sort of preparation would you recommend to students who are considering coming themselves?
7) How much support did the school provide, and did you feel it was enough?
8) Did you have any unexpected problem issues arise before, during or after the stay, and did the school assist you with these?
9) Are there any areas in particular you felt the school did really well on?
10) Conversely, are there any areas they didn't do well on, that you could give advice for them to avoid?
11) Did you have any specific goals for this study, and were they able to be met?
12) Overall, do you feel that it was a bad experience, a good experience, or somewhere in the middle, and why?
13) Any other thoughts?

If you don't feel comfortable posting your answers here, please feel free to PM me the answers as well. Thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer these questions.

[Hijinx]

"this survey is for people who has"

who have

[White Ninja]

Thanks, fixed.

[White Ninja]

Bump. No one?

[KansaiBen]

Bump. No one?

Good luck finding language students on GP.

[Bella Bowtruckle]

I've got a client that is interested in having students come and study Japanese at his school. I'm trying to find out some of the issues that go around this, so I'm putting up the following survey.

This survey is for people who have come from their home country specifically with the goal of studying Japanese.

1) How long did you spend studying in Japan (days/weeks/months/years)?
2) How old were you at the time?
3) Were you studying in a high school, a university, a Japanese language school, or something else?
4) Did you get your own accommodation, or was it provided for you?
5) Was it complete immersion, or were there English based activities as well?
6) What sort of preparation would you recommend to students who are considering coming themselves?
7) How much support did the school provide, and did you feel it was enough?
8) Did you have any unexpected problem issues arise before, during or after the stay, and did the school assist you with these?
9) Are there any areas in particular you felt the school did really well on?
10) Conversely, are there any areas they didn't do well on, that you could give advice for them to avoid?
11) Did you have any specific goals for this study, and were they able to be met?
12) Overall, do you feel that it was a bad experience, a good experience, or somewhere in the middle, and why?
13) Any other thoughts?

If you don't feel comfortable posting your answers here, please feel free to PM me the answers as well. Thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer these questions.

I feel a bit bad that no one's answered your questions yet so I'll answer as best I can, even though I'm not a language student. Instead I did a support staff/'guidance counsellor' kind of job for a fair few students coming over here to study Japanese...
1) Students usually spent 9 months or so here.
2)Aged 14-18 but the majority were 15/16
3)High school with a Japanese language program
4)Provided - dormitories during term time, homestay during school holidays
5)Mostly immersion though with some classes/activities in English.
6)I'd recommend finding out about the area, the climate and what you might have problems buying here (esp. medicine, toiletries, 'big-size' clothes/shoes etc). Also making sure you know katakana/hiragana and some customs/culture type things. Set up your own travel/health insurance if you're going to be here less than a year
7)Ahem...as it was my job hopefully I did an OK job. I certainly tried. I also did the immigration paperwork on this end, plus setting up bank accounts, alien registration, medical stuff while they were here along with general listening/sorting stuff out/making sure people were OK. Answering any questions students/their parents might have and helping them prepare was also a big part of my job.
8)The main one was medical issues - people breaking their legs, getting bronchitis and whatnot. Also students being accosted by random perverts and drunk people, getting lost, oh, and getting hit by a car on one memorable occasion. Another 'unexpected problem' was students' relatives or friends passing away while they were out of the country and the upset/guilt caused by that. Again, hopefully the students feel that the school dealt with/supported them satisfactorily. With young students you're pretty much 'on call' at all times of the day and night. Adults less so (hopefully).
9) You'd have to ask them, sorry...
10)As above, though the main complaints from my students tended to be quality of the food and feeling 'on show' too much. The restrictive nature of certain aspects of Japanese society, including the education system. Also, the 'communal bathing' of dorm life was a shock to the system though they got used to it pretty quickly. Additionally for teenagers they have to be careful not to fall behind with their schoolwork back home and many needed to do correspondence courses.
11) Most students just wanted to improve their Japanese and learn about Japan. Which they did.
12) Most seem to have regarded it as an amazing experience, though difficult at times. One or two couldn't cope though and had to go back early.
13) I'd really have to know your friend's target market to answer this properly.

EDIT: Issues can come up when you have 'Western' students studying alongside those from a Chinese-speaking background as their needs are quite different. Not only might they have different expectations of the teachers/classes but also Chinese speakers tend to have very little need to study kanji, especially how to write it. They can rip through a reading text and have all the answers done while your Westerner is still struggling on the first question. On the other hand katakana can be an uphill battle while for the English speaker at least reading that is a doddle. If not managed properly it can lead to tensions and jealousies between the students and also bad behavior if some of them have finished early and are sitting there twiddling their thumbs so to speak.If you have large numbers of any one ethnicity as well they might tend to stick together.