TheVinster Wrote:Iunno, if I wanted to study in Japan I definitely wouldn't go to Temple. At least to me it's unappealing. Sure it's pretty easy to figure out because they have a location here in America, but it seems like I'd hate the amount of gaijin. If I'm going to Japan to study abroad I also want to take classes with almost all Japanese students. From the YouTube videos I've seen of people who go there, I also don't think I'd fit in with such people. Eh I'm not sure. Just for the record I haven't done any research on the statistics of Japanese-to-Gaijin students, it's just my observation.

Tomnook Wrote:Does anyone have any other suggestions? I don't think I know enough to survive a Japanese only college. I tried to get into a Labo internship last year and that failed. I think my family is tired of my self studying methods and want to see me actually do something soon.

Temple sounded good at first because I figured I would just avoid all outside contact with the gaijins, but that sounds like it could be hard. Being an American college it would probably swamp me with homework so they can spend less time teaching, and then I will have less time to study and speak with Japanese people.

TheVinster Wrote:I'm going to attempt Sophia University. They only select a handful each admission period, but the Liberal Arts section of the university has their courses taught completely in English, except for, obviously, Japanese classes. My advice? Find some colleges in your state and figure out what Japanese universities they have study abroad agreements with. Usually it seems those schools are taught in English.

Tomnook Wrote:Thanks for the replies everyone. I don't think I will be going to Temple after what I have read here and on other sites. I think I should keep looking into places like Yamasa and other language schools over there. I just hope I can find a place that takes financial aid or lets me get a student loan because I have no money or job.

Aijin Wrote:I'm not sure I understand that vein of thought. There are millions of programmers, engineers, people in the financial field, painters, authors, architects, chefs...everything. Why this fixation with uniqueness of the field itself? In my opinion happiness is derived not from the uniqueness of the field, but from one's skills in that field. There may be innumerable composers and authors, but there was only one Beethoven, only one Tolstoy. As long as one is passionate about what they do, and innately derives pleasure from it, then how prodigal they are even becomes trivial.

Language learning is a process that impacts those involved, altering their cultural awareness, giving them another lense through which to perceive reality, and more importantly and simply: it's ENJOYABLE.

Each degree has its own uses and applications, which is better is subjective to the individual. For someone impassioned about the Japanese language, with plans to enter academia, then a bachelor's in Japanese is perfectly practical as a first step. I know dozens of people who absolutely cherish their lifestyles as teachers of Japanese/those in the field of the language in general, and for them their degree was a perfect decision. Is a bachelor's in a foreign language alone going to open up career options? Not except in cases where simply having a degree itself is the important aspect. But for those interested in academia it is done on their way towards an MA or Ph.D. in Japanese Literature/linguistics/teaching Japanese as a foreign language etc.
リービ 英雄 was an instructor of Japanese literature at Stanford, who then used his training to move to Japan and become one of the first American authors of Japanese literature, winning many literary awards and prizes, and even earning a nomination for the Akutagawa Prize. There may be millions of native speakers, but very few could match those accomplishments even though it's their mother tongue and he had to learn it as a foreign language.

As long as one has passion, which in turn breeds skill, the sky is the limits regardless of your field as far as I am concerned.

oregum Wrote:On to the difficulty of Japanese classes. The language program at 上智 is what it's famous for. No curves (90/80/70/60/59.9=fail!!!), no extra credit, no excuses, no bs, period. That is department policy. Further, they will hardly teach you anything in class. You will have a textbook (SFJ/Intergrated Approach/etc.) and you will have to learn everything on your own. You will have 4 quizzes every other week and a test every other week. For each lesson you will need to learn 50-100 new words, and 50-100 kanji (including all reading and a ton of compounds). Grading will be ludicrously rigid. Miss a small tsu (っ) in a three line answer, and you'll be lucky to get 50%. You will also have homework EVERYDAY that will take you at least 1 hour to complete, 2 if you take your time, 3 if you never seen the stuff before. Did I mention that they do not explain the hw before assigning it!!! You need to learn it, so you can review it the next day in class.
http://www.fla.sophia.ac.jp/academics/programs/fla_jpn.php