Foreign exchange student for Japan....?
I live in the U.S.A and I asked my mom if I could be a foreign exchange student in Japan when I am in high-school(Which I am in now). My mom said yes. I have a few questions, though: How do you become a foreign exchange student? Do you have to be at a certain grade level? Do I have to learn Japanese, or do they teach it there? Can I get there? because I heard it was hard to get into Japan. If you've ever been a foreign exchange student before, please help. Also, if you can speak fluent Japanese, will you be willing to teach me via email/IM/etc.
Please help revise this email? I'm foreign exchange student? 10 pts?
i'm Japanese and I'm having a trouble writing English..please give me any suggestion to revise this. If you see awkward sentences, i'm sure you will, please show me how to make it better. As you already know, we have been working hard to plan the Gamma Fall Training Conference. It will be held in Miami. Here are the speakers I have lined up for training sessions. I’m thinking that on Tuesday, November 12, we will have Nicole Gold. Her scheduled topic is “Using E-Mail and IM Effectively.” Anthony Mills said he could speak to our group on November 13 (Wednesday). “Leading Groups and Teams” is the topic for Mills. Here are their e-mail addresses: tony.mills@sunbelt.net. and n.gold@etc.com. You can help us make this one of the best training sessions ever. I need you to send each of these people an e-mail and confirm the dates and topics. Due to the fact that we must print the program soon (by September 1), I will need this done as soon as possible. Don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions. Jim
A free Japanese Tutor? Online, Email, Skype?
Hi, I live in Japan and have studied a bit of Japanese independently. If you have learned hiragana and katakana by yourself then that is great. Of course, you should get a tutor, but you should really study from a textbook like `Japanese for busy people`. There are people who have lived in Japan for ten years and can`t speak much Japanese at all, but a little regular study goes a long way. If you want free lessons, you should get a language exchange partner. There are probably some Japanese attending language school in your area who would love to meet you and have a language exchange. It will be fun, but if you want to make real progress I recommend that you study a chapter from a text book, and then spend 10 minutes chatting Japanese and 20-30 minutes reviewing the textbook material- so they will ask you questions etc using the book and do roleplays etc where you will have an opportunity to use the vocabulary and grammar you have studied. Of course 30-40 minutes isn`t long, but if you are having a language exchange you will need to teach them some English! If you want to find someone to skype with, there are millions of Japanese in Japan who would be keen. To find then you can place a free add on some sites/ magazines like http://metropolis.co.jp/ or a free add on gaijinpot.com or findateacher.net etc. I would recommend trying to come to Japan- I know it sounds expensive, but you should look for a ski-field holiday job or something like that- it might be more work than you are used to, but you will probably enjoy it and make more than enough to pay for your ticket and save a bit- Ideally get a working holiday visa for that. The key is not to stop. If you study for 10 hours a week for six months, and then quit you don`t achieve much, but if you study for an hour or two a week for 5 years you will be fantastic. Also, use the JLPT tests as goals. You should be working towards level 5 now, then do level 4 six months after that, then level three 6 months after that. Level 2 and 1 are a bit harder and require a good command of the language. have fun.
When can you call someone by their first name in Japan?
As others have said it’s uncommon for Japanese people to use first names with each other, and it can be very tricky for foreigners. One thing that makes it difficult is that Japanese people will often be much freer about calling you, the foreigner, by your first name - maybe because you introduce yourself that way, or maybe they just assume that they should.I would never call a Japanese adult by his/her first name unless specifically asked to do so. That rarely happens unless the person is wanting to speak to me in English, and they speak it well - perhaps have lived abroad.I have a handful of close Japanese friends I call by first name+san. They are all either female friends I have known for a very long time, or the Japanese husbands of foreign friends (which is a special situation). These are also the only friends my husband calls by first name as well - because we are all very close and/or we often speak English as a group. He doesn’t even call his best Japanese friend from college by his first name, but calls him only by his last name without -san or -kun, which shows their closeness. His best friend at work, who is a few years younger, he calls last name -kun.So, you can see that it’s quite rare for adults to use first names unless they are very, very close, and even then not always.My advice is to stick to last names unless requested to do otherwise, and/or until you are super close with someone. When you will mainly be speaking in English with someone it’s usually OK to go with the name the person uses when making introductions.