Japanese studies/access course

Sephael · (#1 (**permalink**))

A little background..

I was born and bred in Poland, although economic issues forced me to move to UK (despite the fact that we're unwanted here

). Now that I feel more confident with the language, I'd like to try studying here

As far as my English language is concerned, I've taken the CPE exam few weeks ago, and I'm waiting for the results. As long as I get at least C, I'm free to study (almost) any course in UK.

My question is what are my options to study Japanese here ? In Poland, we only have 3 uni's providing the Japanese Language course, so its pretty hard to get in

I've been searching for the courses with the UCAS Course Search.. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any Access Courses, which I think are essential, since if I got into uni, it would be my first contact with English Learning System, which is, I have to admit, quite different from what we have in Poland.

Right now I'm situated in Scotland, although it wouldn't be a problem if the course was in South England. After all, I'm free to move anywhere I want to

Sorry for the wall of text :P

james1254 · (#2 (**permalink**))

well do you want a pure Japaneses course? Then there are few uni's that offer it (oxbridge, SOAS and Aberdeen )in the UK but lots offer it as a joint honors with other subjects. I don't think you would have a problem with English at all in these courses (especially a pure Japanese one).

Sephael · (#3 (**permalink**))

To be honest, I'm more into pure language studies rather than joint honors, seeing as I want to focus on language

james1254 · (#4 (**permalink**))

the best course is SOAS in London then. the next best is oxford then Cambridge i think but SOAS is actually easier to get into than oxford or Cambridge. you would really only want to go to one of those two over SOAS for prestige. Oh and btw where abouts in Poland are you from? I went to Krakow last time and the architecture in the old buildings were beautiful.

Sephael · (#5 (**permalink**))

SOAS is tempting, athough its London D: Living would be too expensive, not to mention the fact that I have to pay the tuition

What do you think about Sheffield or Edinburgh? From what I found on the net, people have mixed opinions on Sheffield... I dont know much about Edinburgh, apart from the fact that the city is awesome

What about access courses? Are they worth it? Do you know of any

?

PS: I'm from Bydgoszcz, situated middle of Poland

I agree, Krakow is beautiful

reallylight · (#6 (**permalink**))

Have you considered learning the language online? There are lots of interactive tools out there that can give you just as immersive experience as a University would.

james1254 · (#7 (**permalink**))

i would say Edinburgh looks good and is probably your best bet really. i have no clue about access courses though.

james1254 · (#8 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by reallylight

Have you considered learning the language online? There are lots of interactive tools out there that can give you just as immersive experience as a University would.

yes because on the internet you spend a year in japan as well as having teachers help you with your own specific problems.......

reallylight · (#9 (**permalink**))

OK no need for the sarcasm. Only a suggestion. And FYI you do get help online with certain softwares.

noodle · (#10 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by james1254

yes because on the internet you spend a year in japan as well as having teachers help you with your own specific problems.......

A bit harsh to say the least... There're a lot of people that have managed to study languages themselves using the huge variety of online software and courses, so that suggestion wasn't a bad one. Uni is almost the same, it's not exactly high school where a teacher looks over your back 8 hours a day. You're meant to study yourself the majority of the time.