The most productive aspect of the program was the fact that the teacher spoke nothing but Japanese. This seriously helped my listening skills, which was something I had a lot of trouble with.
Which events or activities did you find the most satisfying and why?
The walking trip we took around Shinjuku was very fun and really helped me feel more comfortable walking around the city on my own. I wasn't use to big cities, so I fell without this initial guided tour, I wouldn't have been as confident in my solo explorations.
What were the most productive and interesting aspects of the program for you? The least interesting and productive?
The most productive aspect of the program was the fact that the teacher spoke nothing but Japanese. This seriously helped my listening skills, which was something I had a lot of trouble with.The least productive part, if I'm being honest, was the speech contest. I understand what it as trying to do, but I felt that since the short term students were only there for two months, practicing for the speech contest took away a lot of class time in proportion to the whole than it did for the students who were there for longer terms.
What activities or materials did you find most helpful (e.g., pair work, drill practice, tests, small group sessions, textbooks, games)?
I found drill practice very helpful. Drills such as dictation were very helpful with the furthering of my listening skills, and the speaking drill really did help my pronunciation and speed of speaking.
Where did you reside over the course of this program?
Dormitory
Where did you live?
Ikebukuro Dorm
Were you pleased with the general living arrangements? Anything you especially liked? Any problems you experienced?
I enjoyed it because it was very different from the dorms I've stayed in in the US. I also loved being in Ikebukuro, as it was easy to get to fun places in my off-time. The grocery store that was so close to the dorm also added a lot to my experience, because I had a lot of fun just walking around it and trying to read packaging. The only slight inconvenience was that it took me around 2 weeks to learn how to work my kitchen equipment as I (as well as a few others from what I remember) somehow had not received the instructions on how to work things in the room. I'm not sure how this happened, but you may want to make sure everyone has those instructions in the future because they were very helpful!
Any further thoughts or tips for those considering the program or new KCP students?
It's a great program filled with extremely nice teachers in an extremely interesting city! Even if you have doubts, just do it, you'll have a great experience.
