University of Kent’s Language Centre recently joined the Global Learning Online (GLO) programme with Tamagawa University in Japan. Since November 2020, six University of Kent students studying Japanese have been communicating and collaborating with Japanese students. There have been a number of meetings online, discussing different cultural topics and most recently, the students gave an online presentation on 11 January 2021.
Dean of Internationalization, Dr Anthony Manning, and Dr Wissia Fiorucci, Director of Language Centre, gave opening words and there were three presentations by the students.
Mano Suzuki gave a brief rundown of the event:
“The first group’s presentation included a comparison of British and Japanese festive food, especially on Christmas and New Year’s day. Throughout their discussions about their cultures, the Japanese students found it was strange that British people do not celebrate New Year’s Day much while for the Kent students it was very strange that many Japanese people have KFC for their Christmas dinner.
The second group discussed cultural festivals, mainly a comparison of Christmas and New Year’s Day in Japan and the UK. Both Japanese and Kent students were surprised by so many different ways in how we celebrate these festivals, including Christmas cakes/puddings and KFC (again!).
The third group’s presentation was about Japanese and British pop music. They chose three famous artists in their countries and compared them in detail. It was very interesting that they listened to the music of these artists each other and gave their impressions on them. They discovered quite a lot of differences between British and Japanese pop music, but in the end, all the members in the group gained liking in each other’s music.
Hope the students keep in touch and enjoy having friends beyond countries.”
Asian and Religious Studies student, Beth Lucas shares her thoughts about the programme: “Participating in the GLO allowed me to meet Japanese people who shared a common interest with me. It meant I was able to explore popular culture that was relevant in Japan now. It also allowed me to practice my speaking skills and to see how they used Japanese in a daily life context. The cross cultural exchange was really interesting and I think it was an invaluable experience.”
Asian Studies and English Language and Linguistics student, Celestine Eastwood, shares, “My GLO experience was interactive and immersive, I felt like I was really part of a little Japanese and English exchange community. I enjoyed sharing my own culture and learning about how this was experienced in Japan. I met many new people and had lots of fun! The programme has encouraged me to develop my curiosity in Japan and learn more. Overall, I am very glad to have taken part in the GLO programme.”