What our previous participants say about this program...

• "Great teachers! This program makes me want to take more classes from them!"

• "I really enjoyed all of the field trips. I learned a lot just about everywhere we went."

• "Overall, it was AWESOME. Best experience of my life. J"

• "Very intellectually stimulating. This program has the kind of things I want to learn about in a culture."

• "The program was very well organized. They had everything well planned in advance and executed everything well."

• "We were challenged and learned a lot about ourselves as well as skills that we can apply in everyday interactions."

• "This program gave me the opportunity to learn what I am passionate about in a culture. I was able to see this culture up close and it was fascinating to be able to experience."

• "The [pre-departure orientation] sessions were very helpful! They helped me prepare for the culture shock I would feel and helped me prepare for the task of traveling."

• "The knowledge and guidance from the two [professors] made things go smoothly."

• "[The professors] were both extremely kind and helpful."

• "We got to see so much. We had a schedule and were still able to do things on our own time."

• "Great job, staff! It was a wonderful experience - thank you (Arigato gozaimasu)."

This program provides an opportunity for you to:

• Live in the heart of Tokyo at the National Youth Center

• Study and observe significant Japanese cultural characteristics and values

• Learn about traditional Japanese art forms, including the tea ceremony and kabuki

• Interact with native Japanese

• Visit a workplace to learn about professional hierarchy and the business context

• Visit Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples

• Travel around Japan

• and experience first-hand many more exciting opportunities!

This course will:

• Immerse you in Japanese culture and introduce you to various cultural characteristics and concepts that help explain Japanese communication styles, interaction behaviors, and language. 
  
  

• Be useful to students across many areas of study, including  East Asian Studies, Japanese, Communication, Management, Political Science, International Relations, History, and other disciplines.
  
  

• Provide a language component to ensure you get the most out of this experience, but no prior study of Japanese language is required. Language-related assignments will be tailored to students' level of proficiency.
  
  

• Focus on the ways in which culture affects communication patterns and preferences, which provides a more complete understanding of both the language and the culture.
  
  

• Provide you with ‘C’ or ‘S’ General Education credit. This course will count toward the East Asian Studies Major, the Japanese Minor, and the Communication Major.

Some of the fascinating topics we will cover include:

• Your own cultural adjustment process as you experience a new culture

• Interaction behaviors within a variety of contexts, including relationships, the family, and the workplace

• Linguistic features of Japanese that inform us about cultural values

• Significant cultural concepts that affect language and communication behaviors, such as collectivism, indirectness, and formality

• Gift-giving customs, aesthetics, and silence as forms of nonverbal communication

• Religious influences on culture and communication

• ... and many more!