南山大学

二年生の皆さん、こんにちは！

南山大学に留学しているサラッシノ・カラムです。南山大学を紹介します。

最初に、コースの構成を説明します。留学プログラムには、コースは５つの種類に分けられています。それは選択必修科目(せんたくひっしゅうかもく) (Compulsory Japanese Courses)、日本事情科目(にほんじじょうかもく)、日本語セミナー科目、芸術科目(げいじゅつかもく)、それに秋学期のみのオーペンコースです。少なくとも14単位(たんい)を取らなくてはいけませんが、18単位まで取ることが出来ます。聴講(ちょうこう)もできます。日本語の授業は8単位、他には多くのコースは2単位です。

まず、選択必修科目は日本語のコースを指します。今、初級(しょきゅう)の300から上級(じょうきゅう)の700レベルまで、5つのレベルが教えられています。プレイスメントテストの結果によって、この5つのクラスに分けられます。

そのプレイスメントテストは二つのテストに分けられています。みんな受けなくてはいけないテストは中初級のレベルまでの質問があります。この質問はげんきをもとに作られたので、中級の授業を取りたい人は、げんきを復習しておいた方がいいと思います。中上級と上級のレベルに入りたい人はもう一つのテストを受けることができます。

私は先学期、中上級の600レベルのクラスを取り、今学期は上級の700レベルに進みました。しかし、来学期から日本語授業の構成(こうせい)が違うようなので、気をつけて下さい。

次に、日本語事情科目、つまり英語で教えられている日本社会や政治などに関するコース、を説明します。私は今学期、ジェンダーについてのJapanese Society IIを取っています。その他には、Japanese Politics、 Culture and Art、Religionsなどもあります。 その上、オーペンコースにはアメリカ史のような日本に関係がないコースもあります。そのオーペンコースの特徴(とくちょう)は日本人の学生と一緒にゼミを取るということです。

また、芸術科目もあります。このコースは書道(しょどう)、茶道(さどう)、生け花(いけばな)と版画(はんが)です。私は先学期、書道を取りました。その授業で書道だけでなく、印鑑(いんかん)も作ったし、宿題はないから、大変面白い授業だったと思います。

I will now write about life in Nagoya itself in English. At Nanzan, you can either stay at a dormitory, similar to the university halls in Edinburgh, or at a homestay. I choose to do a homestay, which has been an absolutely fantastic experience. With a homestay, you live with a Japanese family, participating in events with them, going out to dinner at times and you have an invaluable chance to use your Japanese outside the classroom. You are provided with breakfast and dinner every day and, depending on the host family, lunch may also be provided. You’ll be able to specify certain preferences, like if you’re vegetarian, dislike young kids etc. on the application.

There are a couple of warnings I do have though, first is that the host family may not speak much, if any, English. My host mum is an English teacher, so English isn’t an issue if I was unable to communicate something in Japanese, but many host families can’t speak much at all. Secondly, distance from the university varies greatly, some are close, others are far. I live in Nisshin City, which is next door to Nagoya, and it takes me 30-40 minutes to get the university using both a bike and the underground. Finally, although my family have no strict rules, some families have curfews and other expectations of you, but I wouldn’t be too overly concerned about these.

If you stay at a dormitory, there are two major ones, and as far as I am aware around 2-3 other private run dorms scattered around. The main ones are NKK (females only) and YKK (Males only) which are within 5 minutes of the campus, and the rest are gotten to via the underground and are up to 40 minutes away.

The main area for shopping, clubs etc is Sakae, which can be reached via the underground. If you have a commuter pass, then I highly recommend getting the line up to Sakae included as you will likely go there a lot. My personal favourite store is Book-Off, a used book store where you can get individual volumes of manga for as little as 100 yen, and the Sakae branch also sells games, figures, CDs and even has a clothing section. Other than that, there are high-end stores, as well as a Pokémon centre store if you like Pokémon, Shonen Jump and Ghibli stores, as well as Nagoya’s central park. It’s a nice area to go to, even if you aren’t shopping or clubbing.

I am also a member of the anime club (アニメ研究会) at Nanzan. The university doesn’t really give you any information on clubs, so you need to go a little out of your way to join one, but it’s a good chance to interact with regular Japanese students. If you’re into anime and manga, the club is welcoming of exchange students, they apparently get them reasonably frequently, and they have a bi-annual trip to Comiket. I went on the Winter one, and it is significantly cheaper than going yourself.

Finally, some travel tips. For Shinkansen travel, students can receive a 20% discount as long as you apply for the discount coupons at Nanzan prior to purchasing tickets. Aeroplane tickets are also reasonable, and in most cases undercut the train by a couple thousand yen. There are also several field trips organised by the university, some of which are free, which are a really good way to experience Nagoya and nearby landmarks/museums.

If you have any further questions, feel free to add me on Facebook, Line (both are under Callum Sarracino) or email me via: yellowcall@hotmail.com.