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Twelve Japanese college students will spend three weeks at the University of Maine learning English and taking in American culture. The students from Hirosaki University arrived Monday.
UMaine and Hirosaki University students can attend each other’s school for the same tuition they would pay at their home university. Students can go abroad for one semester or one year.
The program, called “English and Culture,” is a three-week program run through UMaine’s Intensive English Institute.
The students attend English class from 8 to 11 every morning, followed by lunch in the Memorial Union.
“The biggest change is the fact that they become a lot more comfortable speaking English and that in itself is an improvement,” said Erin-Kate Sousa, a teacher at the Intensive English Institute and coordinator of the program. “They’re using English more and more and so there is a marked improvement from the time they come to the time to leave.”
Sousa said their English improves because being in an English-speaking environment forces them to practice.
The Japanese students also participate in campus activities, such as athletic events, tours of the Hudson Museum and UMaine’s Page Farm and Home Museum, to acquaint them with American culture. Some of these activities are voluntary, such as rock climbing, which students did Monday.
“Rock climbing, it is very fun,” said Yutaro Hara, 21. “Today my arms are having muscle pain.”
The size of Hirosaki University is approximately equal to the square footage between the Union, Fogler Library and North Stevens Hall, according to Atwood, who has visited Hirosaki.
“This university is big. I was so surprised. It has a game center, rock climbing and museum,” Hara said.
Hara, who said he eats fish and rice every day, describes the food in the Union as “very, very, very delicious.” He said he ate Chinese food yesterday, and gave a thumbs up.
“But the whoopie pie was too sweet for me,” he said.
Atwood places each student with a host family, where they stay for the duration of the program, and tries to match families with students’ interests. This year, he placed a medical student with a local chiropractor, and a student who enjoys reading with a family who has an in-home library.
“I try to find families that have worked with international students before, who will open up their homes, and be receptive and open to possibly a new way of looking at things and a new way of life,” Atwood said.
The host families, all of whom have had experience hosting international students, are responsible for showing the students the area on the weekends and helping them adjust to American culture.
Host families often take the students to Bangor, Bar Harbor, Freeport, Portland and sometimes even Boston, according to Sousa. Sousa said the host families are energetic about planning activities for the students.
“Even without anything extravagant, the idea is that they’re spending a typical weekend with the family,” Sousa said. “And it means they’re not hanging out with each other, so they have to speak English.”
Students also have conversation partners, who are UMaine students volunteering to spend time with their Japanese student and get to know them and to help with their English. According to Sousa, the conversation partners program runs all year, with other international students studying at UMaine.
“I had the time, so I get to learn about other cultures,” said Robert Lane, a second-year computer science student. “I figured other cultures are more interesting than ours sometime, and so far I’ve been right.”
Lane joined the program after he saw an advertisement on the FirstClass announcements folder. He said he enjoys being a part of the program because it provides him with someone to talk to.
The program, in its 10th year, has seen as many as 28 students from Japan at a time. This year’s turnout is the smallest number in years, according to Sousa.
Hirotake Kodama, 20, said his host family took him to the Japanese restaurant Yoshi for sushi Monday. He was surprised to find differences between the sushi here and home. Kodama said Yoshi put avocado in their sushi, which was cooked in oil. This, he said, is not done in Japan. He also tried different food in the Union.
“This food is very exciting,” Kodama said. “Italian sausage, bread and cheeseburger — so great.”
Kodama and Hara both agreed their English would improve a little while they’re in Maine, and they are excited to be here.
“I’m nervous. I can’t understand students talking,” Kodama said. “But they are so nice.”
