| Name | Wei Ling Ong |
| University | National University of Singapore, Sophomore | |
| Major | Japanese Studies/General Mathematics | |
| It has been great to be able to come to Kyushu to participate in this UMAP Summer Program. Some of us are not able to speak Japanese well but the peer tutors have been very friendly and helpful and have organized many fun and interesting activities for us. The staff at the International Students Center has been very attentive to us too. The modules have been very informative and have greatly helped us in our understanding of Japan. I think the summer program has been a truly wonderful experience. | ||
All courses on this 6-week summer program were short-term intensive courses, and the time to be spent educating students after their arrival was rather limited. To break this time and distance barrier, an Internet educational tool was introduced to the program. Through this Internet tool, a lecturer and students were able to correspond one-to-all. For example, a teacher gave instructions or assignments to students through the Internet and students responded and turned in assignments to a teacher. The whole process was done through the Internet. The Internet tool was also used in Japanese language education of upper to intermediate level students. Utilizing the Internet tools helped draw maximum achievement in terms of both the educational aspects and students' performance.
The summer program students were offered two different types of life in Japan: a boarding house and homestay. They enjoyed a full variety of Japanese living style. They lived in a boarding house in Fukuoka City for the first four weeks and did homestay in Koga City for the last two weeks.
Several field studies were held during the program. Each excursion was planned in the expectation that students were able to experience some part of Japanese culture and the Japanese esthetic sense.
Jul. 13 Farming work at terraced paddy fields in Nishi-Arita Jul. 20-21 Study trip to Toyota automobile factory, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Itsukushima Shrine (UNESCO World Heritage) Jul. 25 Tea Ceremony at Rakusui-en (Fukuoka City) Aug. 3 Special Lecture Meeting by Kyushu University alumni currently working for a Japanese company
 | Name | Elaine Wong |
| University | University of Hong Kong, Sophomore | |
| Major | Japanese Studies/Comparative Literature | |
| "Hajimemashite. Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu." This is the phrase that I first learnt when I started studying Japanese. Without going to Japan, this phrase is only used when practicing Japanese in classroom, but UMAP provides me this chance to say this as daily conversation. Through UMAP, students from different countries gather together and study. Not only do we learn about Japanese culture, we also learn from students of various countries about their unique cultures. At the end of the program, in how many languages would be able to say "Yoroshiku"? | ||