Recently once people find out that I study Japanese at Sheffield, they are keen to know what's it like and do you have any tips?

Apparently at Sheff we have the highest dropout rate of any course at the university and around 25% of the people who started in September are expected to graduate four years later. I think 14 graduated from about 50 something last year and a few years ago, only 8 people passed. Its really fun to look into some people’s eyes and even your own and think to yourself, “I wonder who’ll be next.” I honestly expect about 28, next year with a few people dropping out after a few weeks into the second term. You can sort of guess who is going to drop out. Harsh but true. Even in the fourth year people dropout or have to resit the year.

It’s a shame, because its very hard to convey the intensive nature of the course on the prospectus. I think many people drop out due to the sheer workload and the fact that you can’t really glide by without doing any revision.

I think Manchester have the best advice of any potential Japanese studies candidates on their website. Incidentally, Manchester was my first choice when applying, as I really like the city. Strange as gun crime may be of course.

Sometimes people develop a habit of lacking confidence and just give up at the first hurdle. Languages are a struggle and you will find that it takes years and years maybe even a lifetime to ever truly reach any sense of native competency. Failing in French and Russian has taught me harsh things about language learning, that to your average Japanophile may not be too obvious. There are days when I wake up and think “I don’t know this, the world is going to collapse” and then may end it in a barrage of “hey, I know this, let’s learn them kanji.” As long as there is some fire in the belly I’ll be here until I either die or sensei kills me with a pointed stare.

If someone were to ask me what were the reasons why people drop out I would probably suggest the following. Bare in mind, this is my own perspective on the matter;

1. Learning Japanese is not learning about Japan. People may think that Japanese is zany, wacky and off the wall. Its anything but. Its highly organised and the language reflects that. Unless you have a systematic brain that can handle grammatical concepts and memorising characters your intimate knowledge of InuYasha and Deathnote won’t come in handy. That said some expressions from manga and anime are quite useful to know. I say *some*
2. Class sizes – this one gripe I had, especially on really cold and grey November mornings that I had issues with. Although I love all the sensei at Sheffield, sometimes the sizes of the classes can be off putting at first. Some thrive on these environments, I for one. Don’t. I like smaller groups where is there more interaction both with sensei and your classmates. During one class, right before our final mid semester, only 8 people turned up after everyone else decided to skip in order to throw up in the toilets or something. However, despite this, I felt I learnt more being able to have more speaking time and more crucially more time that sensei could assess us and add comments etc. At first, the 20+ sizes of the classes are very off-putting and only gets better when people drop out or get sick I guess
3. Confidence. As above. You have to have some confidence in yourself to be able to study a foreign language.
   
4. Just generally not academic or cut out for it. Language degrees on the whole are not for everyone. Being able to speak Japanese takes considerably more hardwork than other languages (such as Italian or French) therefore you really have to know how to manage your time effectively and know how to study a foreign language (some of the international students we have, are therefore very good on our course.) This is something I’m shit at. Sometimes people will see from afar me saying something in Japanese to a Japanese person and think that its cool and they want to do that. Sadly, even to reach that very basic standard takes months and even years of hard-work. People are guilty of seeing the end product without the hard work that went into it. Anyone who thinks language degrees are easy because they have a B and an A at the beginning should try it for a second.
   
5. Duals. Some people also underestimate the complexity of some dual-degrees. Politics is fiendish for example. Luckily because I do an Arts based subject (linguistics) there is probably no difference between myself and maybe the people who do full Japanese Studies. This year I will be doing 40 credits in Linguistics, 40 in SEAS and 40 in Japanese. Even then the 40 in Seas are about the Japanese language. According to some of my friends at SOAS, the dual degrees are amazingly hard.
   
6. Uni/City/Job/Money – all the other major reason why people drop out be it for Japanese or Bioengineering.

I know a few dropouts but I’ve never really asked them t explain why they dropped out. I guess it could be a touchy subject coming from a person who has managed to brave ¼ of it so far.

That’s not to say that studying Japanese at Sheffield entails getting tied down and having zero fun whilst kanji radicals burst your eyeballs.

There are some positives though;

1. City. Sheffield is a vibrant student friendly city. Plus its cheap and the locals are a right laugh.
   
2. University. I love my uni. Just an amazing student union.
   
3. Teaching – all the sensei have their unusual quirks and sense of humour which you will come to love instantly. Because SEAS is a very small department, everyone is very relaxed and approachable. Its not like some departments where two or three heads have hundreds of students to deal with. Sensei will also make time for you if you need it.
   
4. Environment – It’s a mix of the Japanophile, the otaku and the “how the hell did I end up here?” crowd. Nearly all the people who study Japanese at Sheffield are very friendly and given the small numbers who study it, you’ll soon know everyone and come to get eyebrows raised at house parties when you tell people what you study. There is a good mix amongst senpai and kouhai and people are always willing to help each other out.

Overall I would say the social side of things often works in harmonising some of the negative things about the course (such as the ridiculous work load every week.) I am very grateful that I was given the opportunity to study here – and unlike some people on some other courses I want to make the most of that. Being a relative old fart of 23, I cherish these chances because I’ve experienced being rejected and told that I’m not good enough on many occasions.

So would I have any advice for any potential people who are thinking of coming to Sheffield to study Japanese in the future? Possibly…

1. respect your sensei – it really did piss me off how many people did not appreciate the time and effort they put in running this course. Being polite, apologising for missing lessons (something I was guilty of at times) and being late, as well as listening to what they teach you will come in handy. Once they are gone, I know I will miss them a lot. Make the most of the three years or so you have with them. N-sensei has the final say on whether or not you pass the course. Even if you get bad grades but make a good impression that shows you are working hard, it will stand you in good stead.
   
2. Speak as much Japanese as possible – and if so with Japanese people. These guys are the judges of how good your Japanese is. You are studying Japanese because you obviously want to speak Japanese. The main people who speak this are, strangely enough, the Japanese.
   
3. A-levels mean nothing. You’ll soon find that the people who sat back through all the easy stuff, start to feel the burn once the real stuff kicks in, basically the things that are not on the A-level syllabus. Speaking to my old sensei, she was dismayed at how poor some components of the Japanese A-levels have become. They seem to be less functional and practical now. Don’t come with the attitude that you know it all, you probably don’t.
   
4. Don’t underestimate yourself or others. Some people who appeared amazing in the first few weeks have either dropped out or changed courses and the people who seemed poor in week one, now seem really confident and at ease with Japanese.
   
5. Speak with the senpai. Because we know all the tricks of the trade. Also, make sure you speak to the 4^thyears, because they’ll know the best of what to do during the YA.
   
6. Enjoy your time and be productive. Don’t go to the pub every night but then again don’t sit at home looking at kanji flashcards over and over again. You’ll get bored and you won’t make any cool friends to get drunk in Japan with.

Above all, have fun, work hard and enjoy your time here! I should be looking really hungover on the intro thing for new Japanese students at freshers with sensei (because its after my birthday - did someone say Rhino's and shots?)

Hopefully I will look so bad that people will already think how intensive the course is! :-D