Is she being realistic?

bernardh_2

My daughter starts 6`th form this year.She has the idea that she wants to study Japanese in London (SOAS). The school here is a specialist science one and she is not taking any language at all for A level.
I know she`s bored stiff out here in the country and wants to go back to London,but is her idea at all likely?

pavlovs_dog

my ex boyfriend wanted to go to soas, and going up there on the open day only deepened his desire.

apart from english lit, he wasnt taking anything language related either, but they were prepared to offer him a place because he was clearly so passionate about the subject.

he didnt get in, in the end, because he didnt get the grades (went through clearing to get a place in sheffield uni on a very similar course)


to the best of my knowledge, you cant do japanese a level in this country (i could be wrong). although having studied a language does help (he did french up to gcse), i think more than anything they are looking for a passionate, enthusiastic student who is eager to learn, willing to work hard and broaden their cultural horizons.


so no, she isn't necessarily being unrealistic.

my advice to you:

a) make sure her personal statement on her ucas form is spot on

b) go to the open day and speak to the lecturers and admissions tutors - its a relatively small college, so they remember people - make the right impression on them and you're laughing

c) they do have HIGH expectations, in my experience - make sure she gets the grades

HTH, p_d

telly-addict

In addition to the excellent tips you have already received, your daughter could also try to find some background reading on the language, culture etc so she can also speak reasonably knowledgeably about why she is so interested. I guess Amazon or Ebay will have some second-hand books, I imagine the Japanese embassy website could be a good starting place too. Even the Alumni office at SOAS could put her in touch with current or past students to tell her what it is really like?

The uni won't expect her to be an expert but they need to be able to distinguish between a student with a pipe-dream and someone that has really thought about it. If she really wants to do it, then she should. At that time in your life you should be able to follow a dream, it gets much harder later on!

bernardh_2

Thanks for the above tips.She is taking Eng Lit and Language at A level. Was going for psychology but the school have dropped it so she has to choose a 3`rd subject.
It may just be a phase,of course.Last time I asked,it was biological sciences.

Katgoddess

My local adult education college does Japanese for complete beginners courses. Prehaps one of your local ones does something similar you could look into. Would look good on the personal statement?

Also might put her off. :A

Midget_Karen

Or she could do a gap year in Japan as an English teacher, and pick up some Japanese while she is there.

MSE_Martin

If she really is serious - why not see if she wants to take a GCSE in Japanese while she does her A'Levels?

Smiley_Mum

Perhaps she could have a look at some of the online language courses to try it out and if she likes it then go for something with classroom study etc. I have a cousin who spent a gap year in Japan and he loved it.

http://www.japanese-online.com/

If she does enjoy it then there is always this for future reference -

http://www.jetprogramme.org/e/index.html

bernardh_2

Thanks to all above.She has mentioned a gap year teaching in Japan,but I assumed that she`d need a good grasp of the language first.In true MSE fashion,she has got language cd`s from the library and copied them.
She told me today that her 3`rd A level is to be philosophy and ethics.
Kids today.When I were a lad you did maths,physics and chemistry ,none of this fancy stuff.

pavlovs_dog

another thing i would recommend ( and this was where my ex came into his own) was japanese media

manga and samurai/kung fu etc films arent not everybody's cup of tea. they werent mine originally, but i did get into it whilst with my ex.

it is a great way of picking up little bits of language, to help put the building blocks together. it is also an amazing way of incidental learning about customs, way of life etc, be it the older traditions in the old films, or more modern ways of living from more recent films.

having learnt a language myself to such a standard where i am now not only fluent in that language to the degree that i can study through it, but that i can also consider myself to be truly bilingual, i speak from personal experience when i say that media (in whatever form you can get it - film/radio/tv/books/internet etc)is one of the best ways of learning a language. you have to be prepared to be absorbed into the lifestyle, but you pick up more than you will ever realise in return. ( to give a very random example (but thus proving my point) i learnt the phrase 'ladies and gentlemen' in welsh from watching rugby coverage ).

the japanese have a very long, at times complicated, history, not to mention a culture and social hierarchies completely different to our own. they are very proud of these, and rightly so. i would advise your daughter to get as close to it as possible, getting as much experience as possible.

finally, its important to remember that learning a language is equvilent to making a journey across a river on stepping stones. you cannot rush, but must take it one step at a time. although at first she will only be able to take baby steps, these will, over time, turn into paces, then strides, and so on, and her journey across the river will hasten.

think of it more like a hobby - one of the best ones there is. being able to sit down with some random stranger on a train and converse about whatever pops up - all in a foreign language that you have mastered - is one hell of a sense of achievement.

i wish your daughter all the best

Smiley_Mum

I think if she did a gap year with some organisation like JET they would provide at least four months of intensive japanese language classes. Not too sure though, she'd have to check it out beforehand.