Language Exchange on Campus (Japan<>Ukraine)

The NUCB Language Exchange Program is one of the most popular on-campus activities in which international students from around the world and current students at our university teach each other languages. This program is open to all students, regardless of their faculty or grade, and is free of charge.

In the second semester of 2022, 56 groups are enjoying the Language Exchange. Here is an interview with one of the participating students, Ms. Ikeda, a 4th-year student in the Faculty of International Studies.

Tell us more about your exchange partner and what you learn

I meet with my exchange partner Mikita (Ukraine) every week and after caually talking, I teach him Japanese and he teaches me Ukranian. We learn phrases in each other's language that we can use in daily conversation.
Ukrainian uses the same letters as Russian, but the words and sentence endings are different.He is also very fluent in English, so conversing with him helps me practice my listening skills. He introduces new phrases and idioms when speaking with me, so I learn not English but also the culture and customs of the other country, which you cannot get just by taking classes.
I recently learned that the traditional Ukrainian costume worn for New Year's celebrations is red flowers on a white background and that it has recently become popular around the world as casual clothing. I think the best thing about Language Exchange is that Japanese students can think deeply about their own language and culture when they teach Japanese language and culture to international students.

For prospective program participants

Without study abroad programs or language exchange programs like this one, it would be difficult to make friends abroad even if I wanted to, so I think it is great to have an environment where I can improve my English and make friends with international students in Japan.