Foreign Language at Keio University (3)

Summer school at RWTH Aachen University is a three-week-long study abroad program in which 15-20 students participate during Keio's summer vacation every year.
Students are eligible to register for this summer school program as a study abroad course in German and engineering.
　RWTH Aachen University has had over fifty years of exchange with Keio University and is one of Europe's leading institutes of technology with around 30,000 students.
Third-year Keio student Takahiro Yamada (Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology) tells of his experiences: "We had classes on German culture in German in the mornings and introductory engineering courses in English in the afternoons. German students were assigned to help Keio students one-on-one throughout the program. Thanks to their help, not only were we able to make friends with local students by talking with them, but our German and English conversation skills also improved. On weekends, we all explored the countryside or visited museums. Even now, we still keep in touch with each other via social networking services."

Yamada began learning German at Keio Senior High School. When he entered university, he took over 10 hours of German classes per week at the Research Center for Foreign Language Education in addition to his regular Faculty of Science and Technology courses.
"During summer school, I was able to learn to speak natural German. For example, I studied German Abtönungspartikel, which resemble expressions that we use unconsciously in Japanese conversation like '...da yo ne.'"
　In the afternoon engineering courses, an automotive research facility substantial enough to have its own factory delighted students in the Department of Mechanical Engineering while lectures in chemistry, physics, and biology were also rich in content.
"In addition to many intriguing classes like those on cutting-edge biotechnology, we received direct instruction on the recently discovered Higgs boson from researchers on the research team."
　Yamada, whose future dream is to conduct biological research in Germany, seems to have had productive and valuable experiences while on the program.

The International Center at Keio University and other faculties organize a variety of short-term study abroad programs in addition to summer school at RWTH Aachen University. Close to 500 students participate in these programs on a yearly basis. Moreover, over 200 students from Keio University study abroad every year. Many students participate in Keio's exchange student programs with partner institutions, where students experience university life for one academic year, while others are awarded scholarships to study abroad, and still others study abroad at their own expense.
　Students thinking about study abroad must carefully examine their own goals and weigh them against the time and costs of studying abroad.

Meanwhile, approximately 1,200 international students currently study at Keio. A rough breakdown of the distribution of international students is as follows: 40% are undergraduate students, 45% are graduate students, and the remaining 15% are either students in the Japanese Language Program (JLP) or belong to the International Center. The Faculty of Business and Commerce has the largest number of undergraduate international students, while the Graduate School of Science and Technology has the largest number at the graduate level. Demographically, students from Asia comprise 80% of students while 10% of students are from Europe. Many international students choose to live in student dormitories, so they have many opportunities for cultural interaction with their Japanese neighbors.