Studying abroad is one of the wonderful opportunities awaiting students at HJU. YY went to the United States and this is her second article in our Department News about her experiences. Here, she tells us first-hand about the study experience in the USA.
アメリカでの交換留学体験記の第二弾です。今回は、授業や勉強について報告してもらいます。

My classes during my study abroad were English writing, international studies, political science, sociology, and ethnic studies. Half of my classes were held with lectures and discussions. The classes held with discussions were challenging for me because participation points were counted as contributing to class discussion, and I struggled quite a bit in the fall semester to immediately think about my opinions and get into everyone's tempo.
留学中授業は主にライティングや国際関係、政治学、社会学、民族学を履修し授業の半数は講義とディスカッションでした。ディスカッションの授業は私にとって課題で、即座に自分の意見を言うのとクラスメートのテンポについていくのが大変でした。

An online discussion session

Another challenging thing for me was the amount of reading that I had to do as an assignment. On average I read 25 pages every day for most of the classes and it took me forever to finish reading. I tried to improve my reading speed by scrolling the screen like the end of a movie's closing credits, so that I could read faster. At the end of each semester, I noticed that my reading speed had improved throughout the semester since the amount of time I spent on reading had decreased, and I was able to use more time to prepare for a discussion.
私にとってもう一つ大変だったことは課題をこなすことで、各教科平均25ページ読むことが日常茶飯事でした。速読ができるよう映画のエンドロールのように画面をスクロールしながら読むなど工夫をし、学期末には読書に費やす時間が以前よりも減っており、授業の予習に時間を費やすことができました。

Half of my day, I was in the library studying since it was a quiet place on campus. My favorite thing about the library was that a week before the final exam, the library was open 24 hours during the weekdays. During the final exam week, I studied with my friends in the library, and it was one of the most memorable times for me. Of course, I do not recommend people to be awake all day and night to study but, while taking a break, chatting with friends was fun.
一日の半分以上は図書館で勉強をしており、図書館で一番気に入っていたのは、期末試験の１週間前になると、平日は24時間空いていたことです。試験期間は友達と図書館で勉強をする日もあり、休憩がてら友達と話す時間はとても思い出深い時間の１つでした。

Study style in the USA

From an academic perspective, it is clear that YY had a challenging time in the USA, but what an experience! We thank her for sharing her American study experiences and congratulate her on overcoming these challenges. We're looking forward to hearing the final part of her experiences abroad.
アメリカの大学生と一緒に学ぶことはやはり大変なことも多かったようですが、その分大きな成長につながったことと思います。次回は、交換留学体験記の最終回です。どうぞお楽しみに。

前の記事：Study Abroad First-hand Experience (生活編)
次の記事：Study Abroad First-hand Experience (クラブ活動編)