| Summary: | I explored the impact of the UBC-Ritsumeikan Academic Exchange Program in
which 100 Japanese university students attend a Canadian university for 8 months. It is a
sheltered immersion program during which the students come to Vancouver to study and
live in an integrated academic and sheltered social environment. The research questions
addressed in this study were: 1) How do the students think they learned English and what
do they do to maintain it in Japan? 2) What do the students think they learned and became
during the sojourn? 3) How do the students think these changes have affected their lives in
Japan after the sojourn? 4) What do the students think about the program and how do the
students think the program can be improved? Primary data sources included my
autobiography about my international Ritsumeikan exchange experiences as well as
extensive interviews of students. My findings were that the students believed they had
become more international, independent, flexible, open-minded, and multicultural. The
students learned Canadian culture as well as English, the relativity of culture, and
humanity.
The interviews found that what students learn in this exchange program is so
profound that the study can encourage more people to participate in such programs.
Travelling abroad to live and study itself is very stressful. Only one academic year is too
short for the students to become acculturated to the new environment. The students have to
return to their home countries just as they are getting used to their new environment. By
identifying what kinds of stress the students encounter, the programs can be improved to
help reduce it, the study can help students learn better and make the most of the programs
as well. I also scrutinised how educators can facilitate such programs in the traditional
classrooms using the example of a new university called Asia Pacific University (APU).
Furthermore, by exploring how the students deal with the re-entry process in Japan, we
can understand the students' newly constructed identity and international perspectives
which are important in this shrinking global village.
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