Home visits and language exchanges connect Winter Program participants and Tokyo Tech peers

Tandem partners Layla (left) and Mai

Organized by Tokyo Tech student group ACTION, the Tandem exchange connects Japanese students and international students who are interested in language exchange. The partners decide the frequency of meetings, their location, and their duration. My partner, Mai, and I met both on and off campus twice weekly while I was at Tokyo Tech.

This language exchange was one of the activities I enjoyed most in Japan.

Not only did I gain a really sweet, friendly, and funny friend, I was introduced to Japanese restaurants and culture, and even Mai's friends. And this is not to mention the enormous help Mai gave me with the Japanese language.

I have some background in Japanese, so during our first meeting each week, we communicated exclusively in Japanese, and at the second meeting, we spoke only English. Though it was challenging at the beginning, the approach proved to be really beneficial, as we practiced both listening and speaking skills.

I definitely encourage other Winter Program participants to join Tandem, not only for the language benefits, but also to have a gateway to understanding and getting to know Japanese culture from your partner's perspective.

David (right) with Home Visit host Tetsuya

I found participating in the Home Visit program to be a highly valuable experience. I was very impressed by the hospitality and friendliness of the Adachi family. I am grateful to Tetsuya for being a great host and to his family for taking great time and effort to invite me to their home. I believe I was able to enjoy this experience even more as I was able to speak Japanese, and I had past experiences in Japan. I hope that Tetsuya and I can continue to stay in contact and that this can be the start of a continuing friendship.