Intensive Japanese Experience and International Education!

This week I spoke with Michael Haberl of Vienna, Austria, an intern at Kyushu Gaigo Senmon Gakkou. He studied Japanese, took time off, and has returned to it. Michael’s Japanese counterparts are very impressed with his “rusty” Japanese skill, since his job requires a high level of Japanese competence.

Asahi: What’s the company’s main focus?

Michael: They teach foreign languages, English and Chinese, for specialized and intensive purposes, such as business, tourism, etc.

Asahi: What do you do?

Michael: I do EDP (electronic data processing), perform support tasks, and assist with English lessons.

Asahi: Is there a special technique?

Michael: It’s sort of simple, I just follow instructions. The staff is good about speaking Japanese to me, even though their English is very good.

Asahi: What are your future plans?

Michael: I will return home to my former position, freelance translating. Well, it might not be an improvement to my work, but my Japanese is improving and that is definitely a good thing.

Asahi: Any suggestions to people who wish to intern in Japan?

Michael: Be open-minded. They should prepare themselves for another kind of culture; though you would think that’s a no brainer.

A.