STUDENT INTERVIEW: Stephanie Ee Pei Tan (AIJP)

Stephanie Tan

Declan: Thanks for the interview.
Stephanie: OK.
Declan: So Stephanie from Singapore when did you start studying at Yamasa?
Stephanie: 2004 October.
Declan: 2004 October, so you've been here about 15 months?
S: Yes thats right.
DM: And when you started you were in the AIJP?
S: Yes I was, I am in the AIJP. I've been in AIJP all the way.
DM: OK so you didn't do Acceleration to start with?
S: Yep.
DM: And which class did you start in?
S: I started in H class.
DM: Which chapter of which textbook was that at the time?
S: Minna no Nihongo, book 2. We started at chapter 26.
DM: You started at the beginning of the second book. Halfway through the beginner curriculum.
S: Yep.

DM: How many people were in the class.
S: Um.
DM: Do you think? Do you remember?
S: I think there was (pauses), eleven?
DM: What about now? And which class are you in now?
S: B class now. Um, there are ten.
DM: Where are they from?
S: 4 from Taiwan, 1 from Germany, 1 Swiss, 1 from Peru and 2 from America.
DM: And yourself. So how many nationalities are there, six?
S: Yes.
DM: And how many teachers do you have?
S: This semester we have five.
DM: All female?
S: No we have one male teacher.
DM: Who is it?
S: Kurita-sensei.

DM: Back to classes, you went from H class through to B class, starting from the middle of the beginner curriculum, and now you are in the advanced...
S:errm...
DM: Just beginning the advanced curriculum...
S: Just...
DM: What I'm asking is, ummm, on the way as you were learning did you encounter any periods of frustration, you know times when you felt like you weren't making progress?
S: I think in April when I jumped one class, some frustration, because I kinda missed like, a full 10 chapters.
DM: Of the...
S: Of the blue New Approach book.
DM: So you went from which class to which class?
S: Well the first semester I was in H, then I was in F, then I jumped to C in April.
DM: C? So you went from being one of the better students in your class to feeling a bit behind, at the bottom?
S: Not at the bottom, but with a feeling of having to catch up, pressure to catch up.
DM: Who were the teachers during that catching up period?
S: I think it was Nose-sensei, Miki-sensei, Kuno-sensei, Kurita-sensei and Fuma-sensei.
DM: So Kurita-sensei has been teaching you pretty much since April?
S: Not the last time semester.

DM: OK. Now you studied some Japanese before you came?
S: Uh-huh.
DM: Was that at university, or....
S: Uni.
DM: It was. And you were at NUS?
S: Yes.
DM: Your major was...
S: Japanese Studies.
DM: How many years did you study Japanese?
S: For about 3 years. We also studied the culture, business, history of japan...
DM: Not just the language but really Japanese studies.
S: Yep. Thats right.
DM: So you did three years and then when you came to Yamasa we put you in the middle of the beginner level curriculum, about the 3 months study mark. Was that because of conversation skills, listening?
S: I think it was partly because I had a break for about half a year before coming here. So I forgot a lot of things.

DM: How many hours a week were you studying in Singapore?
S: For school curriculum? Its about 5 hours a week.
DM: 2 semesters a year?
S: 2 semesters, about 20 weeks each. Actually it was 7 hours a week. So 2 hours of lectures and 5 of tutorials.
DM: Of Japanese language?
S: Yeah. Almost every day, but of course with other things we had to study for other than language.
DM: And the textbooks you used at NUS, do you remember what they were?
S: I think one was Youkoso, the beginner levels, and the other one was intermediate Japanese.
DM: Do you remember the publisher of the second?
S: No.

DM: Which book was easier to use, the ones you used at NUS or the Minna no Nihongo & the New Approach series?
S: For beginners I kind of prefer Minna no Nihongo. For intermediate, New Approach is all in Japanese so if you still need explanations in English then it can be a bit more difficult than the one we used in Singapore.
DM: You can be a little lost if you are unsure of some material from the beginner levels?
S: Yes.

DM: In addition to the classes have you been doing any language exchange or private lessons?
S: No.
DM: Just the AIJP classes?
S: Yeah.
DM: And you sat Level 1 of the JLPT in December...
S: (squirming noise)
DM: ...and you had a bad cold. You said you weren't very confident when I spoke to you a few weeks before the exam, but how was the exam itself on the day?
S: I wasn't really feeling that well actually. And I dunno, maybe for this time round.... because when I used to take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in Singapore, the test venue, the classrooms weren't so big. More similar to the classrooms we have in Yamasa. For listening it was much easier than in Nagoya, more like when we have the practises in the sentaku classes in the AIJP.
DM: So you could hear much easier in Singapore or at Yamasa than you can on the Aichi University campus?
S: Yeah because they have it in a huge lecture hall.
DM: With bad speakers?
S: Not with bad speakers
DM: Ah, with much improved speakers!
S: Yes. And because level 1, 2, 3 and 4 all start at the same time but 2, 3 and 4 finish earlier, its frustrating, because halfway through the listening questions you can hear noise from people outside leaving from the other tests....

DM: Of the 3 sections of the test was the listening the most difficult for you?
S: No.
DM: Which was the most difficult for you?
S: The first bit.
DM: The moji goi.
S: Yes. Moji goi.
DM: I assume you can read kanji, with the Chinese background. Was it more the vocabulary?
S: The vocabulary.
DM: So you don't get the results until February, but umm, are you confident of scraping through? Or will you need to have another go.
S: If I have some good luck I might scrape through.

DM: Hopefully you will be lucky. Now when you finish here, is it in March you finish your visa?
S: Yeah.
DM: What are your plans then? Are you going back to Singapore? Going to study, going to work?
S: I'll probably start searching for work early next year.
DM: In Japan or in Singapore?
S: In Japan.
DM: And um, what kind of things are you looking for?
S: (whispers into microphone) I've no idea, can we skip this part? (/whispers)
DM: Yes, we shall skip this.

DM: Now ummm. Have you done anything interesting while here in Japan?
S: Not anything particularly interesting I can think of...
DM: Now in spring you had to go to the hospital a few times, what happened there?
S: I had chicken pox.
DM: So you didn't have chicken pox when you were a child.
S: No I didn't.
DM: How do you think you caught it, because I don't think anybody else in the Institute had it.
S: I'm not that sure but I think around that week I took a friend to one of the clinics because she wasn't feeling well, so I think I might have caught it then. There were a lot of kids.
DM: Did you know that you hadn't had chickenpox before?
S: Yes.
DM: So what happened? We took you to the Chuo Sogo Hospital, and um, how many classes did you end up missing? Was it about two weeks.
S: I missed about one.
DM: Only the one?
S: Yeah.
DM: OK And that was about the same time as you were moving house?
S: Yes.
DM: And you had the health insurance card, do you remember how much money you paid outside what was covered by the insurance during the whole period?
S: I'm not really sure but I think I paid about 30% of the total.
DM: How much do you think?
S: Not sure but about 40,000 yen or so.
DM: For the treatment and medication?
S: Yes.
DM: No other illnesses or visits to hospitals since that time?
S: No.

DM: What about hobbies and things. Any extracurricular activities?
S: No.
DM: Trips and things like that?
S: Oh I did 2 trips with Yamasa, the one to Ise and a ski trip to Nagano and a couple with my friends.
DM: Speaking of friends, I'm reliably informed that you're going to Osaka, this weekend.
S: (blushes)
DM: And that for once, this is not primarily a shopping trip?
S: (laughs)
DM: So can you share with us some details about this non-shopping adventure?
S: Yes.
DM: And?
S: We are going by train.
DM: Yes. And what are you going to do in Osaka?
S: I'm going with another friend, another Singaporean friend, and we are going to watch a concert.
DM: A concert?
S: Yes.
DM: Now this wouldn't happen to be a concert involving a boy band?
S: Yes. I can't believe this.
DM: A boy band called V6?
S: I think you've heard...
DM: Maybe.
S: She warned me about this...

DM: Now this band, V6, who is your favorite member of the band? Masayuki? Junichi?
S: I don't really have a favorite, actually.
DM: Really?
S: I just kind of, just kind of like their songs.
DM: They've been around 10 years or so right?
S: Yep. Actually the concert in Osaka is for the 10th anniversary.
DM: Do you like their earlier err, music or the more recent?
S: I listen more to the earlier music. That was when I was more interested in J-Pop.
DM: So you're not as interested in J-Pop as before?
S: Yes.
DM: I see. But you'll be screaming throughout the concert like everyone else?
S: I guess so
DM: You guess so?
S: If the mood takes me (laughing).
DM: Yes. Right. Now umm, are they your favorite boy band?
S: I don't really have one.
DM: No band that you follow?
S: No.
DM: Not the Kinki Kids?
S: Well I do like the Kinki Kids.
DM: You like the Kinki Kids but don't follow them.
S: No. Not really.
DM: Which particular Kinky Kid do you like but not follow?
S: I like Koichi Domoto.
DM: I see.
S: (silence and trepidation)

DM: Changing the subject slightly, do you think the Yamasa male teachers could form a boy band? You know, promote the school...
S: A boy band?
DM: Well we don't do any advertizing and don't have a marketing officer, so we need do something.
S: I don't think Yamasa has enough young male teachers for it.
DM: We need more young male teachers.
S: Definitely.
DM: And you can't imagine errr, say, Toh-sensei strutting his stuff in a boy band?
S: No.
DM: He is younger than Mick Jagger.
S: No!
DM: Could anyone make the grade?
S: Maybe Kurita-sensei?
DM: Would he be more a singer or a dancer at the back doing the lip-synch thing?
S: He is actually pretty good at singing.
DM: Big into karaoke and stuff?
S: The teachers often often come to karaoke, when we have class parties during the year.
DM: Thats good. Do all of the teachers go?
S: Not all. Those who have long commutes and things can't.
DM: But Kurita-sensei lives in Okazaki is that right?
S: I dunno. His furusato is in Shizuoka but I think he rented an apartment in Okazaki.
DM: What kind of songs does he sing when he is center stage, center booth, so to speak?
S: Orange Range.
DM: Do all the female students now the lyrics to Orange Range?
S: (laughing) Actually he played it for us in class to teach us the bumpou.
DM: Come to Japan and learn grammar with J-Pop.
S: Yes. That was pretty interesting actually.

DM: OK, now I'd like to ask a few questions about your accommodation because we don't have many profiles of students living in Residence Hane yet. Obviously.
S: Yes.
DM: When you started at Yamasa you were in Residence U?
S: Yes.
DM: Was that a shared room or a single room?
S: Um a single room.
DM: Single room, so you had single room all the time?
S: Yes.
DM: And you moved from Residence U into the new Residence Hane when it was opened?
S: Yes.
DM: OK. Then you were at the open day, so you could look at all the different rooms?
S: Yes.
DM: Why did you choose your particular room?
S: Because mine is the cheapest.
DM: Yours is the cheapest?
S: Yep. And compared to Residence U there is a gas stove, Residence U is just electric.
DM: Residence U is electric cooking and Hane is all gas.
S: Yep.
DM: And you chose a type A room?
S: Uh-huh.
DM: Without a balcony?
S: I'm on the first floor so I kind of have a small balcony.

DM: OK. So you've got gas cooking. Um the kitchen in a Residence Hane apartment compared to those in Residence U are designed for taller people, but is it inconvenient in any way for someone who isn't tall?
S: Well, you kind of need a small stool to stand on (laughing)
DM: For chopping things or for reaching the top cupboards?
S: For reaching all the cupboards above the sink.
DM: Its high.
S: Its pretty high, and pretty deep.
DM: High and deep. So do you have most of your things in the cupboards below, or do you use the top as well?
S: Both are pretty full actually.
DM: But are they full of things for cooking or full of things for other things? Trophies from shopping adventures.
S: For cooking.
DM: For cooking. So the kitchen is mostly for cooking, you aren't using it for storage space?
S: Yes.
DM: Um, and so you use a foot stool if you need to reach the cupboards above. How tall are you? About hundred and fifty?
S: Hundred and sixty five, or sixty seven. I'm not sure.
DM: Doesn't matter. OK. Um, what about the shoe racks, is there enough room for all of your shoes?
S: Yes. There is more than enough. You can actually use it for storage as well, because the shelves can be moved.
DM: Do you have many shoes?
S: Quite a lot.
DM: You have quite a lot of shoes but there is still enough room for storage.
S: Yes (laughing again)

DM: OK. I won't ask how many shoes. Um what else? What about the refrigerator? Is the refrigerator big enough?
S: Yeah. Its compared, I dunno, cos it about the same size as the one I had in Residence U.
DM: Hmm.
S: Yep. So its sufficient for 1 person.
DM: There is enough freezer space?
S: Yeah. Easily.
DM: Do you use the freezer a lot? Apart from for ice cream. I mean like processed foods and frozen vegetables and things?
S: Yeah. Especially during the noryokushiken period.
DM: The time when you were preparing for the JLPT?
S: Yeah.
DM: So you ate a lot of frozen foods?
S: Yes. Because you have a microwave in the kitchen at Hane so its easy to heat up your food.
DM: OK. So say from October onwards to the test you ate a lot of microwavable food?
S: Yes.
DM: Do you use the convection oven at all, for baking stuff? or just the microwave?
S: The microwave?
DM: It has a built in oven.
S: Yeah.
DM: Have you used the oven to bake?
S: No.
DM: You're not a baker?
S: I'm not a baker.
DM: OK. What else? The toaster? Do you use that everyday?
S: Not every day, but..
DM: Frequently?
S: Oh yes, pretty frequently.

DM: Thats about it for the kitchen. OK so umm, now compared to Residence U, you've got more space in the kitchen, umm, what about the bathroom and toilet facilities, are they better than at U?
S: Yeah, much better.
DM: Whats the main difference between U and Hane?
S: For the toilet? For the bathroom?
DM: Both.
S: OK the sink, one thing about the sink, you don't have to turn hot and cold water, especially during winter, cos, its, I don't know how you call it. You can just...
DM: You mean Residence U had the same faucet for both the sink and the bath? Is that right?
S: No no no, as in, Residence, for Residence U, I think for Villa as well, that... you have to adjust the hot and cold water
DM: Oh the two taps?
S: Yes. Two taps. For Hane you just have the one.
DM: So its easier to use?
S: Yeah.
DM: And um, this is, are you talking about the sink? Or...
S: Both have it...
DM: The shower & bath and the washbasin...
S: No the shower you have to adjust it. For the sink if you wish to wash your face or wash your dishes.
DM: Oh you are talking about the two sinks, the kitchen one and the bathroom one.
S: Yeah.
DM: Sorry. And what about the height of the washbasin? Is that OK.
S: Its good. Its much bigger actually.
DM: Its much bigger than Residence U?
S: Yeah.
DM: And you don't have the wet floor...
S: Yeah thats right. Because the toilet and the bathroom are separate, its kind of, its just more convenient.

DM: More convenient. OK and what about the main room of your apartment, is that a little bit smaller than U.
S: Its kind of way much smaller than u.
DM: Significantly smaller
S: I think about two-thirds the size.
DM: Hmm. And you've got the same facilities, desk, lamp, tv etc etc... but what about the wardrobe, the wardrobe is smaller?
S: The wardrobe is about half the size of Residence U, so you can't really put your luggage in there, but its probably good enough.
DM: but um, if you, um without naming names if you are someone who has a lot of clothes, and a lot of things that you've purchased in Japan, where do you store them, do you put them under the bed? Or...
S: Yeah, there is sufficient space under the bed, you just have to get boxes.
DM: Is that what you did, you have big plastic boxes, or something?
S: Um no I put them inside my luggage actually...
DM: So like, the summer clothes for example are inside the suitcases?
S: Not yet.
DM: But something like that?
S: Yeah.

DM: OK. Um, the airconditioning, the heating in winter, has that been sufficient for someone from Singapore?
S: Yes.
DM: And what about the sound insulation, do you get woken up by neighbours? The drummer next door?
S: Not really, but sometimes you can just hear people outside, even when your windows are shut.
DM: Noisy people?
S: Yeah.
DM: What, like people from the Student Village?
S: No no, probably like when people come back late at night sometimes, and they are parking their bikes. If they are talking you can just hear it.
DM: You can't hear what they are saying, just that there is talking?
S: Yeah. Well if they speak loudly enough.
DM: If they are drunk?
S: Well, yeah. Sometimes.

DM: Umm, telephones and things. You have a cellphone?
S: Yes.
DM: Do you use skype?
S: Yeah.
DM: OK and so when you are talking in your room, is there the sense of privacy... do you feel that it is private space, no one can eavesdrop?
S: Yeah, because usually if I'm going to make a call with skype I shut all my windows, so my voice won't be heard...
DM: Now the internet connection for Residence Hane is included in the rent, do you use your computer a lot? Are you online a fair amount of time?
S: Yeah.
DM: What are you doing most of the time?
S: Msn.
DM: Chatting?
S: Yes.
DM: What about downloads?
S: Not so much.
DM: All those DVDs from Singapore to watch. TV. Do you watch much television?
S: Yep. The TV set is pretty good, because there is dual sound, so if you are watching a foreign movie and want to take a break from the Japanese you can switch the audio to the English.
DM: And do you have a DVD player or just use you computer?
S: I usually watch them on the computer.
DM: I think thats about it for Residence Hane. And you come to the campus by bicycle?
S: Yes.
DM: Did you buy the bike or rent?
S: I got the bike on the first day that I was here.
DM: Did you buy it from a shop or from a student?
S: Bought it from the shop.
DM: Which one?
S: The one on the other side of the station...
DM: Nonoyama? The one I told you about at the Orientation at the beginning of your course?
S: Yes.
DM: Now you're going back to Singapore for Christmas and New Year?
S: Yes I am.
DM: You haven't been back since you came?
S: No I went back once. In March.
DM: If somebody from Singapore or some other nice hot place was coming to Okazaki from October, is there anything you would recommend they bring?
S: Gloves.
DM: Gloves?
S: Gloves, and thick socks....
DM: Are they cheaper to buy here or cheaper to buy over there?
S: Actually I think they are cheaper to buy in Japan, since Singapore is a tropical country, winter clothing is more expensive
DM: Specialty stuff.
S: Yeah.
DM: What about things other than clothing, things that you can't buy or that are hard to find. Things that you miss that you can't get in Japan.
S: Hmmm
DM: Or can't buy at affordable prices....
S: Coconut milk?
DM: Coconut milk?
S: I think its kind of expensive here.
DM: Where would you buy coconut milk? At the import plaza?
S: I think they do have it in Jusco or Seiyu.
DM: But at high prices?
DM: Yes. OK, I think that is about it. Have fun in Osaka, and I hope you recover from your cold soon.
S: Thank you.

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