Spring break does not mean days at the beach for some students.
Nearly 40 Japanese students are spending theirs at Lincoln University. They have been on campus since February, the most popular time for Japanese students to head overseas because it’s their Spring holiday.
The students are from four different institutions: Hokkaido University, Nara Women’s University, Oberlin University and Koka Kyoto Women’s University, and are on campus for two weeks to up to 16 weeks.
They are at Lincoln as part of a well-established programme of exchanges where they can earn credits at their home university for their time spent in New Zealand.
The majority are learning English but some are doing additional subjects too.
Lincoln University also has English language programmes available in conjunction with high-level sports training, with rugby proving to be a strong attraction for some students as they take advantage of the chance to play in teams from the well-performing Lincoln University Rams rugby club.
Some individual students or groups may require English language for a specific situation, such as English for science and research, or English for professional and business communication.
These students can take a course of core English language skills with additional components focused on the specific purpose.
Patrick Yeung, from Lincoln’s International Office, said the courses were growing in popularity and Lincoln had strong connections with many Japanese universities.
He added the university wanted to develop more of these type of English short courses with other universities in other countries so they could experience life at Lincoln too.
