Name: Kaho Asahata
Nationality: Japan
Course Length: 9 months
Accommodation: Homestay
Course: Intensive General English / Cambridge FCE / EAP

The aim of studying abroad

I had dreamed of living abroad and gained experiences which I cannot do in Japan. I wanted to encounter new culture or new people and broaden my way of thinking. I would like to use English in my future job where I can communicate with people from other countries.

In addition, students can work in Australia while studying. This is one of the reasons why I chose Australia.

Studying at BROWNS

About BROWNS

I am really happy that I studied in BROWNS. I met lovely friends and teachers. The teachers are great and they helped me a lot.

BROWNS school is located in city centre so that I could go shopping easily after school.

About Classes

I learned many things through three courses I took.

In Advanced class of general English course, I did the business challenge which aimed to sell food and make profit effectively. We planned what and how we sold and made advertisement ourselves. Every week, new students come to the class so that I could make many friends and it was fun.

I learned practical English in Cambridge course. The topic in Cambridge test ranged from formal to informal situation so that I learned how to write and speak correctly to meet each situation. My teachers encouraged me to study hard and gave us useful interesting materials such as videos, music, blogs, and game. Moreover, the teachers gave us some feedback and talked about progress and plan for effective studying in person. As a result, I passed the Cambridge FCE examination.

Living in Brisbane

Failure and difficulty during my stay

There are many places to visit around Brisbane. I often went on a day trip, for example to Lone pine Koala Sanctuary where you meet kangaroo as well.

One day, I went to Noosa beach which 2 hours away from Brisbane on a day trip. The beach was very beautiful and the sea was crystal clear. After having a great time there, we walked to the bus stop to go back to Brisbane. Then, we realised that we missed the last bus to the nearest station! Thanks to the bus driver and passengers, we managed to get back. I think the time buses are running is shorter compared with Japan. From experience, I always checked the timetable. In addition, trading hours is also shorter. I needed to care about the time.

Part-Time Job

I worked at Japanese restaurant where not only Japanese but also Asian people work. It was difficult to communicate with the other staff correctly and immediately in English first. Almost all customers are from Australia. I feel they are so friendly that I enjoyed conversation with them. I think this culture is different from Japanese

Internship

I did internship for BROWNS. I learned a lot over this internship which I did not experience before. I also found how they work and difference from my country. I did some tasks such as translation and creating format. When I saw the subtitle I translated on the video, I was really impressed. From my experience, I would like to get a job where I can use English.

Development and improvement

I believe I changed a lot not only about improvement of English, but also personality. I feel I became more open-minded and extrovert than I came here because I encountered new people who have different cultures and ideas.

A message for future students

I could not have decided to study abroad for a while. However, now I can say that my decision of coming to Australia to study is right. You will change a lot in a positive way and learned many things. Moreover, you can try what you really want to do.