The discussion experience in the COIL class was useful for the class in the US university.

In Japan, I mainly took lecture classes, but through active discussions in COIL classes, I was able to understand the gap between Japanese and American teaching styles before going to study abroad. I was also inspired by the other students who had their own opinions and were actively sharing them. I realized that my goal was to summarize my own opinions and to be able to convey them in English. While studying abroad, I took mainly classes in sociology of religion, which I had been interested in for a long time. It was a new experience for me because I was able to deepen my understanding of Christianity and Judaism, which are widely believed in America, as well as learn familiar East Asian religions such as Buddhism and Confucianism from the American perspective. Since there were no Japanese people in the class, I was sometimes asked my opinion about Japan. It gave me an opportunity to rethink about Japan and Asia as well as to practice sharing my thoughts in English. As I was aware that “there are a lot of discussions in American classes” by actually experiencing through the COIL program before going to study abroad, I was able to participate in the classes there with a concrete image such as the amount of remarks required and so on.