IUP Student to Study in Japan in July
It’s an agreement continuing opportunities for students at the University of Miyazaki, Japan at Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a bonus: IUP students have a new opportunity for Japanese language instruction and an in-person cultural experience in Japan.
The University of Miyazaki, an IUP partner, has received $1 million from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology for a five-year collaboration that extends the current eight-week virtual English language instruction and an in-person experience at IUP for University of Miyazaki students. This funding provides a new opportunity for IUP students to complete an eight-week virtual Japanese language instruction with UoM and a two-week in-person experience in Japan.
The new program began in the spring semester and will continue through 2028.
Originally, during the 2023 spring and summer semesters, IUP had an agreement with the University of Miyazaki for IUP’s American Language Institute to provide an eight-week, virtual (online) intensive English program for its graduate students and an in-person experience coordinated by IUP. Michelle Petrucci assisted the UoM with the development of this agreement, which was funded by US Consulate Fukuoka for $12,000.
The new multiyear program officially began in the spring semester with virtual Japanese language instruction for nine IUP students by the University of Miyazaki and 23 students from the University of Miyazaki receiving instruction from IUP’s ALI, IUP’s long-standing intensive English program. A second cohort from UoM is scheduled for the virtual language instruction in August, with the in-person experience at IUP for the Japanese students planned for the spring 2025 semester.
“We are very pleased to enter into this new agreement, which is a win on all fronts,” Associate Vice President for International Education and Global Engagement Michele Petrucci said.
“It is very gratifying to have the University of Miyazaki want to continue the program because of its success, but to have that additional, new opportunity for IUP students to receive Japanese language instruction and an in-person experience—at no cost to the students—is just fantastic,” she said.
AnnaPearl Diamond
Based on attendance and participation in the virtual program, four IUP students were selected to be eligible to participate in the in-person program at the University of Miyazaki July 8 to July 18.
IUP senior AnnaPearl Diamond, Marion Center, a communications media production and Asian studies major, will be the first IUP student to participate in the in-person experience at the University of Miyazaki.
All expenses, including travel and lodging, are covered by the grant.
Daughter of Tammy and Christopher Diamond, she is a member of Delta Alpha Pi international honor society, the Asian Studies Club, the Chinese Language Culture Club, the Indian Student Association, and works with WIUP-TV. She is completing a summer internship with the IUP Communications Media Department’s Swoop Production team. She is also a peer advisor for the IUP Office of International Education.
“I studied in Japan during the spring 2023 semester at the Nagoya University of Foreign Studies through IUP, and it was just amazing, and I am really looking forward to returning to Japan through this program,” Diamond said. “I took an intercultural competence class there and learned so much and was excited to bring what I learned back to IUP and to our Asian cultural clubs,” she said.
Because of her experience with her study in Japan, Diamond was asked to work as a tutor for the Japanese students completing the online class offered by the IUP ALI during the spring semester.
“I’ve definitely learned a great deal through the language instruction offered by the University of Miyazaki, and in my role as a tutor, I’ve gained a lot of knowledge about how complex it is to learn a second language—it’s taught me to be more patient and to recognize the complexities of the language barrier,” she said.
“I’m really looking forward to the in-person experience in Japan and at the University of Miyazaki,” she said. “Meeting more Japanese natives and excursions to better understand Japanese culture will definitely enhance my language skills. I’m very grateful for this opportunity,” she said.
Diamond, who will graduate from IUP in December, hopes to have a career in film or photography, including in an Asian country to put her Japanese language and experiences into practice.