OUR OQEANOUS STUDENTS

Short Term Program

STP Report (KMOU - Aug 2026)

2026.10.15

Course of Marine Resources and Environment of TUMSAT
4th year of Undergraduate
A.U.

Reasons for Applying to the STP

I've always loved traveling abroad and hoped that someday I would have the chance to study my field of expertise abroad. However, I lacked confidence in speaking English, and I wasn't serious enough to take on long-term study abroad. At that time, I learned about a short-term program called STP through an email from the school. I felt reassured because it attracted students whose second language was English, and I thought, 'Studying abroad for a long time right away is a high hurdle, but maybe I can take on this challenge,' so I applied.

About the Online Lecture

In the online lecture, each professor from Korea Maritime and Ocean University was assigned to a small group consisting of one student from each university. In the first half, students read the professor's paper individually and had time to directly ask questions about any questions they had in charge. In the second half, based on the understanding gained in the first half, group meetings were held, and deeper questions were asked to the professor, deepening their understanding of the paper. For the first time, I truly felt the difficulty of communicating in English with students from other nationalities and experienced firsthand the challenge of expressing my thoughts in English.

About the IDEA Training Program

During the Idea training, I visited the facilities of IDEA Consultants, Inc., where I not only learned about the research content and business but also gained many experiences different from my usual research fields, such as birdwatching, beekeeping, and simple experiments using the facility. Working together with Chinese students studying at our university expanded my future options. During free time after the internship, we all went to a convenience store about 20 minutes away to eat ice cream and set off fireworks, making it a fun time that greatly strengthened the distance between the students.

umemura_idea_en.jpgAbout the In-Person Program (Field Trip) in South Korea

What left the strongest impression on me during the field trip was that students from other countries spoke English much better than I had imagined. On the other hand, I couldn't immediately say what I wanted to say, and I felt a strong frustration at being able to understand but not being able to convey it. This experience made me deeply realize the importance of practicing output. That said, all the participating students were sociable, and even if they couldn't speak English fluently, they helped me grasp the meaning and try to understand, so I was able to spend a very enjoyable week sightseeing around Busan and visiting museums.

umemura_korea_en.jpgInteraction with Students from Other Universities

There were many opportunities to interact with students from other universities, and since group activities such as group work and sightseeing were the main focus, I became especially close with students in my group. During lunch and free time, I was able to talk with students from other groups, and there were many fresh topics like trends in each country and differences between universities--something you wouldn't know just from Japan--which was very stimulating.

Changes in My Perspective After Participating

The biggest change is the way I study English. Until now, I focused mainly on input through listening and reading, but after participating, I started practicing with an emphasis on output. I practice speaking little by little, such as saying simple sentences out loud or saying what I think in short English. I'm not yet at a level where I can say I can speak English, but through this experience, I want to be able to express what I think in English.

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