English with a Modern Language student Poon Hardesty tells us his experience at the University and studying abroad

I chose to study English with a Modern Language BA (Hons) at the University of Central Lancashire because I had heard many great things from my friends who studied at the same university. Before coming here, I visited the Kansai region in Japan and I gradually became more interested in the country and Japanese culture.

I have had to overcome many obstacles during my time studying here at the University of Central Lancashire, most of them are related to Japanese, as it is the more difficult subject out of the two to learn. I began to spend many more hours at the library and making sure that I studied everything that is related to the test, to the point where I would understand 80-90% of the material. 

Poon Hardesty
Poon Hardesty

During my year abroad I went to Utsunomiya University. I participated in university trips and I also took classes in the International Relation (IR) department. I took a three-day trip with other English-speaking and European students, where we stayed in the mountains and helped Japanese students with conversational English. This involved leading conversations and debates to help them use as much of their English as possible. 

"Overall, the year abroad was a great learning experience, and I would even go as far to say it was one of the best years of my life."

Poon Hardesty, English with a Modern Language

I also took part in an English Language trip to the Lake District. We got to go hiking and enjoy the country fresh air while learning about the area and the classic English Literature authors guided by our course tutor.

My advice would be for any languages students would be to study hard. You’ll then be able to spend a potential year abroad doing as much as you can to get involved with social events and extracurricular activities.