“This is where my dream of international relations began”: Zack's 6 weeks studying in Cebu

Zack is currently a first-year student at a university focused on international studies, characterized by teaching its classes in English. He is in a privileged environment, with small groups and teachers who are mostly native speakers.

Originally he had been preparing hard for the entrance exams of a well-known university in Tokyo, but he wasn't admitted. Although he considered taking a year to sit the exam again, he thought that "it was worth more to move on to the university that had accepted him and gain experience, rather than spending a whole year just studying for the exam", and so he decided to enter his current university.

Looking back, Zack says that decision "was not a mistake".

"If I had gone to a university in Tokyo, maybe I would have had a more ordinary university life. But I feel that the environment I'm in now suits me better."

As soon as he entered university, he began to ask himself: "How can I make the most of this English-immersion environment?"

He wanted to acquire as soon as possible, and not only in class, a practical level of English that was directly connected to his future. While that desire grew stronger and stronger, the words of some older students he admired became the turning point.

What led Zack to decide to study abroad was meeting older students at university. When he asked them for advice about his future and about the possibility of studying abroad, almost all of them told him the same thing.

"If you want to improve your English level, the best thing is to study abroad from the summer of your first year of university."

All of them had studied languages on Cebu Island, in the Philippines, and had come back with a noticeably improved English level. Seeing them take an active part in university classes and debate on equal terms with foreign students awakened great admiration in Zack.

"I felt it wasn't a matter of thinking ‘I'm only a first-year student’, but of understanding that ‘precisely because I'm a first-year student’ I should go and study abroad."

What impacted him most was hearing that "studying abroad makes more sense when you go at the moment you really want to go". Precisely because the learning is directly connected to what you need and what interests you at that moment, that is when you can get the most out of the experience. Seeing those older students, Zack's decision became firm.

However, to actually put it into practice, there was a big barrier to overcome: the problem of cost and his parents' opposition.

As soon as Zack decided to study abroad, he immediately ran into a very real barrier: the financial cost and his family's understanding.

Although studying in the Philippines is reasonable compared with other countries, when you add up the plane ticket, the tuition and the living expenses during the stay, it is by no means a small amount. In Zack's family they told him that "it would be hard to pay for studying abroad" and, in addition, they firmly opposed it, arguing that it was "dangerous".

Even so, Zack did not give up.

He worked part-time jobs to save the money little by little, gathered information by talking with acquaintances who had already studied abroad, and talked with his parents again and again.

"At first they didn't listen to me at all. But since I really wanted to go, I made up my mind and bought the plane ticket myself in advance."

That "decisive action" is what finally moved his parents.

"If he's this determined, all we can do is support him."

His parents, who at first were completely against it, gradually took on a supportive attitude as the departure date approached. They helped him pack and began to worry about his safety, something that, according to Zack, became a great emotional support for him.

When the time came to seriously choose a destination for studying abroad, what mattered most to Zack was "value for money" and "class quality".

Because he had heard repeatedly, both from the older students he admired and from other people with experience abroad, that "Cebu Island, in the Philippines, offers a practical environment for speaking English and also has plentiful, effective one-on-one classes", his destination naturally pointed toward Cebu.

Even so, there are numerous language schools on Cebu Island. Among them, he was recommended 3D ACADEMY.

"When I asked a person who knows about studying abroad, they recommended 3D to me, saying that ‘the class quality is high there and the cost is reasonable’."

Compared with other schools, the cost was very reasonable. In addition, they offered the 5 Man to Man (5MTM) course, which lets you take up to five one-on-one classes a day, something that fit perfectly with Zack's wish to "secure as much speaking time as possible".

Precisely because he was already used to group discussion-style classes at university, this time Zack had a very strong desire to "concentrate on individualized instruction", so he decided that "group classes weren't necessary".

"In group classes, the pace is set for the whole group, so I often felt it wasn't enough. That's why this time I wanted to speak English in depth in a one-on-one format."

The study period was six weeks. It can't be said to be a long stay, and precisely for that reason, he says, he made an effort to get a "very intensive learning environment".

On arriving at Cebu Island, in the Philippines, his language study stay at 3D ACADEMY finally began. The course Zack chose, the "5MTM" (five one-on-one classes a day), was a complete English-immersion program from morning to afternoon, every day.

The content of the classes was structured in a balanced way, as detailed below, and allowed him to raise his English level across the board.

Grammar (using the Japanese reference book he brought with him) Pronunciation correction (with detailed instruction on how sounds are produced and the shape of the mouth) Reading (also practicing intonation and emphasis in expression) Writing (reviewing the structure of ideas and correcting grammar mistakes) Role play (applied conversation practice, such as preparing for interviews)

"The teacher used my reference book directly to teach the class, and it was very easy for me to understand. He taught me in a way that I could understand even without grammar explanations in Japanese."

As teachers who left a special impression on him, he mentioned the names of Teacher Ishi and Teacher Riza.

Teacher Ishi's words that stayed in his heart

Zack is, by nature, very curious, which sometimes makes him feel anxious because he wants to do too many things at once. For someone like that, the words Teacher Ishi told him still remain in his heart.

"There's no need to rush. It's fine to move forward little by little, at your own pace."

Zack says he doesn't know how much that sentence helped him. Receiving advice that strengthened not only his English but also his spirits is, he says, something typical of one-on-one classes.

With Teacher Riza's teaching he learned to use "functional English"

In Teacher Riza's classes he also practiced applied interview role plays. For the parts where he couldn't answer well, she gave him detailed and careful feedback.

"Advice like ‘if you say it this way it sounds more natural’ or ‘with this attitude when you speak you make a better impression’ was very precise. It also helped me gain confidence."

In this way, beyond simple "English conversation practice", Zack also gained the practical skill of "how to express himself in English".

Even in a period as short as six weeks, Zack felt clear growth. What changed most was, in particular, the disappearance of his reluctance to speak English.

"In an everyday conversation I no longer have a problem. I can understand what the other person says and I'm also able to convey my own ideas."

Behind that change is a learning style he consciously maintained himself.

He looked up and used right away the expressions that caught his attention

The method Zack adopted was simple: "as soon as something caught his attention, he looked it up immediately and tried to use it that same day".

For example, he wrote down the English expressions he heard during classes or in daily life, looked up their meaning at night and put them into practice the next day in class. By repeating this process over and over, he says, English settled more and more into him.

"The expressions you look up yourself stick in your memory more easily. And on top of that, by actually using them, you also come to understand how they are used."

This "immediate output" learning method combines perfectly with one-on-one classes. Since you can ask the teacher at the very moment a doubt arises, both accuracy and speed of understanding increase considerably.

Discoveries beyond "English level" that studying abroad left him with

What Zack gained was not only an English level.

"My way of approaching classes changed. Now I enjoy ‘learning in English’ more than before."

The feeling of having managed to use English not as "knowledge for an exam", but as "a tool for expanding his own possibilities", was perhaps Zack's greatest achievement.

Thanks to his experience studying in the Philippines, Zack gained both English level and self-confidence. However, his challenge does not end here.

Currently, Zack plans to take a gap year during his third year of university to study abroad in two more countries.

First 6 months: language study and local life experience in Canada Last 6 months: studies at a school in Denmark dedicated to exploring the question "what does it mean to live?"

"Since I managed to strengthen my ‘speaking ability’ in the Philippines, now I want to make use of it and test myself in the language's original environment. In particular, the school in Denmark is a place where, rather than education, you reflect on ‘life’ itself, and that interests me enormously."

The "personal axis" he discovered through contact with the world

During his stay in Cebu, Zack also socialized actively with people who were not Japanese. Talking in English with people of different nationalities, such as Costa Ricans, Filipinos and Koreans, he says he realized the importance of "the attitude of trying to communicate" and "the value of daring to take the first step".

"If you manage to say that first word, beyond it there is always a new world. That is something I truly felt."

To expand your own world, you have no choice but to move on your own. And what supported that step was precisely English as a tool, and studying abroad as the environment that made it possible.

To make future dreams come true

In the future, what Zack is aiming for is to work in the field of international relations, in a job that connects people and countries with each other. With a view to making that dream come true, this experience of studying in the Philippines became a solid first step.

"I want to get to know more cultures, come into contact with different values and deepen my own ideas. I believe that will surely be useful both for my future work and for my life."

In a study period as short as six weeks, what Zack gained was enormous and profound. Of course, his English level, but also an understanding of other cultures, the discovery of his own possibilities and the certainty that "if you move, the future changes".

"What you want to do, you have to strive to achieve yourself. That way of living is what I learned from this experience of studying abroad."

Zack made an active effort to "use" the English expressions and phrases he learned during his stay. As soon as a word caught his attention, he looked it up immediately and put it into practice the next day in class. This repetition cultivated not only his English level, but also "the ability to deepen his own learning by himself".

And there was another great achievement: self-confidence.

"When you take the initiative to speak yourself, a new landscape opens up. From the heart, I think it was worth having taken action."

For you, who are thinking about studying abroad

If you, reading this, feel the worry of "not knowing whether you'll be able to do it", remember Zack's words.

Even if money is short, even if time is short, even if your parents oppose it, here is someone who moved on his own, prepared, convinced the others and, finally, took that first step.

The most important thing is not perfect preparation, but the desire to "want to go", to "want to try", and to act honestly on that feeling.

Zack's story teaches us that this first step can change the future.