Advanced DW Term 1 2026

  Her painting, especially the one with the words “This is your home and you should have been safe here,” showing two girls embracing, was impressive. Not only the painting itself but also the way her paintings were exhibited caught my attention. By comparing her earlier works with her recent ones, we can see her progress and patience. In the end, her painting appeared on the cover of Time. I was also surprised that she is from Dunedin.

Write a post in which you respond to Soft Lines: Illustrating Empathy . Consider the following questions in your response: How does Ruby Jones's art make you feel? As a result of visiting the exhibition, how much potential do you believe art and literature have for influencing others & for changing the world for the good? When you think about what Jones has achieved, are you inspired? What mark would you like to leave on the world? What would you like your legacy to be?

  Hi, I’m Shuta Itami, a third-year student at the University of Tokyo. I study biochemistry in the Faculty of Engineering and hope to become a researcher in the future. Next year, I will join a lab that studies RNA modification, and I am really excited to start my research. I want to improve my English to talk with lab members, give presentations, and write papers. I also hope to speak English confidently in daily life. I want to continue to a PhD program and then do research at a graduate school overseas. While I’m in New Zealand, I would love to make friends with both local people and other Japanese students. Before returning home, I hope to see penguins and a rugby match. If anyone is interested, I would be happy to go together.  I’m looking forward to learning with you!

     Hello! My name is Airi Inoue, and I am from Shiga, Japan. It is famous for Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan, which offers beautiful scenery throughout the year. I am currently a university student majoring in sports and health science. I love sports, especially baseball. I enjoy not only playing sports but also watching games, listening to music like J-pop, Japanese rock bands. I am very happy and excited to be here. I really enjoy traveling abroad, and I have visited many countries so far, including several countries in Europe, the United States, Canada, Hong Kong  and South Korea. Traveling allows me to experience different cultures, try new foods, and meet people from diverse backgrounds. Every country has its own unique atmosphere, and I always learn something new from each trip. This is my first time coming to New Zealand, and I am especially looking forward to exploring New Zealand because of its beautiful nature and many beaches. I have heard that...

  Hi, my name is Hiroka Nakatsue. I’m from Niigata, Japan. I study at Doshisha University. My hobby is watching movies. I especially like foreign movies. I also like listening to music. I grew up listening to One Direction. Now, I’m in the rowing club at my university. I am a coxswain. It is fun, but sometimes it is hard. Still, I’m doing my best. When I was little, I lived in the U.S. for three years. But I was only one to four years old, so I don’t remember English now. I’m not good at speaking English yet. I can’t always say what I really want to say. I don’t think I will become perfect during this study abroad. So I want to keep studying English in Japan and come back overseas again. I live in Kyoto now, so I can see autumn leaves. Last autumn, I went to a temple to see them. They were very beautiful and it made me feel refreshed. I like autumn more than spring. But my favorite season is winter. I want to be friends with everyone. Nice to meet you!

I  am Kazuki from Tokyo, of course Japan, studying at the university of Tokyo .  My part time job is working at Macdonald’s . I started working about one year ago. My work place is located in the center of Tokyo, so working there is pretty hectic. Foreign customs account for more than half of the customs so it is good for my English improvement. But the hourly wage is not high very much and I have picked up almost all skills or experiences I can acquire from the job so I am thinking of changing my job. I have not decided but I think teaching job like a turor would suit me well. I  have a twin brother  (not identical twins) and I am an older brother. My brother’s name is Kazuhito(both names start with Kazu) He has a disability  ; he cannot count number or read and he uses a  wheelchair. When I was a child having such a sibling was a little embarrassing for me, but for now I believe that this experience and the environment where I was have fostered my...

 Hello. My name is Maria Okada .   I am 19 years old and a  freshman at Sophia University in the Faculty of Global Studies. I a m from Kanagawa which is next to Tokyo.  There is the sea near my house, and we can see Mt. Fuji on clear days. Thank you very much for welcoming me into New Zealand.  This is my first time coming to New Zealand.  I am really happy to study with you.   I am very excited to experience the culture, improve my English, and spend time as a member of a new family in New Zealand.   I enjoy making sweets, dancing, and  I am looking forward to meeting you and learning many new things in my free time.  I have a 16-year-old sister and a dog.  I also love t o sing in chorus. I started it 14 years ago.    And until I was a high school student,  I was on the chorus club.  I want to work on a variety of issues with my  collaboratively and take many photo in New Zealand for memorize .  Thank ...

 Hello, I'm Mayu Saito. I'm from Hyogo Prefecture in Japan and study at Doshisha University. I major in social studies, especially focusing on media. I am 19 years old and this is my second time visiting New Zealand. I love animals, so I am looking forward to seeing New Zealand wildlife such as penguins, kiwis, and fur seals. This is a photo of my bird, Blanc. I miss Blanc very much. My hobbies are watching anime, playing games, and playing sports. I sometimes watch anime in English, so I'd like to be able to understand them without subtitles. I have belonged to table tennis and tennis clubs before. Currently, I'm really into ice skating and I'd like to visit the ice rink in Dunedin. In the future, I hope to use English in my work. However, my speaking skill is very poor, so my first goal is to become fluent enough to communicate easily. If I could go sightseeing or try local food with you all, that would be happy.

Hi, I’m Michiko Nakamura. I’m 18, and I will be 19 next week.  I was born and raised in Tokyo. I’m majoring in English and Business in college. I’m interested in advertising and social media marketing, and I want to create value for products and services with my own ideas. I had never been abroad before, and this is my first time visiting another country. I came here to improve my communication skill in English and learn another culture though the homestay. I have been studying English because I like learning languages. By the way, I recently started to study Spanish in Duolingo. I believe that learning another language will help me discover many things I didn’t know before. In this short-term study abroad program, I’m really excited to know a lot of things that cannot experience in Japan. I’m going to write about my favorite things. I love banana smoothies and I drank it every day until recently. I also really enjoy music! I love playing the piano and singing at karaoke. I have ...

Hi there! My name is Saho Ono . I’m a first-year student at Sophia University , and I’m 18 years old. However, I’m turning 19 on March 3rd, so I would be happy if you could celebrate it next week! It’s a bit embarrassing to say that by myself  😅 I was born in Osaka , but I lived in Tokyo for most of my life. My family consists of four people, mother, father, and younger sister who is a high school student. The reason why I joined this program in Dunedin is that I like studying languages. Actually, my major is French (language), but I started studying it last year, so I’m still a beginner. I would like to have more conversations in English during my stay here and make my English more natural and fluent. Moreover, I want to make friends with both international students and Japanese students ！ My hobby is watching sports, and especially love baseball ！ I have been a big fan of the Hanshin Tigers for more than 10 years. I watch baseball games almost every day, and I sometimes go to...

  Hello! My name is Hinako Oya. I’m 19 years old and a first-year student at Sophia University in Tokyo. I study law, and I’m especially interested in environmental law. In the future, I hope to become a lawyer, and use law to support people and society. I’m from Yokohama, a city near Tokyo, and I have lived there for most of my life. Yokohama is a lively city by the sea, and I really like its balance of nature and city life. This is my first time coming to New Zealand, and I’m very happy to be here. I’m really looking forward to this experience. I want to try new things, see the beautiful nature, and learn about different values and ways of thinking. I’ve heard that New Zealand has amazing landscapes, and I’m excited to explore them. I’m also looking forward to my classes here and meeting new people from different backgrounds. In my free time, I like spending time with my family and friends. I have a 12-year-old younger sister, and we spend a lot of time together. We often go ...

My name is Nozomi Kikuchi. I am from Kanagawa, Japan. I am a second-year university student, and I am in the faculty of Pharmacy in Japan. I came here to learn about New Zealand culture and to improve my English skills.  My hobbies are watching baseball games, movies, and anime. I usually watch baseball games on TV at home, but sometimes I go to the stadium as well. I especially like fantasy movies such as Harry Potter. I was surprised to hear that New Zealand was a filming location for The Lord of the Rings. Now let me talk about my studies. As I mentioned before, I study pharmacy in Japan, and I am especially interested in organic chemistry. Drug discovery through the synthesis of　organic compounds has long been an active field. However, today the development of various types of medicines such as proteins and nucleic acid is rapidly advancing. In the future, I hope to become a drug discovery researcher who can develop medicines that can contribute to people’s health. In Japan, I ...

  Hello, my name is Ryota Ozaki. I’m originally from Nagoya, Japan, and I’m currently living in Kyoto. I’m studying statistics and programming at university. In programming, I use languages such as Python to solve problems. I have been passionate about football(soccer) for over 10 years and trained seriously throughout my school years. Now, I enjoy playing futsal at university and staying active with my friends. In my free time, I also enjoy exploring different kinds of food. I especially love ramen, and my favorite style is Jiro-style ramen. I love the strong flavor and juicy slices of pork. Trying new ramen shops is one of my favorite ways to relax and enjoy my time.   In the future, I would like to use English communication skills. I believe English is an essential to connect with people around the world and expand my opportunities internationally.   Nice to meet you!

Hi. I’m Asumi. I’m from Tokyo, and a fourth-year student at University of Tokyo. I studied economics there, and I will start working in April. My company has some offices around the world, so I’m here to improve my English skills, so that I can communicate with people from different countries smoothly.  
I love dancing, especially house dance, which has so many steps. I started dancing when I was 12 years old, and I joined the dancing club at my junior high school. Although I wasn’t in a dance club when I was a high school student, I really wanted to keep dancing, and that motivated me study hard for the university entrance exams. I always dreamed of dancing on the stage. After entering university, I joined the dancing club as I had hoped, and I danced almost everyday – sometimes 7days a week! I also worked many part-time jobs, including at a cram school, Burger King, a café, a Beer-garden, a butcher shop, and through  Timee, a Japanese app that matches people with short-term ...

My name is Misaki Nakayama. I’m from Osaka, Japan. I like singing and listening to music, mainly J-Pop and English-language music. In particular, I love various types of Western music. While studying abroad, I often listen to this kind of music. It matches the landscape of New Zealand perfectly.  I also enjoy eating. My hometown is famous for konamon , a local food in Osaka made from wheat flour. Therefore, I love takoyaki, okonomiyaki and yakisoba. In fact, one of the main reasons I travel is to enjoy local food. For example, I took a trip to Kyoto with my family to eat crab on New Year’s Day, and we were very satisfied with the food. We had a wonderful time together. I also like watching movies. One of the most impressive classes I took last semester in Japan was Virtual Culture Studies. In this class, I learned about American history and the social background of the Vietnam War using films produced at that time. It gave me the opportunity to know about the culture.   I...

Hi everyone, I am Yuna Hatanaka. I am from Chiba, Japan. I am currently a sophomore at the university in Tokyo majoring in English and communication. I have been learning English because I am very much interested in English movies, shows and music. One of my reasons I’ve been studying English is to understand those English contents without Japanese subtitle. I also like traveling. I’ve been to only 3 countries so far, and by the end of 2026, I would like to travel to at least 3 countries. Touching different cultures and meeting new people are my favorite parts of travel. When I travel somewhere, I feel that my life is filled with happiness. I have some hobbies such as crocheting and baking cakes. I’ve started crocheting last year and I made so many pouches and stuffed toys called amigurumi. It is really fun and my next big project is making a bag, but I believe that it is going to be hard and taking a lot of time. Baking cakes is also my favorite thing and every year on my birthday I...

 Hello! My name is Ryosuke Iida, and I'm a 20-year-old born and raised in Tokyo. I'm a sophomore at the University of Tokyo, majoring in electrical and information engineering. While this isn't my first time traveling abroad, I've mostly only been to Southeast Asia, so visiting a country outside that region like New Zealand is a first for me. My biggest hobby is listening to music. My favorite artist is Mrs. GREEN APPLE.  I also really love Vaundy and SUPER BEAVER. I absolutely love going to live concerts too. Just a few days before coming to New Zealand, I went to Vaundy's concert at Tokyo Dome. The energy was incredible, and it was an amazing time. In university, I played tennis in a club. After playing soft tennis for five years in middle and high school, I started playing hard tennis when I entered university. I don't really compete in tournaments or train intensely. I just play for fun. But if anyone's interested in tennis, let's play together! Afte...

   Hi, my name is Sono Tomoka, and I’m from Osaka, Japan. I’m 19 years old, and this study abroad program in New Zealand is my first time visiting another country. I’m currently majoring in English literature at university. One of my biggest hobby is music, especially rock. I spend most of my day listening to it—in fact, last year I listened to music for 56,117 minutes. I mainly enjoy Japanese artists such as Spitz, the bercedes menz, and KIRINJI and so on.. Music relaxes me, motivates me, and has become an essential part of my life. I also love Japanese comedy, particularly manzai. I’m a staff member of the comedy club at my university, where I support performances and events. If you’re interested in music or comedy, I would love to talk with you—I could probably discuss these topics forever! In the future, I would like to use English in my career. However, I know my current English skills are still developing. I especially want to improve my speaking and writing skills. T...

  Hi everyone, this is ZOU Qingyang from Xiamen, a very beautiful coastal city in China. I graduated from the Business School of Fudan University in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree. After that, I worked in the Strategic Business Department of CMOC Group Limited, a leading global mining company, in Shanghai for more than three years until March 2025. Currently, I am a master’s student at the University of Tokyo, majoring in Human and Engineered Environmental Studies, where I analyze how to reduce accident rates in mining companies, taking into account the impact of artisanal miners and host countries. One of my biggest interests is traveling. In 2025, after resigning from CMOC and before starting my studies at the University of Tokyo, I used my savings to take my parents on a one-month trip to Europe. We drove through ten different countries, including Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, and Spain. Although we encountered many challenges along the way, it was truly an eye-opening exp...

Write a composition of up to 250 words about yourself. Write about what you would like your classmates & teacher to know about you. Aim to write at least three paragraphs. Use your full name as the title for this post. Upload your personal profile to the blog with an image of your choice. 

Hi, everyone! Welcome aboard to our class blog. I am looking forward to reading what you write and learning about what you believe and how you feel, here. So, let the journey begin.