JLPT Bootcamp – Edinburgh 2018

Overview

Nihongo Scotland is a JETAA Scotland member-organized Japanese language group which has been operating since the summer of 2014. The group began as a small weekly study group for ex-JETs and has since grown to welcome students of Japanese from the wider community. 

Nihongo Scotland has, to date, performed a play in Japanese at an event hosted by the Consulate General of Japan, hosted numerous Japanese Language Immersion Day Trips to local areas including North Berwick and a local farm for fruit picking.
 
JLPT Bootcamp History

Nihongo Scotland ran their first JLPT Immersion Bootcamp in collaboration with Edinburgh University in November 2016 and again in November 2017. The Bootcamp was organized by JETAA members Jess Brown and Emma Boardman. Places were taken by Japanese language learners from JETAA, Edinburgh University as well as those who are self-taught private learners. 

JLPT Bootcamp 2018

This year Jess Brown organised and promoted the Bootcamp, attracting 13 participants from areas of Scotland, Newcastle, Manchester and also from Portugal, Sweden, Japan and the United States. 

The main building of Gorton House, on the outskirts of Edinburgh, was used for teaching and accommodation. Two small cottages on site provided further accommodation for teachers and assistants.

Of the 20 attendees there was one organiser, 13 students, three teachers and three assistants. 

Of the 13 students, seven took the JLPT in December 2018. The other six attendees were a mixture of those who plan to take the JLPT in July 2019 and those who attended purely for the immersive Japanese language experience.

Lessons covered N3, N4 and N5 levels and included four and a half hours of teaching and a mock exam, plus one official conversation class and a Japanese cooking class with Harajuku Kitchen (previously reviewed by JETAA UK here).

Future events

2019 will see a brand new Summer JLPT Bootcamp scheduled for June as well as the usual Winter Bootcamp. 
Spaces are extremely limited due to the nature of the event and usually sell out months in advance.

The waitlist can be found at nihongoscotland.com/index.php/jlpt-bootcamp-language-retreat/