Newcastle University

The University's Union Society building is featured on the front cover of a best selling book in Japan.

Miyako Takagi, a lecturer at Kansai Gaidai University (Foreign Language University), Japan, has just published a book on her experience as a postgraduate student at Newcastle University.

Entitled "Igirisu de mouichido manabouwho", the book documents in vivid detail Miyako's encounters with the Geordie culture, the English higher education system, student life in Newcastle and her travel in Britain.

Miyako's story, as the book is now known, was featured in an article in the Kitanippon News on 1st March when the book was officially launched and is now selling in it hundreds, attracting nation-wide publicity.

She said : "Many people I met in England appear in the book. In fact I was remembering all the people I spent time with in Newcastle while writing it. It was really nice to remember so many nice things and people."

Miyako studied in Newcastle between 1995 and 2000, and her supervisor was Professor Li Wei, who has since been appointed Head of the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences.

She was awarded an MA in the Language Centre in 1996 and a PhD in the former Department of Speech in 2002.

Article submitted by: Professor Li Wei, Head of the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences. Contact: Li.Wei@newcastle.ac.uk

Web link to further information:

A copy of the book's front cover (NB: scroll right along the page)