This autumn's 'Talking Contemporary Japan' course has now finished. Eighteen intermediate and advanced learners of Japanese attended the four-week course, which focused on reading short stories in Japanese by authors such as Haruki Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto.

Valerie Henitiuk, who teaches literature and translation studies at the University of East Anglia, travelled from Norwich to attend the course. "I've just moved to the UK from Canada and the course was a good chance to meet people with similar interests. The teacher, Shoko, was fabulous - really well prepared," said Valerie.

"There was a good mix of people with different levels of Japanese - my Japanese was not so good but I didn't feel out of place. I'm not a fan of Haruki Murakami or Banana Yoshimoto, but I prefered the story 'Kusanojo' by Kaori Ekuni. If there was a part two of the course I'd like to explore some new authors."

The next Talking Contemporary Japan course is planned for February 2008. More details will appear on the website nearer the time.