Second, we wanted to run the English version as a try-out, with a view to the new undergraduate School for Interdisciplinary Science and Innovation (Kyosogakubu), starting in April 2018 – for this School, we need to establish a program that provides students with the option to take all courses in English, of course also the Kikan Seminar.
 By default, all students were assigned to a regular unit in Japanese, but everyone had the opportunity to apply for the seminar in English. All they had to do was write a one-page motivation in English. Since the course does not count toward the GPA, we hoped we would get a decent level of interest. We encouraged everyone to apply, no matter the level of English proficiency.
 At first, Dr. Sevilla and myself envisaged teaching two units, for a total of 36 students. To our delight, we received more than 70 applications. Luckily, we were able to teach a third unit, thanks to Dr. Mendez. For fairness, we allocated the 54 available positions by lottery. Personally, I felt vindicated by this level of interest. Some of our Japanese students at Kyushu University really are keen to learn English – and to learn in English. They want more stimulation. If the level of English proficiency by Kyushu University students overall is disappointing (and I think it is disappointing), then this is primarily due to under-stimulation. It may be our fault. We are failing our students if we underestimate what they can cope with.
 

Dr. Sevilla, Dr. Mendez, and myself shared notes on our classes via Moodle. Our experiences in teaching the course appeared to be very comparable. All three of us noted the high degree of motivation, which was perhaps not surprising, given that we were working with a group of students who had chosen to be there. We tried to implement the basic structure of the course, closely following the excellent guidelines prepared by the working group for the seminar (including Prof. Kawashima, Dr. Uchida, and Dr. Sevilla). By and large, we were able to follow the guidelines. I noted that particularly the structured group exercises took longer than the time provided in the instructions. However, the student presentations went very smoothly. All in all, I believe the offering in English went at least as well as my previous experience running the course together with Prof. Kawashima in Japanese. From an educational viewpoint, I think the English context perhaps even promoted the interactive nature of the course, as it added an element of practice – and fun. I would call it a case of Happy Evolution.