Why I Became a Japanese MajorGrowing up I had always had a fascination with Japanese culture with my first early exposure being through books at the library and documentaries. The major catalyst was during my sixth grade year. I had a multicultural course and the teacher had moved to the U.S. from Japan during her childhood. In her course she exposed us to many aspects of Japanese culture and read a book title Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes, which was a very moving book chronicling a child's life in the aftermath of World War II in Japan. This time in my life had the biggest impact and lead into my adulthood.
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While looking for a college that offered a program that was best for me, I eventually decided on CSUMB. Along with being affordable, the department was small which would allow for there to be a lot of support along the way. In addition, the language department offered one of the biggest selections of partner schools for studying abroad. Going to Japan had been something that was only a dream until the department made it a complete reality.
Most importantly, the program has a service learning requirement of volunteering at a local elementary school teaching children. This was a very rewarding experience and applicable to my future as I had wanted to go to Japan to teach after graduating. This allowed me to be able to gain valuable experience and reassure myself that I have a passion for making language learning fun and interactive for students. You can see more about this experience here.
Most importantly, the program has a service learning requirement of volunteering at a local elementary school teaching children. This was a very rewarding experience and applicable to my future as I had wanted to go to Japan to teach after graduating. This allowed me to be able to gain valuable experience and reassure myself that I have a passion for making language learning fun and interactive for students. You can see more about this experience here.
How I Have Grown
Learning a second language has been an extreme challenge in itself. The greatest takeaway has been developing intercultural communications skills that I could not have developed anywhere else. This was developed greatly while studying abroad having to live in a completely new culture and become sensitive and make sense out of how situations are responded to and handled differently (MLO 5). A lot of early development of learning these skills began at CSUMB and has since continued through its language and cultural courses allowing for immersive environments and deep knowledge and explanations (MLO1&2). Furthermore the program helped me develop skills needed for the 21st century global society. This is shown through the capstone project completed along with my partner developing research, presentation, and technological skills (MLO 4). In addition I was able to learn about other cultures and be able to compare and contrast to my own and Japanese culture (MLO 3).
Goals for the Future
After graduating, my initial goal is to teach English in Japan either as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) or a work at a conversation school. While doing this, I hope to enroll in a language school in order to reach the second level of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT N2) in order to work in a Japanese company hopefully doing translation further down the line. Also, I am hoping to keep a connection with the Japanese department and students at CSUMB in order to serve as a mentor and help guide students with their study abroad experience and finding work after graduation.