Integrative Narrative
I started studying a secondary language and culture when I was eight years old, studying Spanish with a focus on South American cultures. When I reached college, I was unsure about what I wanted to do as a career, but I did know that I loved language.
I had decided to start as a Spanish major as the classes were exactly what I wanted to do, transferring later to California State University Monterey Bay in order to extend my studies. It was during an orientation for would-be students that I listened to Professor Saito talk about the Japanese department, its perks, things that can be done with a Japanese degree and even enticed me with the idea of going to Japan, a foreign country. I love travelling to other countries and the idea of finding my niche in another country was welcoming, and even guided me to find what I do want to do as a career.
My initial goal started off as becoming fluent in the language, thinking that would be my prospective goal. But after a few semesters of culture based classes, I found that I wanted to become fluent in the culture more. I learned about Japanese cinema and how it was reflective to Japanese traditional and modern culture, becoming more analytical about the culture as required by MLO 2. I learned about food culture, elements of culture that exist nowhere else, and elements of culture that affect countries all around the globe. I learned how to be critical in thinking about these things, studying cinematic pictures with a careful eye for details that may or may not be true, and elements that reflected a certain mindset within the era or area in which the movie was made.
I have also learned how to present myself, in a business manner and a presentational manner, as required by MLO 1. My goal slowly shifted over the course of three years, as I have become fascinated with the sociology and anthropology of Japan. I took several courses at Okayama University which focused on these elements, referring back to my studies directly for the elements of Japanese language that changed over time and within certain areas of the country. It was during this time at Okayama University that I found my skills improving the most, being integrated into the society, able to immerse myself in the language and culture (see MLO 5.)
I have become more knowledgeable about Japanese language and culture, but with my goal change, I want to learn how I can become an influence in my work, as an American foreigner in Japan, or as a representative of foreign language and culture to America. This is where my improvement has made me the proudest, where I have learned about the culture and its people – with elements such as the culture’s mindset being extremely important – and been able to find ways in which I can implement this in affecting others in the workplace.
As I have been hired to return to Japan and teach as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) for the Japanese Exchange Teaching Program (JET), I am very proud of having learned what I have, so that when I am interacting with people in Japan and especially with my students, I will be able to affect them in a positive way. I want to leave a positive impact when I go there, and my current plans are to do that by starting creative writing circles, so that students studying English can express themselves openly, without academic pressure, and learn to do so in their secondary language.
I have also used my prior studies of Spanish to connect to Japanese in a way I would not have if Japanese were my second language, and have even done so through my studies of the History of Southwest America (see MLO 3.) I am not as fluent in Japanese as I want to be though, and this is something I want to improve. I have a difficult time memorizing, so often words escape me in Japanese – as they do in English – so I hope to continue improving while I am in Japan, pressing forward to become a more proficient and confident speaker of the language.
I also want to improve my social skills, as knowing and doing are two very different concepts. For example, I was easily able to catch onto the bowing culture in Japan, making it easier to interact with Japanese people in daily life, but in a small way such as how to thank people or apologize I stuck out, and I was often told that I thanked or apologized too much or too often. I have had an amazing experience studying Japanese language and culture, I have learned to have a more critical mindset, about the various elements of Japanese culture that are unique to it, and especially about the people.
That in itself is a grand achievement to me. With time for me to go to my new job as an ALT drawing near, I both look forward to closing this chapter and am mourning it. It was a great experience, and there are many more classes with elements of Japanese that I want to study further, but it is time for me to move forward from school to learn in a more integral setting. I will be able to apply what I have learned and improve those skills by talking to people, having personal discussions, and using various technologies I utilized during my studies to learn more (see MLO 4.)
I had decided to start as a Spanish major as the classes were exactly what I wanted to do, transferring later to California State University Monterey Bay in order to extend my studies. It was during an orientation for would-be students that I listened to Professor Saito talk about the Japanese department, its perks, things that can be done with a Japanese degree and even enticed me with the idea of going to Japan, a foreign country. I love travelling to other countries and the idea of finding my niche in another country was welcoming, and even guided me to find what I do want to do as a career.
My initial goal started off as becoming fluent in the language, thinking that would be my prospective goal. But after a few semesters of culture based classes, I found that I wanted to become fluent in the culture more. I learned about Japanese cinema and how it was reflective to Japanese traditional and modern culture, becoming more analytical about the culture as required by MLO 2. I learned about food culture, elements of culture that exist nowhere else, and elements of culture that affect countries all around the globe. I learned how to be critical in thinking about these things, studying cinematic pictures with a careful eye for details that may or may not be true, and elements that reflected a certain mindset within the era or area in which the movie was made.
I have also learned how to present myself, in a business manner and a presentational manner, as required by MLO 1. My goal slowly shifted over the course of three years, as I have become fascinated with the sociology and anthropology of Japan. I took several courses at Okayama University which focused on these elements, referring back to my studies directly for the elements of Japanese language that changed over time and within certain areas of the country. It was during this time at Okayama University that I found my skills improving the most, being integrated into the society, able to immerse myself in the language and culture (see MLO 5.)
I have become more knowledgeable about Japanese language and culture, but with my goal change, I want to learn how I can become an influence in my work, as an American foreigner in Japan, or as a representative of foreign language and culture to America. This is where my improvement has made me the proudest, where I have learned about the culture and its people – with elements such as the culture’s mindset being extremely important – and been able to find ways in which I can implement this in affecting others in the workplace.
As I have been hired to return to Japan and teach as an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) for the Japanese Exchange Teaching Program (JET), I am very proud of having learned what I have, so that when I am interacting with people in Japan and especially with my students, I will be able to affect them in a positive way. I want to leave a positive impact when I go there, and my current plans are to do that by starting creative writing circles, so that students studying English can express themselves openly, without academic pressure, and learn to do so in their secondary language.
I have also used my prior studies of Spanish to connect to Japanese in a way I would not have if Japanese were my second language, and have even done so through my studies of the History of Southwest America (see MLO 3.) I am not as fluent in Japanese as I want to be though, and this is something I want to improve. I have a difficult time memorizing, so often words escape me in Japanese – as they do in English – so I hope to continue improving while I am in Japan, pressing forward to become a more proficient and confident speaker of the language.
I also want to improve my social skills, as knowing and doing are two very different concepts. For example, I was easily able to catch onto the bowing culture in Japan, making it easier to interact with Japanese people in daily life, but in a small way such as how to thank people or apologize I stuck out, and I was often told that I thanked or apologized too much or too often. I have had an amazing experience studying Japanese language and culture, I have learned to have a more critical mindset, about the various elements of Japanese culture that are unique to it, and especially about the people.
That in itself is a grand achievement to me. With time for me to go to my new job as an ALT drawing near, I both look forward to closing this chapter and am mourning it. It was a great experience, and there are many more classes with elements of Japanese that I want to study further, but it is time for me to move forward from school to learn in a more integral setting. I will be able to apply what I have learned and improve those skills by talking to people, having personal discussions, and using various technologies I utilized during my studies to learn more (see MLO 4.)