The reason I decided to take class at CSUMB is because I lived in Japan for many years but I did not have any academic study there. When I learned that here I could have this chance, I decided to go back to school. Here, at CSUMB, I started a class of Introduction to Advanced Communication (JAPN 300) where I learned more about vocabulary, grammar and kanji. This class improved my reading skills which consequently improved my ability to write in Japanese, allowing me to communicate more effectively. The JAPN 301, Advanced Japanese Language, Culture and Communication also increased my knowledge of the language and culture, and I learned more kanji as well. In this class, we had to create quite a few presentations, most of them in PowerPoint, with some research or discussions in the class. This class enabled me to present in Japanese in front of an audience, something I have always been uncomfortable doing before. In JAPN 402, Japanese Literature, I was able to interpret histories, create some poems and haiku, as well as learn how to write more effectively. The class JAPN 302, History of Japan, was very interesting. I never liked History in my life, but I enjoyed this class where I learned to interpret the book and simultaneously learned the new kanji in the textbook. In JAPN 401, Structure of Japanese Language, I was able to learn linguistics, including pitch accent and how the language works in terms of pronunciation with high and low accents. Moreover, in this class we learned about phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics. Furthermore, we learned how to write a paper introducing ourselves in a Japanese manner.
Some of these classes covered MLO1 which taught me the Japanese language in the linguistic area, others covered MLO2 where I learned more about the Japanese culture. WLC course, where I learned about research and technology help to contribute my fulfilment of MLO4. I am working this semester on MLO5 which is Cultural Internalization and Language Immersion. I still need to complete MLO3 which represents secondary culture and I plan to finish next semester. My plan is to graduate with a BA in Japanese Language and Culture. After I graduate, I am thinking about taking a credential class that was explained to us in WLC 300. I have to take some time to think about if I should get a Master’s degree at the same time, and perhaps I will teach Japanese language and culture in the future.
Some of these classes covered MLO1 which taught me the Japanese language in the linguistic area, others covered MLO2 where I learned more about the Japanese culture. WLC course, where I learned about research and technology help to contribute my fulfilment of MLO4. I am working this semester on MLO5 which is Cultural Internalization and Language Immersion. I still need to complete MLO3 which represents secondary culture and I plan to finish next semester. My plan is to graduate with a BA in Japanese Language and Culture. After I graduate, I am thinking about taking a credential class that was explained to us in WLC 300. I have to take some time to think about if I should get a Master’s degree at the same time, and perhaps I will teach Japanese language and culture in the future.