I chose to be a major in Japanese language and culture at California State University Monterey Bay because growing up I knew I wanted to do two things get a college degree, and live in Japan. By becoming a Japanese Major I was able to accomplish both goals in four years.
I have learned so much over the last four years that I can say I am very proud of the work I have done. I now know enough Japanese that I feel comfortable conversing and asking questions, far more so than when I started. I can read and write and present much longer and more advanced Japanese than I ever thought possible when I started learning Japanese at 14.
I think the fact that I was able to study abroad for a year was my greatest accomplishment here. When I first arrived in Japan hadn't studied Japanese for about five months so I was very rusty. For example when taking the subway in Tokyo I said to a worker there “I want Asakusa” instead of saying "I want to go to Asakusa”. He understood me well enough but I realized that my Japanese needed work. The first week I spent navigating around Tokyo and I did well enough. I was so happy to be in Japan that nothing could upset me, and I constantly wore a smile on my face.After arriving in Okayama however I noticed that the lifestyle was different. There were no subways to take you around, instead everyone rode a bicycle. Because getting a bicycle is one of the top priorities to live in Okayama one of my favorite things to do is pick a direction and ride. Sometimes I find interesting shops other times I spend hours going through rice fields. This allowed me to experience what I consider a more real Japan. I was privileged to be able to go to Japan for a full year and I have been able to live my dream with no regrets.
Through the 5 MLOs I have covered so much material I feel like my head may busts. MLO1 taught me the language, and now I can read, write, speak and understand Japanese. Through the cultural aspects of MLO 2 I feel that my understanding of the Japanese language is much deeper than if I had just rottenly memorized grammar points out of a book. By comparing what I have learned from MLO2 with MLO3 I can really say that I have a much broader perspective on the world than when I first started as a freshman at CSUMB. My time with MLO4 has been a fun way to exercise all the modern technological resources available to us. Finally this all would not have been possible If I was not given the most wonderful opportunity to complete MLO5 by studying abroad at Okayama University. I feel that through this program I have met all five of the major learning outcomes.
For future development I think that there is no single aspect I can focus on to improve aside from learning more kanji. The rest comes from being a lifelong learner of a foreign language and as such I believe that for as long as I continue to speak Japanese I can always learn new ways to change subtle nuances of my speech
I have learned so much over the last four years that I can say I am very proud of the work I have done. I now know enough Japanese that I feel comfortable conversing and asking questions, far more so than when I started. I can read and write and present much longer and more advanced Japanese than I ever thought possible when I started learning Japanese at 14.
I think the fact that I was able to study abroad for a year was my greatest accomplishment here. When I first arrived in Japan hadn't studied Japanese for about five months so I was very rusty. For example when taking the subway in Tokyo I said to a worker there “I want Asakusa” instead of saying "I want to go to Asakusa”. He understood me well enough but I realized that my Japanese needed work. The first week I spent navigating around Tokyo and I did well enough. I was so happy to be in Japan that nothing could upset me, and I constantly wore a smile on my face.After arriving in Okayama however I noticed that the lifestyle was different. There were no subways to take you around, instead everyone rode a bicycle. Because getting a bicycle is one of the top priorities to live in Okayama one of my favorite things to do is pick a direction and ride. Sometimes I find interesting shops other times I spend hours going through rice fields. This allowed me to experience what I consider a more real Japan. I was privileged to be able to go to Japan for a full year and I have been able to live my dream with no regrets.
Through the 5 MLOs I have covered so much material I feel like my head may busts. MLO1 taught me the language, and now I can read, write, speak and understand Japanese. Through the cultural aspects of MLO 2 I feel that my understanding of the Japanese language is much deeper than if I had just rottenly memorized grammar points out of a book. By comparing what I have learned from MLO2 with MLO3 I can really say that I have a much broader perspective on the world than when I first started as a freshman at CSUMB. My time with MLO4 has been a fun way to exercise all the modern technological resources available to us. Finally this all would not have been possible If I was not given the most wonderful opportunity to complete MLO5 by studying abroad at Okayama University. I feel that through this program I have met all five of the major learning outcomes.
For future development I think that there is no single aspect I can focus on to improve aside from learning more kanji. The rest comes from being a lifelong learner of a foreign language and as such I believe that for as long as I continue to speak Japanese I can always learn new ways to change subtle nuances of my speech