Integrative Narrative
My first interaction with Japanese culture occurred in my adolescent years when I watched anime with my older brothers (though I did not know it at the time). My interest, however, did not begin until one of my older brothers bought me a Japanese manga of that same anime for my twelfth birthday. Once I began eighth grade, I decided to study Japanese seriously: I taught myself how to read and write in both hiragana and katakana in a week, I began watching Japanese movies, dramas and anime frequently in order to learn some grammar points, and I worked on my pronunciation by singing in Japanese. Once I entered high school, I enrolled in the Japanese class for the next four years, building my knowledge of the language as well as introducing myself to more aspects of the Japanese culture. While my interest in Japan began in middle school, it wasn't until I was approaching my junior year in high school that I wanted to continue studying Japanese language and culture. With that in my mind, I decided on studying as a Japanese Language and Culture major at CSUMB after I graduated high school.
My initial goal while studying as a Japanese major was to build my fluency to a conversational level, at the very least. Although I had studied Japanese in high school, I felt as if I was at a disadvantage - not because of my lack of knowledge but because I was not used to speaking Japanese often. This was mostly because I had developed a fear of messing up when speaking Japanese to a native Japanese speaker. The courses I have taken at CSUMB have not only strengthened my grammar foundation but also my confidence in speaking aloud to a native Japanese speaker (see MLO 1). I have also taken courses that would develop my understanding of Japanese culture, their perspectives and their practices (see MLO 2) as well as a secondary culture course to broaden my views on culture in general (see MLO 3). After studying abroad for a year in Japan (see MLO 5), I used all of my experiences and knowledge to work on my Capstone project (see MLO 4). These past five years have been difficult but amazing.
What I am most proud of through my learning is my ability to adapt to languages and cultures swiftly. I may not be highly fluent in Japanese but I know now that I am capable of speaking freely with native and non-native Japanese speakers. However, because of my vocabulary limitations, I realize that my initial shyness can prevent me from speaking as much as I would like to. What I hope to develop more in the future is my confidence with speaking to others in Japanese, preferably native speakers. I would also like to continue my studies in grammar and kanji so that I can take the JLPT and reach an N2 level of fluency. With these goals in mind, I will continue my path as a Japanese student.
My initial goal while studying as a Japanese major was to build my fluency to a conversational level, at the very least. Although I had studied Japanese in high school, I felt as if I was at a disadvantage - not because of my lack of knowledge but because I was not used to speaking Japanese often. This was mostly because I had developed a fear of messing up when speaking Japanese to a native Japanese speaker. The courses I have taken at CSUMB have not only strengthened my grammar foundation but also my confidence in speaking aloud to a native Japanese speaker (see MLO 1). I have also taken courses that would develop my understanding of Japanese culture, their perspectives and their practices (see MLO 2) as well as a secondary culture course to broaden my views on culture in general (see MLO 3). After studying abroad for a year in Japan (see MLO 5), I used all of my experiences and knowledge to work on my Capstone project (see MLO 4). These past five years have been difficult but amazing.
What I am most proud of through my learning is my ability to adapt to languages and cultures swiftly. I may not be highly fluent in Japanese but I know now that I am capable of speaking freely with native and non-native Japanese speakers. However, because of my vocabulary limitations, I realize that my initial shyness can prevent me from speaking as much as I would like to. What I hope to develop more in the future is my confidence with speaking to others in Japanese, preferably native speakers. I would also like to continue my studies in grammar and kanji so that I can take the JLPT and reach an N2 level of fluency. With these goals in mind, I will continue my path as a Japanese student.