Integrative Narrative
Growing up, I can remember clearly the times I would go to garage sales and see Japanese things like tea bowls, black lacquer plates, and even paintings with Mt. Fuji in the background. I had developed I love for beautiful material things that were Japanese but knew nothing of the culture until elementary school, when I watched my first episode of Japanese Animation, otherwise known as Anime. By fifth grade, I had developed an interest in Japanese culture so strong that I wanted to learn more any way I could. Coincidentally, four levels of Japanese language were offered in the curriculum in the middle & high school I attended. It was then that I began my experience of learning a new language while simultaneously delving into another culture different from my own. Attending CSUMB's intensive Japanese Language and Culture major program, I developed my Japanese through expanding my knowledge with MLO's (Major Learning Outcomes).
As a college senior looking back at my freshman self, my progress with the language is unimaginable. Taking it in middle & high school, I did it as a hobby. But pursuing it in college, I enjoyed my hobby everyday while learning things like culture, linguistics, and even business Japanese. CSUMB's five MLOs are what helped me become a successful Japanese Language and Culture major. My initial goal as a Japanese major was to become a translator, and that is still the end goal I have for my career path. It may not be the first job I get out of college, but I definitely want to use Japanese in my daily life after I graduate. MLO 1 (Japanese Language and Communication) prepared me for translation because of the class I took called Intro to Translation and Interpretation. In that class, I learned the meaning of pitch accent, how to use the phonetic alphabet, and more. That was the first class I had taken that truly progressed my learning from the beginner to intermediate level. It was especially effective for me to have taken that class right before I studied abroad in Japan, because I was able to communicate more skillfully with Japanese people outside of the classroom. Another class I took that fulfilled that MLO was Japanese 300, Intro to Advanced Communication, in which we did numerous skits that transformed my presentation skills from poor to -no pun intended- skillful.
MLO 2 (Japanese Culture) is something that I was intent on fulfilling ever since I was a little kid seeing my first Japanese antique (despite the fact I knew nothing of MLO's at the time). Already having a deep appreciation of the culture but not truly knowing the differences about specific cultural aspects, MLO 2 was the perfect opportunity to learn about the country I would eventually study abroad in. The first culture course I took here was called Samurai Spirit, and it was how I learned what importance samurai had to Japanese life back in history. My in-depth response of this MLO can be found if you click the link at the beginning of the paragraph. I also fulfilled this by going abroad, where I took 7 Japanese culture courses, 2 of which were taught in Japanese. The culture courses taught in Japanese were especially helpful to fulfilling this MLO because I was able to internalize the concepts that we were being taught. Of course, I understand material when it is taught in English, but when it is taught in Japanese, I feel I subconsciously understand it and I view the Japanese culture in a different, more understanding light. I was also able to fulfill this MLO when taking the Japanese language courses here at CSUMB because of the way that the culture is incorporated into the curriculum.
MLO 3 (Secondary Culture other than Japanese) was fulfilled by a class called Hist/Cultr Aztlan:SW US and was the basis for me learning about another culture besides Japan's for the first time. It taught me to recognize cultural differences between Japan and Mexican cultures (along with Chicano and Latino cultures) and I learned about the history of how they came to the United States but faced discrimination, much like Japanese people faced. I think this is still an area I would like to develop further in the future, because I don't know about many cultures other than Japan and maybe a bit of Vietnamese culture. I would love the opportunity to learn more just to become more knowledgeable about the world.
MLO 4 (Research & Technology) was fulfilled by my capstone and capstone preparatory classes. In WLC300, we learned how to research information for our topic using the library databases. We also learned how to organize our information with something called a "Synthesis Chart/Table". This is the one thing that helped my partner Diana and I put our information in order so that we could successfully put it in our literature review. Personally, I think that our successful finish of our literature review is what really set our capstone going. I feel that without having a solid literature review, we wouldn't have a base to start our survey questions and our data is another thing that made our presentation whole. I'm really proud of what our capstone has become. When I learned that our major capstone would be done in one year compared to most majors who do it in one semester, I thought to myself, "what a hassle." But now that I'm nearing the end of this year and nearly 100% done with the project, I have come to understand wholly why we needed that whole year to complete the process. I have never felt so accomplished and so proud in my completion of a project. This isn't just something like a final you do at the end of the semester where you do it in a rush and hope that you pass- this is something that my partner Diana Gomez and I worked our butts off for, and I am really proud to see the final product and be able to present it during the capstone festival.
MLO 5 (Cultural Internalization and Language Immersion) is what changed my initial goal from a translator to possibly a preschool teacher in Japan. While I was in Japan during study abroad, along with taking language and culture courses taught in Japanese, I also got a job as a preschool assistant. At first, I was really nervous about it because I had only worked with kids from ages 7-12, but not ages 2-5. But everyday that I went into work was a day that I enjoyed my job (as stressful as it was sometimes). One special thing I want to note as well is that the grammar I learned from my Japanese 3 & 4 class were things that the kids would say. So, after having class in the morning and learning something new, I got the opportunity to hear it used in daily life afterwards, whether it be by the other workers or by the kids themselves. At this point in my life, I am still considering translation in the back of my mind because I could work from home in America and be near family. But I also want to go abroad and be with my students again. So for now, I will decide what I want to do as I go and quite possibly do both.
As a college senior looking back at my freshman self, my progress with the language is unimaginable. Taking it in middle & high school, I did it as a hobby. But pursuing it in college, I enjoyed my hobby everyday while learning things like culture, linguistics, and even business Japanese. CSUMB's five MLOs are what helped me become a successful Japanese Language and Culture major. My initial goal as a Japanese major was to become a translator, and that is still the end goal I have for my career path. It may not be the first job I get out of college, but I definitely want to use Japanese in my daily life after I graduate. MLO 1 (Japanese Language and Communication) prepared me for translation because of the class I took called Intro to Translation and Interpretation. In that class, I learned the meaning of pitch accent, how to use the phonetic alphabet, and more. That was the first class I had taken that truly progressed my learning from the beginner to intermediate level. It was especially effective for me to have taken that class right before I studied abroad in Japan, because I was able to communicate more skillfully with Japanese people outside of the classroom. Another class I took that fulfilled that MLO was Japanese 300, Intro to Advanced Communication, in which we did numerous skits that transformed my presentation skills from poor to -no pun intended- skillful.
MLO 2 (Japanese Culture) is something that I was intent on fulfilling ever since I was a little kid seeing my first Japanese antique (despite the fact I knew nothing of MLO's at the time). Already having a deep appreciation of the culture but not truly knowing the differences about specific cultural aspects, MLO 2 was the perfect opportunity to learn about the country I would eventually study abroad in. The first culture course I took here was called Samurai Spirit, and it was how I learned what importance samurai had to Japanese life back in history. My in-depth response of this MLO can be found if you click the link at the beginning of the paragraph. I also fulfilled this by going abroad, where I took 7 Japanese culture courses, 2 of which were taught in Japanese. The culture courses taught in Japanese were especially helpful to fulfilling this MLO because I was able to internalize the concepts that we were being taught. Of course, I understand material when it is taught in English, but when it is taught in Japanese, I feel I subconsciously understand it and I view the Japanese culture in a different, more understanding light. I was also able to fulfill this MLO when taking the Japanese language courses here at CSUMB because of the way that the culture is incorporated into the curriculum.
MLO 3 (Secondary Culture other than Japanese) was fulfilled by a class called Hist/Cultr Aztlan:SW US and was the basis for me learning about another culture besides Japan's for the first time. It taught me to recognize cultural differences between Japan and Mexican cultures (along with Chicano and Latino cultures) and I learned about the history of how they came to the United States but faced discrimination, much like Japanese people faced. I think this is still an area I would like to develop further in the future, because I don't know about many cultures other than Japan and maybe a bit of Vietnamese culture. I would love the opportunity to learn more just to become more knowledgeable about the world.
MLO 4 (Research & Technology) was fulfilled by my capstone and capstone preparatory classes. In WLC300, we learned how to research information for our topic using the library databases. We also learned how to organize our information with something called a "Synthesis Chart/Table". This is the one thing that helped my partner Diana and I put our information in order so that we could successfully put it in our literature review. Personally, I think that our successful finish of our literature review is what really set our capstone going. I feel that without having a solid literature review, we wouldn't have a base to start our survey questions and our data is another thing that made our presentation whole. I'm really proud of what our capstone has become. When I learned that our major capstone would be done in one year compared to most majors who do it in one semester, I thought to myself, "what a hassle." But now that I'm nearing the end of this year and nearly 100% done with the project, I have come to understand wholly why we needed that whole year to complete the process. I have never felt so accomplished and so proud in my completion of a project. This isn't just something like a final you do at the end of the semester where you do it in a rush and hope that you pass- this is something that my partner Diana Gomez and I worked our butts off for, and I am really proud to see the final product and be able to present it during the capstone festival.
MLO 5 (Cultural Internalization and Language Immersion) is what changed my initial goal from a translator to possibly a preschool teacher in Japan. While I was in Japan during study abroad, along with taking language and culture courses taught in Japanese, I also got a job as a preschool assistant. At first, I was really nervous about it because I had only worked with kids from ages 7-12, but not ages 2-5. But everyday that I went into work was a day that I enjoyed my job (as stressful as it was sometimes). One special thing I want to note as well is that the grammar I learned from my Japanese 3 & 4 class were things that the kids would say. So, after having class in the morning and learning something new, I got the opportunity to hear it used in daily life afterwards, whether it be by the other workers or by the kids themselves. At this point in my life, I am still considering translation in the back of my mind because I could work from home in America and be near family. But I also want to go abroad and be with my students again. So for now, I will decide what I want to do as I go and quite possibly do both.