MLO 5: Cultural Internalization and Language Immersion
5.1. Students demonstrate that they have actively immersed themselves in authentic Japanese cultural and linguistic environments and have internalized the language and cultural experience, from which they have developed a personal understanding and new perspectives of the community.
Courses Taken
WLC 420 - Maximizing Study Abroad
Osaka Gakuin University Study Abroad (please refer to Fall 2014 under the terms tab)
Study Abroad Blog
Osaka Gakuin Flickr Stream
Osaka Gakuin University Study Abroad (please refer to Fall 2014 under the terms tab)
Study Abroad Blog
Osaka Gakuin Flickr Stream
Reflective Narrative
One thing I hadn't expected I would experience was being able to study at Japanese college, let alone study abroad for that matter! It amazed me to see that studying abroad is a requirement of our departments Major Learning Outcomes. It didn't take me long to decide on a school though as I have always been interested in Osaka and the accents associated with the Kinki region especially Osaka-ben, which naturally led me to choose Osaka Gakuin. I attended this university from August-December of 2014, My apartment was four train stops away from the school in a small rural town called Ibaraki-shi. I shared this building with 2 other international students, one from France and the other from Thailand, so on top of being completely immersed in Japanese culture I was able to learn about many other cultures through the large diversity of international students who were in the same program as me.
(5.1) My schedule consisted of one language class, Elementary Japanese, and two culture classes, Japanese Religions and Power of Japanese Pop Culture. Due to the language class being a Japanese only environment, I had to force myself to not speak in English. Since my communication skills were very limited at the time, mustering up the confidence to speak in only Japanese took a while. Daily reading and conjugating exercises kept me on my toes but ultimately greatly improved my comprehension of the Japanese language. And as mentioned in MLO 1, short presentations were frequently thrown into the equation. These presentations reflected our understanding of each chapter's contents including our ability to conjugate and express certain grammatical concepts in response to random prompts from our teacher. In the event of a field trip, each student was expected to give a mini presentation during the next class of what they learned and experienced. Through these field trips, our language class was able to mix in cultural aspects along with linguistics.
The culture classes, on the other hand, were taught in English making them strictly culture focused. The Japanese Religions class focused on the history and significance of certain religions in Japan. The class began with the myths of the formation of Japan and the various Kami that are believed to inhabit both natural and man-made objects as seen in Shinto beliefs. We then moved on to the introduction of Buddhism to Japan, Folk Religions, New Religions, and Christianity. My classmates and I were also lucky enough to visit a few religiously important locations during a class field trip including Tenrikyu's Headquarters located in Nara home of the Tenrikyu religion, one of Japan's New Religions. Our final consisted of a 20-30 minute presentation, in English, of a specific religion, mine having been Shinto, sample 2. The Pop Culture class began with an overview of the historical origins of what evolved into today's pop culture empire, including Ukiyoe, Kabuki, and early Manga. From there the class went over animation, digital technology, J-Pop, cinema, and LGBT related issues and how they are tied into Japanese pop culture (5.1). Our final presentation consisted of a 10 minute presentation on a topic of our choice. I chose to feature my presentation on Japanese mascots, sample 1.
Through my study abroad experience, I was able to integrate myself into Japanese society during which I thoroughly developed my linguistic and cultural understanding through each class I was enrolled in at Osaka Gakuin University. I was able to further my linguistic skills by forcing myself to do my best to speak only in Japanese while within my language class and making friends with local Japanese students. My cultural understanding was deeply enhanced through my cultural classes in which I learn so much more about Japanese religions and pop culture thanks to the readings and presentations that were required of me and the other students (5.1). Be sure to check each class under the Fall 2014 tab as I have also linked each classes syllabus and projects, as well as my study abroad blog which can be found under the "more" tab.
(5.1) My schedule consisted of one language class, Elementary Japanese, and two culture classes, Japanese Religions and Power of Japanese Pop Culture. Due to the language class being a Japanese only environment, I had to force myself to not speak in English. Since my communication skills were very limited at the time, mustering up the confidence to speak in only Japanese took a while. Daily reading and conjugating exercises kept me on my toes but ultimately greatly improved my comprehension of the Japanese language. And as mentioned in MLO 1, short presentations were frequently thrown into the equation. These presentations reflected our understanding of each chapter's contents including our ability to conjugate and express certain grammatical concepts in response to random prompts from our teacher. In the event of a field trip, each student was expected to give a mini presentation during the next class of what they learned and experienced. Through these field trips, our language class was able to mix in cultural aspects along with linguistics.
The culture classes, on the other hand, were taught in English making them strictly culture focused. The Japanese Religions class focused on the history and significance of certain religions in Japan. The class began with the myths of the formation of Japan and the various Kami that are believed to inhabit both natural and man-made objects as seen in Shinto beliefs. We then moved on to the introduction of Buddhism to Japan, Folk Religions, New Religions, and Christianity. My classmates and I were also lucky enough to visit a few religiously important locations during a class field trip including Tenrikyu's Headquarters located in Nara home of the Tenrikyu religion, one of Japan's New Religions. Our final consisted of a 20-30 minute presentation, in English, of a specific religion, mine having been Shinto, sample 2. The Pop Culture class began with an overview of the historical origins of what evolved into today's pop culture empire, including Ukiyoe, Kabuki, and early Manga. From there the class went over animation, digital technology, J-Pop, cinema, and LGBT related issues and how they are tied into Japanese pop culture (5.1). Our final presentation consisted of a 10 minute presentation on a topic of our choice. I chose to feature my presentation on Japanese mascots, sample 1.
Through my study abroad experience, I was able to integrate myself into Japanese society during which I thoroughly developed my linguistic and cultural understanding through each class I was enrolled in at Osaka Gakuin University. I was able to further my linguistic skills by forcing myself to do my best to speak only in Japanese while within my language class and making friends with local Japanese students. My cultural understanding was deeply enhanced through my cultural classes in which I learn so much more about Japanese religions and pop culture thanks to the readings and presentations that were required of me and the other students (5.1). Be sure to check each class under the Fall 2014 tab as I have also linked each classes syllabus and projects, as well as my study abroad blog which can be found under the "more" tab.
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