Course description:
This course gives students opportunity to deepen their knowledge of Japanese language and culture through their community service and to develop communication skills through discussions, reflection essays and presentations. Taught in Japanese.
At California State University Monterey Bay we are required to take 2 semesters of Service Learning: lower division and upper division. Most students on campus would say that Service Learning is a waste of time due to the 30 hours of service requirement, the countless articles to read, and the numerous papers to write. The reading and writing were tedious but the service I did to help the community was a wonderful experience. Having someone come up to you say thank for doing the smallest of actions can and should, make anyone’s day better.
The majority of the class was spent in classroom where we would develop different skills that would make us a better teacher. One of the main article that we read during the class were the ACTL Guidelines that relate the 5C’s, which are “Communication, Culture”, that are necessary in order to learn a second language. Learning a language in the classroom is one thing, but using it outside the classroom is very important. This is why that many University students study abroad in order to polish their speaking and hearing skills.
For our Japanese Service Learning I had an opportunity to teach Japanese language and culture with other students at Martin Luther King Elementary school located in Seaside. Teaching is very difficult task for me because the key is having the students understand what you are saying. Since I have a slight speech impediment it took the students a couple weeks for to students to understand me. Once the students were able to understand I was able to take part more within the group. When the students did have trouble understanding me, the other group members were able to convey what I wanted to say. This was a great for the foreign exchange students within our group because an activity like this, brought out of their comfort zone. At first Miki and Yuki were shy to speak to students but with a bit of encouragement, they were able to communicate freely with the students. We were in charge of teaching the third graders and for many of them this was the first time that we able to meet a Japanese student. By introducing the Hispanic elementary students to the Japanese student’s be each of them were able to break down stereotypes if each other. The students believed that Pokemon, sushi, and other cultural entities of Japan actually came from China. Seeing two different cultures able to interact and treat each other with the out most respect is a wonderful thing to behold.
This course gives students opportunity to deepen their knowledge of Japanese language and culture through their community service and to develop communication skills through discussions, reflection essays and presentations. Taught in Japanese.
At California State University Monterey Bay we are required to take 2 semesters of Service Learning: lower division and upper division. Most students on campus would say that Service Learning is a waste of time due to the 30 hours of service requirement, the countless articles to read, and the numerous papers to write. The reading and writing were tedious but the service I did to help the community was a wonderful experience. Having someone come up to you say thank for doing the smallest of actions can and should, make anyone’s day better.
The majority of the class was spent in classroom where we would develop different skills that would make us a better teacher. One of the main article that we read during the class were the ACTL Guidelines that relate the 5C’s, which are “Communication, Culture”, that are necessary in order to learn a second language. Learning a language in the classroom is one thing, but using it outside the classroom is very important. This is why that many University students study abroad in order to polish their speaking and hearing skills.
For our Japanese Service Learning I had an opportunity to teach Japanese language and culture with other students at Martin Luther King Elementary school located in Seaside. Teaching is very difficult task for me because the key is having the students understand what you are saying. Since I have a slight speech impediment it took the students a couple weeks for to students to understand me. Once the students were able to understand I was able to take part more within the group. When the students did have trouble understanding me, the other group members were able to convey what I wanted to say. This was a great for the foreign exchange students within our group because an activity like this, brought out of their comfort zone. At first Miki and Yuki were shy to speak to students but with a bit of encouragement, they were able to communicate freely with the students. We were in charge of teaching the third graders and for many of them this was the first time that we able to meet a Japanese student. By introducing the Hispanic elementary students to the Japanese student’s be each of them were able to break down stereotypes if each other. The students believed that Pokemon, sushi, and other cultural entities of Japan actually came from China. Seeing two different cultures able to interact and treat each other with the out most respect is a wonderful thing to behold.
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