Sean Lam
Blog Post #1
This, as stated above, is my first blog post about my experience in 1st Year Japanese Language at the University of Notre Dame.
The reason I'm taking Japanese Language actually goes back to experiences in middle school, when over several years I was forced -as part of the curriculum- to sample different language classes as electives. During this time I took brief and introductory courses in Spanish and French. Both classes were, uninspiring to me, to say the least, and when in high school I was forced again to choose a language course, Japanese sprang up to me as an option beyond those other two.
I wasn't really sure what to expect going into the class, but what I found was an enthusiastic teacher and an interesting subject. The class content was made up of a college curriculum, and we actualled used an older addition of the Nakama textbook that we are using now. However, the class moved slowly, covering things at about one-half of the rate intended.
When I finished the curriculum offered at my high school in my junior year, we had covered little more than one year of college-level Japanese. After a year-long break from the language in my senior year, I came to Notre Dame, where I requested to be placed in the 1st Year Japanese Language course. I made this decision because I felt ill-prepared for anything beyond that. However, as per university policy, I was made to take the Japanese placement exam.
The results left me, thankfully enough, placed in first-year Japanese. However, scheduling conflicts that I could not avoid made it impossible for me to fit 1st Year Japanese Language into my schedule. So, here I am now, taking the course my Sophmore year.
Initially, my interest in Japanese stemmed from it's availability as an alternative option, however as I spent more and more time studying the language, I found myself more and more interested and engaged with the culture behind it. Now, here at University of Notre Dame, where a range of language options are presented to me, Japanese is definitely my first choice, and I'm looking forward to a great year in this class.
