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.
Classes that fulfill MLO 5
JAPN 420 Maximizing Study Abroad Experiences Study abroad at Osaka Gakuin University
Reflective Narrative
5.1 For my sophomore year from fall 2015 to summer 2016, I chose to study abroad at Osaka Gakuin University in order to better immerse myself in authentic Japanese cultural and language.In addition to my regular course taught for international students I did attempt to further immerse myself in the Japanese college life by challenging myself to take the regular courses for Japanese students, as well as joining the Kendo club. Both of these taught me how about various Japanese cultural customs such as the senpai, kohai relationships, and how to interact with the instructors and professors both culturally and linguistically. Another way that I was able to further internalize the Japanese language and culture was through the homestay program that my school offered. Unfortunately, my first semester at OGU there was not enough homestay families for me to get a placement I ended up living in an apartment near campus. However, for my second semester I was able to get placed with my homestay family. With my homestay family I was forced to speak entirely in Japanese in other to communicate. Also during my homestay experience I also found out about Japanese family structure. Shown here is LESCANT project which is a reflective photo project I did for my studies in Japan.