こんにちは、みなさん！始めまして、ロビン・モーズリと申します。もちろん、このブラグのポーストは最初ですが日本語を書いているのが目的があります。英語で書きます。(Hello everyone! Nice to meet you all, my name is Robin Mosley. Of course this blog post is the first one I am writing. But, writing in Japanese here has a purpose).
The reason why I wrote in Japanese for my post is one, I love Japanese and have studied it for four years. Another major one is it is a part of my research. My research interests surround online learning of less commonly taught languages (LCTLs), specifically Japanese. Moreover, I want to understand how to help children learn Japanese, (LCTLs) by integrating culture into the classroom because one cannot learn a language without understanding the target culture. Additionally, this in turn also sparks my interest in language policy as well.
I began to be interested in Japanese specifically as a child while playing JRPGs (Japanese role playing games), JPOP, and watching anime like dragonball Z. Because of this, I decided to learn the language and now it has changed into how to get other students who are learning the language the ability to be proficient in the language. This is important because there is a need for LCTLs in our national security and global education competitiveness. Also, it is a shame as a nation, we pride ourselves in being monolingual while other countries are not.
または。(Later)
This is a space where UIUC SPI participants in the Summer 2013 Research Methods and Writing Seminar engage each other as researchers, intellectuals and members of a cross disciplinary knowledge producing community.
Hi Robin, nice to read your post! I lived in Tokyo for a year and learned how to read hiragana, katakana, some kanji and I can speak Japanese ok. There is a school in town called UPS (University Primary School) that offers Japanese Language instruction to primary school students as an extra curricular. It might be a good place to check out for your research. I am not sure if they have an online learning program at that school, but the College of Education has the infrastructure to build online courses...so who knows, maybe this could be a research project for you! Good Luck and I look forward to learning more from you about this topic.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you have the same passion for language learning that I do. I studied abroad in Morocco and the university students there were fluent in Arabic (both the Moroccan colloquial and the standard), French, and English. Even some high school educated Moroccans that I met spoke a third language. They really impressed the American students studying there. I hope both of us can fulfill our thirst for languages and world cultures here. Best wishes.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with this statement "Also, it is a shame as a nation, we pride ourselves in being monolingual while other countries are not."
ReplyDeleteAs an educator with an ESOL endorsement I am familiar with several linguistic issues and how language has become a weapon used to marginalize different groups. It's a shame how xenophobia is used by (in the case local) politicians to detour or prevent efforts to set up dual immersion programs in public schools (in areas with large immigrant populations) that would benefit both English speaking students by teaching the a 2nd language and ESOL by strengthening their literacy in their home language and using that as a foundation for teaching the English. Studies have shown that students who aren't literate in their home language first are less likely to become literate in their second language (English).