Name: Kangxin Wu
E-mail: Kangxin.Wu.104@nd.edu
Language: Japanese
Location of Study: Tokyo, Japan
Program of Study: International Christian University
Sponsors: Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures and the Liu Institute for Asia and Asian Studies
Blog URL: http://sites.nd.edu/sla2017/author/kangxin-wu-104nd-edu/
A brief personal bio:
I am a sophomore Notre Dame student with an architecture major and a Japanese Supplementary major. I am going to Japan to take Japanese language course equivalent to Second Year Japanese class level in Notre Dame. I love Japanese culture, the food and the beautiful architecture designs. I am really looking forward to this memorable summer experience.
Why this summer language abroad opportunity is important to me:
The SLA Grant enables me to participate in this Japanese Summer language Program, which will greatly improve my language skill and acquaint me with the prosperous Japanese culture. With the help of SLA, I will be able to take higher level Japanese classes upon return and fulfill the requirement of my Japanese major. Furthermore, since I am very interested in Japanese architecture, this experience supported by SLA is crucial for my understanding of Japanese design ideas. In the long-term, Japanese will promote me in forming my own architectural style and become an unique architect.
What I hope to achieve as a result of this summer study abroad experience:
I have been taking Japanese language and culture classes on Notre Dame campus and I love all the interesting topics covered. However, without a real visit in Japan, my knowledge can only exist in shallow memory. By learning Japanese in Japan, I am expecting to be immersed in the life of this beautiful country. I hope to make friends with native speakers and know Japan better from their perspectives. I am planning to visit the places I saw in architecture magazines and talked about in culture classes. With several future individual trips in my mind, a good Japanese language skill will be crucial.
My specific learning goals for language and intercultural learning this summer:
At the end of the summer, I will be able to communicate in Japanese with native speakers on daily topics and express myself in both spoken and written forms at a level necessary for simple daily university student life.
At the end of the summer, I will acquire mastery of basic contemporary Japanese grammar, vocabulary, and a total of 400 kanji.
At the end of the summer, I will be able to speak, read, write and listen at a level of proficiency equal to two semesters beyond my current Japanese coursework placement at Notre Dame.
My plan for maximizing my international language learning experience: