Reflect on your language learning and acculturation during your SLA experience. What insights did you gain into the language acquisition process? How did you engage and understand cultural differences? Did you meet your goals for language learning that you articulated on the blog before you started your program? Why or why not?
My experience this summer has broadened my horizon culturally and intellectually. I learned how to converse, engage, and understand the local community even with my limited knowledge of Japanese. Some of the ways I engaged with the community was through attending Sunday mass regularly in a local Japanese church, spending time with my host family, and talking to the locals that I meet. Through reaching out, taking chances, and being kind, I was able to reach a cultural understanding despite our differences.
In my pre-departure blog post, I stated that I wanted to be able to communicate effectively in Japanese while sharing a piece of my own culture with the community. Reflecting on my SLA experience, I believe that I have met, or at the very least, is making significant progress towards these goals. Comparing to when I first arrived, I now feel that I was able to form friendships with the Japanese community, as well as sharing Indonesian culture through food that I made for my host family and the project that I completed. Overall, I was really proud of the progress that I made over the summer in my acquisition of the Japanese language as well as the valuable relationships that I formed through the SLA program.
Reflect on your SLA experience overall. What insights have you brought back as a result of this experience? How has your summer language abroad changed you and/or your worldview? What advice would you give to someone who was considering applying for an SLA Grant or preparing to start their own summer language study?
The SLA program provided an opportunity to go out of my comfort zone and explore new places, try new things, and really stretch my own capabilities. Through the program, I gained insight on the Japanese way of living and their cultural emphasis on respect, politeness, and harmony. For example, Japanese culture dictates that people say “thank you” before and after each meal, bowing when a car gives you way, and use appropriate honorifics for a multitude of greetings. Through the SLA program, I felt like I was able to adopt several facets of Japanese culture and lifestyle, becoming an active fixture at my homestay family and the local community.
I would advise future SLA Grant students to keep an open mind. Japanese culture is unlike American culture and actively looking to not only try a new culture but being willing to change your own lifestyle will give you a more complete, wholesome experience.
How do you plan to use your language and intercultural competences in the future? Where do you go from here? How will you maintain, grow and/or apply what you have learned? How might you use your SLA experience during the rest of your academic career and post-graduation? How will your SLA experience inform you as you move forward academically, personally and professionally?
This program has definitely improved my Japanese language skills tremendously over the past two months. I intend to utilize this momentum of learning to continue developing my Japanese language skills by taking third-year Japanese studies at Notre Dame. I believe that having the ability to understand and converse in Japanese enriches my options for the future and prepares me for a career that can reach more people around the world. The SLA program has helped my academic career by accelerating the process of pursuing a Japanese minor. This summer has proven crucial to shaping my worldview and improving my Japanese language studies.
