Tayo-Sei Japanese Language and Cultural Exchange Program

 “Jibun no gengo no genkai ga, jibun no sekai no genkai → The limits of my language are the limits of my world.” 

-Ludwig Wittgenstein

During the Fall semester of 2020 (my sophomore year), I was 1 of 20 students to receive a grant to participate in the Tayo-Sei Japanese Language and Cultural Exchange Program. This program is organized by the JET Alumni Association of the Southeast (JETAASE) and the
U.S. Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme Alumni Association (USJETAA). It took place over 4 virtual sessions in November and December, and each session was 1 to 1 ½ hours long. This program gave me the opportunity to learn about the Japanese language and culture, while hearing from and speaking with individuals about their experiences living and working abroad in Japan.

I have always been interested in Japanese language and culture because my grandmother (on my dad’s side) is Japanese. She was born and raised in Japan but immigrated to the U.S. in her late 20s after having my dad and uncle.  I have been surrounded by Hispanic culture my whole life, and I spend most of my time with family/ friends of hispanic background. However, it has been more difficult to learn about my Japanese heritage because my Grandmother doesn’t live nearby, and she is my only connection to that side of my family. I especially thought this program was beneficial to me as a future teacher of ESL students because it helped equip me to work with students of that background. I think it also gave me exposure to Asian language and culture in general and what it would be like to teach English to this population. My favorite part of this program was hearing from JET Alumni that shared their experiences teaching English to young students in Japan.

I will be using this program as an engagement experience under the Global Knowledge theme for the Passport to Success program.