他の言葉で話すことについて・Speaking in Tongues

In this post, I want to offer readers a look inside a particular academic experience I've had here at GW. Unlike some past and upcoming posts, this will focus my experience with a department rather than a class or a school.

For clarity's sake and so I don't lose anyone, the makeup of the teaching and research sides of universities (as opposed to financial or administrative spheres) works like this. Professors are attached to departments made up of various faculty members working together under a chairman. Every academic period (for us, this the semester; some schools go by quarter or trimester) professors are assigned classes, and these often change up.

So, given the amount of "churn" in the system, it really says something that every single class I've taken with GW's Department of Japanese Language and Literature has been really outstanding. The first class I ever attended here was a Japanese course, and from then on I've stuck with it without taking a break.

A few weeks ago, I started my fifth semester of Japanese here. While it isn't a language that's that commonly studied or one with a lot of opportunities to practice, if you want to find opportunities the department is very helpful. There's a language chat room up at our Mt. Vernon Campus (affectionately, "The Vern") every month and the department also hosts some "chat rooms" hosted by faculty.

I've stayed in the regular course track throughout my time here, but for those who are lucky enough to be able to stay in DC over the summer following their freshman and sophomore years, there are many language classes available. (My professor from Tibetan Buddhism last semester even teaches interested students Tibetan--talk about a unique opportunity!) For its part, East Asian Language and Literature (the umbrella department for Asian languages) offers "intensive" courses that meet more times a week and allow for quicker advancement.

In the next few posts, I'll run you through what homework looks like, introduce you to the syllabus for my current Japanese course, and hopefully be able to offer some insights into what language study offers GW students.

質問があれば、私にメールしてください。(e-mail me if you have any questions.)
Adam