My language learning journey began the first day I came into this earth. Being born in Japan with a Japanese mother and Canadian father, I constantly had multiple languages being spoken around me on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the only language I learned to speak fluently from a young age was English, as we immigrated to Canada when I was only 2. In elementary school, I was enrolled into the French immersion program and by the time I graduated high school, I had studied the language for 13 years and was confident enough to speak it fluently. At 16, when I did my exchange in Luxembourg, this was the primary language I used when studying, talking to my host family and friends.
In university, I knew it was time to reconnect with my Japanese heritage and took JAPA 1110 and JAPA 1210 at Thompson Rivers University. Eventually, during my third year at TRU, I took part in a full year abroad exchange program at Kyoto Sangyo University, Japan. The intro to Japanese classes were extremely helpful as I gained a foundation for the language prior to the exchange. I was confident in doing simple tasks such as asking for directions, ordering food and self-introductions. Once at the university, I took 3-4 language classes each semester that would cover speaking and listening, reading and writing and grammar. My Japanese was able to significantly improve as in my second semester there I joined the university hockey club where I had to converse only in Japanese with my teammates. Additionally, I joined a local jiu-jitsu club and Judo circle (through the university) where I would learn techniques and make friends through the Japanese I was learning in school. Taking part in these activities, coupled with school helped my language learning skills exponentially grow throughout my year abroad.
