Outcome

In this course I did learn many new grammar points and vocabulary words. I also learned about daily life in Japan through the podcast assignment and the talk abroad assignment. One random fact that I learned is that while there are McDonalds and food stores in Japan that are also popular in America, they operate differently in Japan! In addition to selling different menu items, they are not open late at night like they are in America.

This semester was a challenging one, with all of my classes being moved online due to COVID. This class had me learning new technologies, like how to host my own zoom conversation, share my screen with others, and use websites like Talk Abroad. I am sure these skills will be useful to me in the future!

Experience

In this class, we practiced using verbal and nonverbal communication strategies. While the exact communication strategies vary depending on the language that is being spoken, the idea that it is important to show your conversation partner that you are listening and engaged in the conversation is universal.  At work, I have noticed that when I nod to show that I am listening to the customer while they are talking, they become more appreciative. Working in retail, I’m used to all kinds of customers, like those on their phones at checkout, so finding a way to make that short interaction more meaningful not only makes it more likely that the customer will return to shop with us again, it also helps my shift go by more quickly!

Transfer

This course was a lesson in patience and listening. For our Podcast assignment, I had prepared a few ideas to talk about during our conversation. However, once the conversation began it quickly shifted in another direction, and my ideas were suddenly no longer relevant  to the topic. I had to focus on listening to our Japanese Conversation Partner, and my classmates, so that I could create new ideas to speak about in our conversation. This course was also an exercise in group work. For the video project, my classmate partners and I were working together for weeks to create our video. We tackled communication and technology issues while creating our video. I learned much patience while working together with my classmates to solve those issues. These are skills that are useful to everyone out in the world. In future jobs, things are not always going to go as planned or expected, and being able to stay cool and be patient while coming up with a new plan is very important.