Target Language Experts

TLE Voices

My Teaching Experience at Carthage

By Tomomi Ozawa

Tomomi and her mother before a certificate ceremony.

"Konnichiwa!" "Konnichiwa! Genkidesuka?" (Hello! How are you?)

This is a greeting between Japanese students and myself, which you can hear on campus. Even if my students are discussing a topic that is unrelated to Japanese class, I am always happy to hear them talking in Japanese. From my perspective (although it may be biased), students who are taking Japanese courses are very serious in their studies because most of them are eager to go to Japan for business in their future.

I am teaching not only language but also Japanese culture to show my students Japanese modern society and to sweep away stereotypes. I hope they will be the bridge to support better understanding and cooperation between Japan and other countries as well.

As a foreigner in the United States, I all see and learn about current American culture through my own eyes, “Seeing is believing,” and this is the first step to understanding different cultures from your own.

My second year here at Carthage is almost over. I cannot believe that I have been here for two years as a graduate student and teacher. I can still clearly remember the beginning of my life as a TLE. Beside the excitement of meeting new friends, I was anxious about both taking and teaching classes. At the start, I had an especially hard time expressing my ideas and feelings in English because I was too shy to give a presentation or to perform something in front of people. Moreover, I was struggling with speaking English. However through teaching, I was forced to become accustomed to explaining my thoughts in both Japanese and English because my students needed this. My English also improved because I did not hesitate to make mistakes in front of my housemates, other TLEs. This gave me more self-confidence when talking to native English speakers.

I am a teacher, but I have also been taught by my students through everyday conversations, both inside and outside the classroom. So I am grateful to my professors, all of my students, the TLEs, and the people who gave me wonderful opportunities here at Carthage College. I cannot possibly put my thanks into words!