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The picture above was taken at the Yamada Language Center in McKenzie Hall. The three East Asian Languages, Chinese, Japanese and Korean were all presented in it. I felt that this poster connected to the material I’m learning in class because the school is being polite and is welcoming students who come from different parts of the world and not just the United States. This poster was interesting to me because the university doesn’t just include English, it includes many different languages like the three main East Asian Language. East Asian Languages are used in this situation because it’s showing that the University of Oregon is welcoming everyone from all the different parts of the world. Including different languages on the poster represent a form of politeness because it shows that the university is acknowledging and appreciates everyone especially the international students because they make up 10% of the student population.

One issue that intrigued would be how East Asian language and culture have affected Western society and were able to spread all around the United States. Living around Asian influence my whole life has made me realize that Hawaii is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse states in the US. In Oahu alone, the majority of the population is made up of 38.6% of Asians. Within that amount of Asians, the largest ethnic group would be the Japanese which makes up 20% of the Asian population. This is followed by the Chinese which make up 10% and Koreans which make up 4%. Since Oahu is surrounded by Asian influence, most of the population can speak the East Asian Languages and participates in cultural practices.

The main learning strategy I use would be taking notes on the lecture slides the night before because it helps me mentally prepare for the class and I won’t have stress out about making sure I took notes on everything on the slides. For the first couple of weeks, I would take notes during lectures but I learned that that technique doesn’t help me learn because I am too focused on rushing to take all the important notes down. Taking notes ahead of class time helps me learn more about the topics we are covering during class because I can focus on listening to the professor and process what she is saying. I feel engaged the most when I am listening to what Professor Kaori Idemaru is saying in class because it helps me process the topic and all the information that isn’t in the lecture slides. I feel like there have definitely been times when lectures and materials weren’t clear. During those times, I would look back at my notes and the reading during and after class which would help me understand the lecture better.