Author Archives: leticiay

Engagement Blog Post #3

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Throughout this term, the topics that were covered in this class allowed me to learn more about the East Asian language and culture. The main issue that intrigued me the most would be the topic of gendered differences. Before I took this class, I always thought that both genders would speak the same way in Asian cultures. But when I learned that they have gendered differences in their languages, it was a cultural shock to me because I have been taking Chinese for ten years and I never thought about the differences there were. An example would be when both genders would use different ways to say “I am” in Japanese.

Another issue that was interesting to me would be the Chinese parenting styles because I am raised by Chinese parents. I feel like Chinese parents today are becoming more lenient to their children. From my experience, my parents were strict and controlled what I did but eventually, they allowed me to be more independent. They felt that if I made my own decisions and had my own freedom, I could learn from my mistakes and choose what kind of person I want to be in the future. I feel like they made the right choice to let me be independent most times because it made me work harder in everything I did, find out what I want to achieve in life and who I want to be in life.

The readings, class discussions, and lectures definitely helped with my learning process because Professor Idemaru and the GE, Hyunji, went in-depth on the topics which allowed me to learn more about East Asian culture. The readings specifically helped me a lot because it helped me prepare for the lecture and understand the discussions that were going on in class.

I approach learning in this course by taking notes on the lecture slides the night before because it helps me mentally prepare for class and I won’t have stress out about making sure I took notes on everything on the slides. 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 mentally. This class is changing my sense of “linguistics” as a field because I am learning things about the three East Asian languages that I didn’t know before. I came into this class having a minimal amount of knowledge on the languages but after taking this class, I learned more about the different aspects of them and how they were created.

This class is not challenging me to change how I think because I was raised in a community where the population mainly consisted of Asians, specifically Chinese, Japanese and Koreans. Throughout my life, I have learned a lot about East Asian culture because my family and everyone in my life is from an Asian background. Thus, this led me to be open-minded about the material that I learn in class about East Asia because I am exposed to the language and culture.

Engagement Blog Post #2

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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.

EALL Self-Introduction

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Hey!

I’m Leticia Yim and I am a freshman. I was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. A fun fact about me is that I love to travel even though I have motion sickness. Over this summer, I traveled to Sydney, Australia for a week and this is a photo of me in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. In the past, I have been to a couple of countries including, China and Japan.

I am interested in East Asian Languages and Societies because my parents and relatives are all from China so I have been exposed to Chinese culture my whole life. I want to learn more about how this culture has transformed throughout history. I’ve also been studying Mandarin for the past 10 years so I want to learn how people in China developed such a complex language and how it differs from Cantonese. This class sparks interest for me because I also want to learn more about how China, Japan, and Korea became the country they are today.

The main topic that has intrigued me the most would be how similar Kanji and Chinese characters are. It was interesting to see how the Japanese used Chinese characters, changed it to make it simpler to write, and turned it into a whole new writing system. It was also interesting to see how most Kanji characters have multiple meanings to it, including the original Chinese definition. I personally think the teaching method of this course is good for me because all the topics for each country are spread out and it’s not crammed into one lecture class. Like for example, the information for the writing systems was separated by three lectures by country. This made it easier for me because each class was only focused on one topic for one country. My approach to learning in every course, including this one, is to take it slow because it takes time for me to process what I’m learning. Sometimes the lectures can give a lot of information so I need to take it one topic at a time because if I don’t, it can get overwhelming and stressful. I think this class doesn’t challenge me to change how I think because I am full Chinese so I am open-minded about others who are coming from, not only the East Asian backgrounds, but also the others as well.