By Chetachukwu Obiwuma

My first ever Japanese class was not like what I thought it would be. I wasn’t hoping for magic or the surge of knowledge about the Japanese language to hit me, but I’m not a people person. I do have a close knit group of people that I love to talk to but this is a class full of people from other schools in DC. I thought that I was only going to talk to the people from Banneker and that would be it.

However, from when I first got into the class to the end, the atmosphere was so welcoming. We sat in groups of four and two of the people at my table were not from Banneker. It’s never really been easy for me to interact with people, but Japanese class has a vibe that facilitates natural interactions. Through the use of interactive activities during the language portion and discussion during the cultural proportion, I was able to easily talk to students at my table and in the class. The need for interaction, especially in language classes, I feel is largely overlooked. Conversations are more likely to be remembered more than a worksheet. Drilling can work with some children but not everyone learns the same, and to include interactions to facilitate learning allows for a much more open classroom.

The atmosphere of the Japanese class is something that I really do like and pushes me to strive for success in my Japanese language studies. I hope that through my interactions in Japanese class, I am able to learn more about the Japanese language and culture. I also hope that I am able to gain a wider global perspective through this class.