Blog 5: Vocation

Blog 5: Vocation

During my senior year, I plan to apply to the JET Program, which offers an opportunity to teach English in Japan for 1-5 years. Alternatively, I plan to try to find a job teaching ESL at a public school. My study abroad experience will give me professional skills to be successful in this field. After gaining some job experience, I want to attend SIT Graduate Institute in Vermont to get my Master’s degree in TESOL.

While I'm abroad, I will visit the Japan Plaza to practice my Japanese as much as possible with the native speakers. Although I'm already a third-culture kid, learning Japanese and Japanese culture will help me learn what it's like to learn another language as well as a new culture. This will allow me to connect with and understand my future students better. By the end of my study abroad experience, I want to improve my Japanese language proficiency – increasing by a limited working proficiency to a professional working proficiency. Once I actually arrive at my host institution, I plan on finding more opportunities to get myself involved in the community - both at the university and outside of it.