Interview with Jeremy Lim, INT 4 Q1. What makes you interested in learning the Japanese language? Why are you so passionate about Japanese language? A1. When I was much younger, I have been captivated by Anime and the intriguing stories and memorable characters that Anime offers. But at that time, I didn’t know they were Japanese cartoons as they were mostly aired on the local television networks dubbed in English or Chinese. Some favorites that come to mind are Digimon, Pokemon, Akazukin ChaCha, Cardcaptor Sakura and Yu-Gi-Oh!. Years later, and after learning how to surf the internet, I found out that these cartoons were Japanese Animation or Anime. From then on, I developed a ravenous appetite for Anime, watching anything that I could get my hands on. It is from Anime that I began to learn more about Japanese Culture and found it to be exceedingly fascinating. Similarly, my love for the language grew from there. One of the reasons that I have such a passion for the language is because I want to be able to understand and appreciate Anime and other Japanese Cultural products without the aid of subtitles. I also aspire to become a professional translator one day. Q2. What are the things you like about the language? A2. I like the fact that one is able to gain insight into the nuances of a culture through the language. For instance, the manner of speaking and the honorifics convey the polite and respectful nature of Japanese society. The structure of the language is also easier to comprehend as compared to say Chinese. Q3. Which culture or subculture do you like best? Chado, ikebana, anime, cosplay, gaming, manga? A3. Other than Anime, I do occasionally read Manga and have dabbled in other areas such as the aforementioned Chado (Tea Ceremony) and Ikebana (Flower Arrangement). I think Japanese culture is quite fascinating and it is pretty difficult to say which I like best until I have the opportunity to experience all of them. Q4. How did you come to know of Bunka? Who recommended you? A4. To be dreadfully honest, I didn’t really do much research in the selection of schools. I simply entered ‘Japanese Language School Singapore’ into a search engine and picked one. Evidently, I made the correct choice. Q5. What do you think of Bunka’s way of teaching? A5. Aside from the wonderful teachers and learning environment, I really think that their teaching methods are far better than others. Instead of a heavy emphasis on memorization, Bunka's method allows one to understand the forms of words and the structure of sentences from the get go. I believe that this is critical to getting a good, solid foundation as their teaching method allows one to form one's own sentences and understand why certain sentences are structured in certain ways. Q6. Are you progressing to your expectation? A6. I would hope so! (^.^) However, I would love to go faster although I am aware that there is something that you cannot rush. And learning the language is one of them. Q7. Who is your teacher? A7. Ms Miho Namba a.k.a. Namba sensei. Q8. Any interesting thing to share about Namba sensei? A8. Namba sensei makes every lesson a joy to attend. She not only brightens up the class with her humor, her quirkiness and smiles but also make her lessons fun, entertaining and relaxing. I think that this is essential for a conducive learning environment. Namba sensei is a phenomenal teacher that ensures every question and doubt that the class raises is answered. What’s more, she would thank the questioner for asking. This makes the students feel very comfortable when they ask the questions. Q9. What are the things that make the class enjoyable? What are the things that make you look forward to coming to class every week? A9. Aside from gaining more knowledge of the language, I look forward to meeting up with my classmates every week. I have had the pleasure of making numerous friends. A number of them share my interests in Japanese popular culture while many others are learning the language for a multitude of other reasons. Of course, I also look forward to Namba sensei’s lessons because they are pleasurable, informative and enriching. Q10. Based on your personal learning experience, what would you advise people who are learning the language? Do you advise people to take up Japanese language? A10. Absolutely. I highly recommend and encourage anyone who is interested in the Japanese language to take it up. Although it is challenging, I think you cannot go wrong with picking up a new language. After all, you never know when that knowledge can come in handy. For those who are learning the language and finds it daunting, I would advise them to persevere. Keep at it until you reach a level where you can survive in Japan without a guide or translator. Q11. If you can have a meal with any one of the Japanese actors, politicians, singers, artists etc, who would you like to meet? A11. Being an Anime fan, there are a myriad of people from the industry that I’d like to meet such as Directors, Animators and Voice Actors. If I had to choose, I would like to meet some of my favorite voice actresses as they play a pivotal role in giving life to the Anime characters that I cherish. The top two that come to mind are Mizuki Nana, the voice of Fate Testarossa from Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, and Chihara Minori, the voice of Nagato Yuki from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu. Q12. Besides learning Japanese, what other Japanese related things do you enjoy doing? A12. Eating Japanese Food! Katsu Curry, Katsudon, Zaru Soba, Shoryu Ramen, Karaage… I love them all! Q13. What is the thing you would like to do most if you are in Japan now? A13. Undoubtedly, shopping in Akihabara!

Pauline's Full Interview, (PA3) Q1. What first brought you to start learning Japanese? A1. When I was in my early teens, I was already attracted to this language and its culture. However at that time, my parents could hardly afford to let me take up any courses that were not within the school’s syllabus, so I have to put the interest on hold. Many years after, about 6 years ago, a friend loan me a Japanese anime series called Inuyasha which consisted of over hundreds of chapters. While watching this anime, I realised some subtitles just doesn’t seemed to “match” with the speech and action of the various characters in the show and in other chapters, the subtitle's were missing… !! This frustration sort of triggered my desire to fulfil my childhood dream again to learn the language…. (^o^) Q2. How has learning Japanese enriched your life? A2. It has made my friends and colleagues in awe of me for being able to “translate” their newly purchased products’ usage instruction into simple English for them… hahaha…. (except for the difficult ones… of course I have to seek and get help from my sensei in Bunka)…. (^_~) Honestly, I thought the phrase : You “cannot teach an old dog a trick” would apply to me… but having pick up the challenge to study Japanese, it certainly has proven this saying wrong; although my brain cells have to work twice harder than my younger course mates’ to learn a language which uses 3 different types of written characters : Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji… !! Q3. Why did you choose to study at Bunka? A3. I’ve searched through the newspapers for every school that offered the course and even went online to their website to check out the syllabus and details of the schools. What attracted me to Bunka was the way the webpage was designed. Most importantly it was very updated with the latest course dates for each levels including the explanation of language proficiency each student would attain upon completing each course and at what level the student would be able to enter for the international exam. It also showed the various photos of the cultural events which appeared to me that the school is really serious about teaching and imparting the Japanese culture to its students. Q4. You are a keen supporter of our cultural events. What do you like about such events at Bunka? Q4. The cultural event has a fun ambiance in the classroom as compared to our normal class lesson. Through this event, we get to know the teachers better in a more relaxed environment and along the way, get to make new friends from other classes too. Under the teachers’ care and demonstration, we also learned the proper way in making Japanese food like sushi and onigiri… as well as being taught the way to create lovely calendars, origami, and cute greeting cards from coloured papers. Some events also include Japanese games which would come in handy to entertain children at home too…. (^_~) Q5. Care to share an experience, if any ,when your ability to speak Japanese came in handy. A5. There’s this funny incident that happened to me and my classmate. One day on our way home after class, a group of Japanese men boarded the same bus as us. Out of nowhere, one of the guys spoke loudly (in Japanese) that he could not understand why he was not able to move into a not-too-narrow space to stand between his 2 friends … he said that by looking at the space, it should be big enough to fit him in but when he tried, he has to turn sideways to move in (without having his body touching his friends’)… he ended by saying to himself (aloud) : has he became so fat ??? Hearing this both my classmate and I tried very hard not to laugh and when he and his friends caught sight of us looking away suppressing our laughter, they realised we were able to understand his comments and start to speak with us… My classmate did most of the conversation with them as she’s very good while I tried my best and we were able to exchange small talks about their visit here in Singapore. That was a nice experience and certainly motivated me to want to speak as fluently as my classmate… ! Q6. To end the interview, with all the experience in studying Japanese thus far, do you have any words of encouragement for the other students studying Japanese? A6. It is very important to have a strong basic foundation of the Japanese language so pls try to be very attentive in your class starting from Elementary to Intermediate levels. Memorise hard on the grammar structure in these levels and when you reach Pre-Advance levels, it would help you to understand the more complex sentence structures… I have also learnt that if you don’t have any Japanese friends or colleagues to practise the language with; it’s best to watch Japanese animes or dramas; as this will help you to improve on your listening skill. However, as my spoken proficiency is still not as good as I have hoped, I’m trying to follow my sensei’s advice that we need to speak out more often and not be afraid to make mistakes as the sensei will always be there to help correct us. My greatest regret is : I wish I have paid more attention in my Elementary and Intermediate classes in Bunka… (>_<)….