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Sara King

Instructors have provided the following information to generally describe what to expect in their classes.

Japanese

Teaching style
I believe Japanese cannot be mastered without a commitment to (1) becoming a proficient user of hiragana, katakana, and kanji, (2) engaging oneself in massive amounts of Japanese language input through listening and reading and (3) developing a sensitivity to verbal and non-verbal cues that are key to the expression of self and drive communication. Class time is spent on the review of foundational knowledge related to vocabulary and grammar, the examination of model communication, and the development of functional knowledge through creative conversation practice. Any questions and ‘mistakes’ are always welcome as they are evidence of your mental processing of Japanese. 

Grading (subject to change):  
Attendance and Engagement – 20% 
Homework – 20% 
Assessment [Quizzes, Tests, etc.] – 60% 

Background and other interests
I’m from a small town in upstate New York. I earned my B.A. in Japanese Language, B.A. in Linguistics, and M.A. in East Asian Linguistics and Pedagogy from the University of Oregon and I am currently working to complete my Ph.D. in Japanese Linguistics at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

In addition to Japanese, I also learn Korean. I enjoy traveling and playing video games, Japanese and Korean food, Korean cinema, and Japanese music, anime, and manga.