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Tracie Whiting

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

Japanese

Teaching style
Students are encouraged to explore Japanese websites and graded readers as ethnographers who are looking to see how the written and spoken language engages with cultural and social interactions. Students work together to create a supportive online community of learners who use as much Japanese as possible as they experiment with grammar and vocabulary, as well as receptive and productive skills, using a multiliteracy approach. Writing skill in Japanese is required for all written exams, tests, and quizzes.

Homework, participation and attendance
Attendance: 15%
Homework: 20%

Tests, quizzes, and final exam
Exams, tests, and quizzes: 65%

Background and other interests
I spent 10 years studying and working in Japan. I was an exchange student in Osaka when I was just 17 years old, and in college I attended Kwansei Gakuin University in Nishinomiya. My part-time job back in Nebraska during college was as an actress in Japanese for a satellite education program. After graduation I was selected to be a Coordinator for International Relations on the JET Program assigned to the Nagano Olympic Committee’s News Agency. After 5 years on the JET Program, I studied in Denmark and traveled Thailand before being recruited to serve as the Economic Analyst for the Consulate General of Japan at Kansas City. Since 2008 I have taught Japanese language and culture at the college level. I am very interested in helping my students explore Japan as ethnographers using a multiliteracy approach to language learning. I am also dedicated to developing student motivational practices.

Article: From Nebraska to Nagano: My Journey with Japanese

Education
M.A. Foreign Language Teaching (Michigan State University)