Ken Ogawa

Hi, I’m Ken Ogawa, standing to be your Language Officer for Japanese classes. I grew up in Okinawa, Japan and currently studying Materials Science and Engineering.

It is my belief that learning is an enjoyable experience. Therefore, my policy is “楽しく学べる環境作り”, creating enjoyable learning environments. I will achieve this by:

• Exploring seasonal topics in classes

• Learning Japanese through J-pop (phrase interpretation, fill the missing lyric quiz)

• Inter-level collaboration

  ………and more.

I would also collaborate with the Social Officer to host more Japanese cultural events, so students can practice their speaking while enjoying the cultural experience.

I will continue hosting four Japanese classes divided by language-proficiency: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and JLPT-classes, where the learning content will vary from learning fundamental writing, to reading passagess. By attending the appropriate level, students would be able to make the most out of the classes.

I also acknowledge the commitment of our amazing teaching volunteers, thus I think they deserve benefits. First, teachers will be able to attend Society events at discounted rates. I am also considering gifting “Japanese Teacher Merch” to further motivate them.

In terms of teaching, I will continue with the Buddy system that destributes the workload of each teacher. Additionally, I consider recruiting one non-native teacher for the Beginner class as they would teach effectively by relating to their learning experience.

Lastly, I will attend more Japanese classes next term to prepare for next year. I will try my best in welcoming everyone interested in Japanese, よろしくお願いします.