My Reflection

When I just started with iReflect this semester, I was quite worried, and felt that this would be a very complex and hard to understand paper. Although it was also an English paper, when we were given the outlines of the paper by Patsy on the first day of class, I found that it was very different to iWrite which focused on creative writing and personal thinking. I was nervous because I could not find a suitable topic for my e-portfolio. In addition, my Japanese learning has met its first big barrier, which is why I suddenly found it hard to think of anything interesting to write about. In fact, I spent a very long time thinking about my studies, and finally decided to continue my study and do my best to complete this e-portfolio.

I combined my two major interests (Japan and food) and was going to introduce famous food in Japan, but when I began my research, I became more interested in other unique Japanese foods and their eating and drinking culture. This, then, became my major topic.

Firstly, I chose Blogger.com to display my e-portfolio. Patsy introduced us to Mahara, but it seemed more complex and I did not know how to manage it effectively. So I decided to stick with Blogger.com as I had used it for iWrite, which was also more familiar to me. Also, most of the classmates seemed to be using Blogger.com for their portfolio as well. I used a few pictures, hyperlinks, and video clips from Youtube in order to let the readers develop a closer understanding of the information that I was sharing. During that stage, I found that although what I had displayed related to my own interests, it did not include any of my university study progress during university, so I decided to share some of the difficulties which I came across with my studies this year, and my experiences from the Japanese restaurant I worked at.

Taking this paper allowed me to set myself a short term goal, and seriously consider my future (long term goal). E-portfolio has helped me to become more interested in my major course, and more confident in acquiring my Japanese skill. Apart from that, I also learned many other things such as the importance of copy right...etc. During class, Patsy has reminded us repeatedly about writing references correctly, which not only shows respect to the original writer, it also protects us from breaching the law. E-portfolio has been and still is very important to me. If I continue to record my progress, I am sure it will give me a lot of help when I seek employment in the future.

Personal reflection for my major study in university

This year I have greatly improved in my understanding of the Japanese learning. Having increased my knowledge of the complexities of grammar and learning much more vocabulary has made it much easier for me to understand Japanese blogs and websites through which I used to browse. This has also increased my interest in browsing Japanese websites.

I will be graduating in another one and a half years, although there still seems to be time for me to consider my future career pathways, it will not be easy to find a job which is related to all my studies at university. It will also be a challenge to convince the employers that I will be worth employing. I have set myself a short-term goal, to pass the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. This is a test held by the Japan Foundation and the Japan Educational Exchanges and Services. The test is categorized into four levels, with level one as the highest. The certificate gained through undergoing a series of assessments on writing, listening, and reading skills gives yourself a clear idea of where your standards are. Foreigners who seek to work in Japan would be required to have passed level two proficiency test. Therefore, sitting this test also gives me a chance to work in Japan.

Working in Japan and practically experiencing their culture has always been my biggest goal. Some time ago, I simply just wanted to have a trip to Japan, but since I began research on this country, I discovered more about their unique culture, high technology and creativity…etc. These encouraged me to seek my future career pathway. I set myself a long term goal, to work in a company which would send their employees to Japan, China, Taiwan, or other English speaking countries. Jobs such as purchasing and selecting items for companies also attract me.

My current job in a Japanese restaurant trains my listening, oral, and translating skills in Japanese. Although I am not skilled enough at this time, I believe that experience will accumulate and I will improve distinctly as time goes by. In future, I plan to pursue further education by going to translation or business courses, in order to bring my studies into full play.



The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test (JLPT). (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2008, from http://www.jlpt.jp/e/index.html

Japan Educational Exchanges and Services. (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2008, from http://www.jees.or.jp/index.htm