Hi everybody, I know my question is one that has been asked over and over again. I know I’ve looked it up a lot but I always see the same perspectives that don’t really apply to me so I thought I would make a post with my own circumstances. I’m currently majoring in Japanese at my school. I’m 19 and I’m really not interested in anything other than Japanese. I don’t like Stem at all, my goal is to teach. I was planning on majoring in Japanese with a minor in linguistics and a certificate in TEFL. I’m also planning on taking the JLPT in my senior year. Whether it’s in japan or here in the US I just want to teach languages (I also know Spanish). I don’t mind if I end up teaching English, Spanish, or Japanese, in any country. Would it still be stupid to only major in Japanese? I understand that getting a major in something else as well would be the best idea but I just don’t have anything else I’m interested in, I also hate office jobs, and there is no chance ill be interested in anything stem anytime soon. I have a scholarship so I don’t have to worry about school costs and if anything goes south I have a job guaranteed (even though I don’t really like it), the teachers I’ve had so far are also fantastic, they teach from the Genki textbook and teach class almost entirely in Japanese. I’m the type that once I’ve done something I don’t really regret it since I don’t see the point in looking back, I feel like even if what I learned turned out to only be 5 or 10% of what I needed to be fluent I would still be fine with it. I tried to learn Japanese on my own and found that the structure of a class helped me to be more motivated in actually keeping up with my studies. I really just want to make the right choice in the first place, in your opinion am I wrong to only have Japanese as my major?
3 comments
What level of school are you looking to teach?
If you’re a non-native speaker of a language you’ll likely need to have a good command of the language.
In the US, you’ll need an ACTFL OPI score of at least advanced-low to teach the language in a K-12. For a university, you’ll need a higher degree of proficiency (to be competitive) plus another field of concentration (literature, history, the arts, applied linguistics…).
I hate to be the guy to tell you but, if you hit return twice you can format your brick of texts into paragraphs.
Anyway, what are your other interests besides Japanese?
Finishing my major in Japanese here! (Graduating in the spring) and a few things I’ve learned about the major:
The only valid reasons to get a major in Japanese imo are if you have a current career and are doing it because you feel like it, or if you intend on going all the way to PHD and want to teach.
A major in linguistics with a minor in Japanese would be more marketable/useful if your passion is the study of language specifically
The college courses and degree by themselves are NOT I repeat NOT enough to master the language and how to use it. Consistent Independent study, regular conversation practice with native speakers, and reading actual Japanese publications are all tools that when used together will get you more progress than college courses.
You’ll only really be able to teach core language courses in high schools (from what I’ve seen), any non-native Japanese teachers in higher education teach peripheral courses about culture and literature.
I currently have a career in IT and am getting the major because i love school and want to move to Japan for immersion.