Reading as a Writer: Problems I Faced in Learning Japanese
This is a reflective essay of the text "Reading as a Writer". Please read all instructions in the guideline carefully.
Instructions- Project 1: “Reading as a Writer” Reflective Essay
Assignment Overview: For your first writing project, you will write a reflective essay in response to our selected text, “Why Italian?” by Jhumpa Lahiri. You will demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the assigned text as well as application of rhetorical strategies appropriate for intended text type, audience, and purpose.
Required length: 800 words
Topic of Focus: You will model the text type and topic for your project after Lahiri’s work: a nonfiction, reflective and personal essay that addresses recurring assumptions others have about you in relationship to either the language(s) you speak or a particular academic interest or extracurricular activity you are passionate about.
- Select a title that reflects the recurrence of this question, as Lahiri did. Feel free to use: “Why _________ (with your theme of choice) ”? if that is the question that you repeatedly address.
Application of Strategies:
For this assignment, you are required to incorporate the rhetorical strategies we discussed in class: repetition, metaphor, and word choice. Use Lahiri as a guide and model, but do not limit yourself to her techniques. Be creative, take a risk, and use these strategies in the way that is most appropriate for your theme and the ways in which you aim to engage the reader.
- Use at least two (2) metaphors,
- three (3) instances of repetition,
- and at least three (3) words from Lahiri’s essay that you had never or rarely incorporated into your previous pieces of writing. Please underline the words so that I know which ones you chose!
Formatting: Times New Roman 12-point font, double spaced, Microsoft Word or PDF. The required length is 800 words, minimum.
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Essay on the Problems I Faced in Learning Japanese
Learning a new language is usually one of the most interesting things. The main reason is it usually gives a person a challenge to learn new things. Furthermore, it also has short-term goals, which the person typically enjoys after achieving them. Even though learning a new language is enjoyable, it is also faced with several challenges. For instance, the person is usually questioned why they are determined to learn a new language, yet they have their language. These process questions could make some people ask whether they have made the right choice. The text "why Italian?" by Jhumpa Lahiri is relatable since I also encountered some when learning a new language and employed varying measures to overcome them.
In my earlier years, I always wanted to be a linguist. The main reason is that this process will help me understand varying world languages inerrancies and boost communication among varying individuals. Moreover, I also expected that understanding this language would be easy. However, even though I had the motivation to pursue this process, this process turned out differently than expected. For example, even though I expected that my friends would support my goal, most were questioning it. However, rather than being happy most of them were surprised how I could find happiness in learning new languages since they viewed it as one of the most boring adventures. For instance, they questioned why I was motivated to learn different languages. One of the common questions they asked was what was prompting me to learn the new language, yet they viewed our language as superior to others. Moreover, they were also asking me who I could speak these new languages with, yet they could not understand me when I used this language. Moreover, they were also discouraging me that this process would be hard yet not worth investing in. The main reason they did not show interest in learning Japanese is that they viewed it as a language of weak people.
When I started learning a new language, strangers discouraged me. For example, they stated that I should only embrace my language and embrace measures of improving it rather than emphasizing improving on other people's language. Whenever I asked people from another language for clarification, some could ask why I was interested in learning another language. This scenario was so common that it was exhaustive to explain to the people. I was usually after being asked these questions. I was mainly surprised because people could not allow me to follow my passion uninterrupted. Furthermore, I was upset since even after explaining to them my motivation; most people were not ready to embrace my idea. This instance negatively affected my morale regarding interacting with people.
For instance, there was an instance when a stranger asked why I was passionate about learning a new language. I explained to him for a long time, thinking I could convince him. However, after some time, I noticed that he was interested in the explanation since he had already concluded that this route was not worth taking. This instance made me upset about why a person could ask a question without listening to the answer.
This scenar...