A Conversation with Asako Hayashi Takakura, Asian Languages, UCLA

I'm not camera shy," says Japanese lecturer Asako Hayashi Takakura with a laugh. Working as a translator for Japanese television after college, she had the chance to meet rock musicians such as Sting, the Rolling Stones, and Aerosmith. "Most rockstars use their own language," she says, which sometimes made translation tough. Exchanging the glamour of the entertainment industry for a career in research and teaching, Hayashi moved to the United States to study language pedagogy and conduct research on second-language acquisition, but it was trying to interpret for rappers and Reggae musicians that first got her thinking about the differences between English and her native Japanese.

She conducted her dissertation research on the East Coast, at Boston University, and later taught at Harvard. But she admits to preferring the laid-back attitude of California. The students at UCLA, she says, "are very nice." Schooled in the communicative language teaching approach, she uses her familiarity with pop culture as a way of connecting with the class. "I prefer to be more communicative," she says. That means using authentic materials such as Japanese comic strips ("manga"), pop songs that she plays every day to help students warm up before lecture, and movies and television programs. These materials get students involved and interested in playing with the language.

Produced for the New Language Classroom at www.international.ucla.edu/languages/lab

Category:

Education

Tags:

• ucla
• uclachannel
• Learning
• Japanese
• Technology

[PinkNinjaMaster]

@AthosAmo Alright?

[AthosAmo]

@PinkNinjaMaster Because I want to express myself. I love Asians so I'm not picking on them discriminatingly. I think it's funny when funny things are said, no matter who says them. You're not gonna tell me you find no Bushism funny? And he's the former LEADER of this country. If a professor's speech is immune from ridicule, then so is the President. This ain't North Korea. Respect for elders and leaders doesn't have to be over-the-top.

[PinkNinjaMaster]

@AthosAmo Why even put it on a comment? -___-

[zoomboomafoo]

smart woman!