I was born and raised in Nagano, Japan, and moved to Tokyo to attend Waseda University. While studying there, I started backpacking in Japan and then in other countries on my own. As I communicated with many people from various countries, I became more and more interested in learning other languages and also teaching my own language, Japanese.
I came to Eugene as a graduate student in 2000 and studied Japanese pedagogy and linguistics. I’m simply fascinated by languages. In addition to English and my native Japanese, I have studied Chinese and Spanish, traveling to mainland China and Guatemala as a student of those languages. I have traveled to many other countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia as well.
I was very fortunate to be able to work as a long-term substitute teacher here at Marist in the winter of 2008 and have been the Japanese teacher since fall 2008. There are countless things that are great about Marist, but the number one reason why I love this school is the people: Fr. David, every single staff member, students, and their parents. Awesome!
I enjoy watching sports games and events, especially American football games. Go Ducks! Go Spartans!
College Now Certified: Japanese - LCC: Japanese, First Year (JP 103, 201, 202) Japanese 3 – Linn Benton CC (JPN102) Japanese 4 – Linn Benton CC (JPN103) Japanese 5 – Linn Benton CC (JPN201)
Education: MA in Japanese language and pedagogy from the University of Oregon (MA +45 graduate level hours)
Contact me: Email is the most effective and efficient way to contact me – mnakajima@marisths.org
