Faculty Spotlight: Brian Baran

The Department’s newest Japanese language teacher, Brian-sensei, talks about why he started teaching Japanese in this edition of faculty spotlight!

1. What got you interested in learning and teaching Japanese?

This is quite the typical story, but I’ve always been into Anime and that has been my gateway to Japanese culture and language. Since around high school, I’ve tried studying Japanese on and off but only really started taking learning Japanese seriously when I decided to pursue a plan C – Japanese track for my undergraduate linguistics degree. I also thought at the time that learning Japanese would be financially in my best interest just in case the linguistics thing wouldn’t go well. As for teaching, I really wanted to try teaching a language and since Japanese is the language I’m most comfortable in—aside from my first languages—I decided to teach it.      

2. How is your experience teaching the language at UP Diliman so far?

I really enjoyed teaching Japanese to the students of UP Diliman especially since there are many inquisitive students. Sometimes they just hit you with a question that you have never thought of before and that really keeps the gears turning and you start learning new things about Japanese that you would have never thought of if you were only on the learner’s side. Those inquisitive and hardworking students motivate me to improve my Japanese skills and knowledge so that I could teach them even more.

3. Can you share some tips for learning Japanese, especially for students who might be intimidated by the language and its writing system?

Finding a particular goal helps. Japanese is intimidating because it is an abstract whole that has no singular shape. For example, I sometimes keep on replaying scenes in an Anime until I understand what they are saying. At first, it would sound like a jumbled mess but then you try to transcribe what they are saying and then look up the definitions and slowly you start understanding the scene. Then you see the same words or grammar patterns in other scenes or perhaps you start picking up a textbook and remember that you already heard this grammar pattern; then suddenly you feel a sense of accomplishment and slowly feel the sense of intimidation wear off as you understand more and more of the language. Overcoming these more tangible parts of the Japanese language make learning more rewarding and less intimidating.

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Currently, Brian-sensei teaches Hapon 10. This second semester, he will handle one section. Access the “Regular Classes” and “Course Catalog” tabs of CRS for more information. 

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This article is part of the “Faculty Spotlight” series of the Department, and is also done in celebration of 100 years of Japanese language teaching in the university. Click here for more information.