Asian language program offers free lessons at Culture Center

Timothy Rich gathers his notes, making sure he doesn’t forget anything his Japanese instructor Ryoko Kijimoto has written on the white board.

Along with other students and community members, he has just attended a Japanese Beginners I class at the IU Asian Culture Center as part of the annual Asian Language Learning Program.

The center has offered Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, Korean, Bahasa Indonesia, Tagalog and Vietnamese classes Monday through Thursday since Sept. 13.

The classes will continue throughout the semester.

Anyone who is interested in learning one or more languages can come to the lessons based on their individual skill levels and schedules.

The center’s director Melanie Castillo-Cullather said there are 17 instructors this semester and that class sizes range from two to
12 people.

“We are trying to meet the demand, and we’ve seen a  growing interest among members of IU and Bloomington communities,” Castillo-Cullather said.

The class for beginners requires no knowledge of the Japanese language and is an hour-long session that introduces grammar basics and beginner conversations.

For higher-level learners, there is also an intermediate class.

This is Rich’s first time in a Japanese class, but he took a Korean class last year. He said learning a different language gave him the tools to assimilate into
different cultures.

Rich took Korean courses for a few weeks in the spring, which proved useful when he traveled to Korea this summer.

“When I went to Korea,” Rich said, “I definitely felt more comfortable than if I didn’t speak any Korean.”

Rich said besides the Japanese class, he is also taking Korean and Chinese classes.

He wants to go to Taiwan in three months and then Korea and Japan next spring.
Rich’s instructor, Kijimoto, voluntarily teaches in the program to improve her English and learn about American culture.

Kijimoto said the teaching experience is helpful, though the class is usually less than 10 people.

Kijimoto has been in the United States for two years and is also currently enrolled in the Intensive English Program on campus.

“It’s great,” Kijimoto said. “The class is funny, and by teaching, I can think of Japan.”

— Kevin Wang