Japanese Foreign Language Teaching Assistant

Pacific University has hosted Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTA) since 1994. Over the years, FLTAs have come from such countries as Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Chile, China, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Taiwan, Tunesia, and Uruguay.  FLTAs assist in language classes, tutor, facilitate language conversation tables, and organize cultural events on and off campus. They also make themselves available for public presentations about their cultures and enrich campus life with their international perspectives. 

Takahiro Katagiri is the FLTA for the Japanese program at Pacific University.

Japanese Program Foreign Language Teaching Assistant

Hello, my name is Takahiro Katagiri and I am the Japanese Foreign Language Assistant Teacher (FLTA). I mainly support the beginner and intermediate level Japanese classes. Also, I hold the Japanese cultural night and tutoring session once a week, and Japanese conversation table twice a week.

 I am going to talk about myself, and the reason why I decided to apply for the FLTA program. First, I like playing basketball, cooking, camping, reading, and listening to music. I grew up in Kitakata, Fukushima prefecture which is in the northern part of Japan. It is famous for Ramen noodle, Japanese alcohol, and Aizu-castle. Although it is very historical and a great place for leisure, in 2011, the big earthquake and tsunami attacked my hometown and nuclear power plants were exploded. I wanted to change the bad impression people had about the place by explaining the real situation in English to people around the world. However, when I was in my university in Japan, I realized my English was not enough to make a change of the situation. This motivated me to improve my English skills. In addition to the environmental problem in Fukushima, educational gap has been an issue in my hometown. I believe I can change this problem of educational gap through studying in education more and more throughout this program.

Also, I wanted to show my appreciation to people in the United States through teaching Japanese and Japanese cultures to the university students. I first came to the United States 3 years ago for studying abroad for 6 weeks. That became my turning point in my life and broadened my outlook for many things. Thanks to English, I have become who I am today, and my life has become brighter. I want to encourage students to learn other languages and visit other countries because I know it will open their unprecedented door. Therefore, I would like to help students to learn Japanese who might improve yourself and the world much better.

 Please do not hesitate to say hello and ask me some questions about Japanese, the life in Japan or future path.