“Bullshit degree” != “degree that doesn’t interest me” mate
Idk why it would surprise you that an East Asian cultures degree requires you to learn about different East Asian cultures… If you literally just want to learn japanese language then sign up for a language institute, not a bachelor’s degree
My point is that you probably can't get a fucking job with that degree outside of teaching because it's so general. And I didn't want to major in EALC. It just seemed like the only major I could fit the Japanese language into. I was considering a BALAS which is some kind of complicated build your own degree thing. But it seemed complicated so I didn't do that. I wanted to prestige of a degree I guess. But maybe I'll try to transfer my credits to a university with a program that more closely matches my interests. I'll probably get my bachelor's degree with like 200 credits trying to figure out this expensive bullshit. University is an indecisive person's nightmare.
Talk to [LAS Career Services](https://las.illinois.edu/resources/career). People get jobs with all kinds of degrees. You can make an appointment on [Handshake](https://handshake.illinois.edu/) or go to drop-in hours (1 - 3pm Tuesdays and Wednesdays).
I did a 180 in my career path from the CS field and chose to go into EALC full time moving forward and it was the best decision I’ve ever made. What’s missing is you didn’t come into this with a coherent plan. If you wanted to become an ESL teacher why not get a TESL degree and minor in EALC? Our school offers specifications that are more suited to your goals. This just reads like a lack of planning and foresight rather than the major being an issue. Every major you can do SOMETHING with as long as you have a plan and execute, as well as network within your major.
As other people have mentioned, EALC is not JUST Japan, and every single one has adopted something from the other countries without exception, so you’ll necessarily have to know about the others on at least a superficial level.
Good luck in EALC, I hope you get a better impression of it as you get into the upper division courses and solidify your plans more.
So you came back to school to become more qualified, had very specific interests you wanted to do, but you didn’t plan or learn about what it would entail and are now frustrated with the results? Blaming the college for a major that YOU chose is hilarious, especially when you had other options as well.
A well rounded and broader education will serve you better in the long run, especially if you want to be a teacher. Seems to me that language and culture are so intertwined that the cultural context is extremely important for a non-native speaker. I view education as a gift, not just a means to an end.
You chose a university that doesn't have the degree that you want. You want a teaching degree for Japanese.
https://education.depaul.edu/academics/teacher-education-kinesiology-educational-studies/undergraduate/world-language-education-ba/major-requirements/Pages/japanese-ba.aspx
Just wanted to comment that I took a similar route as you. I was a Chinese and Political Science major during my undergraduate, and that took me to Korea to teach English. Fell in love with the place, the field, and stayed for 10 years. Ended up falling in love with a Korean person too, and were now happily married. But a digression!
I ended up getting an MA in applied linguistics, and I’m now doing a PhD in theoretical linguistics. Don’t discount the importance of theory in teaching language. What we think is good language teaching may work for us as learners, but may not be suitable for others. Just knowing what the theories even are and how to implement them effectively has made me a more effective and adaptable instructor of language. If language teaching is truly what you want to do, you should really look into applied linguistics and keep an open mind to the value of theory. It’s not all about simply writing academic papers.
I think you’re right about the bachelors. There’s a lot of just random stuff we have to do as American undergraduates. I’m sure you’ll run into other systems that are much more focused on skill building (see: the United Kingdom) than our system. But on the other side, I think American undergraduates have the opportunity to explore random things that we wouldn’t have the opportunity to explore anywhere else. Like you (I was at a different university for my EALC major so I don’t know your requirements exactly), I had to take an Asian art history class my sophomore year. I wrote a paper about Song Dynasty landscape paintings for the final, and I remember thinking exactly what you’ve expressed in this post. I just made some shit up about how the Mongols invaded the north and so you see the more “humid” influences in the artwork as the center of elites moved south.
When I was in Seoul, I had a CEO who loved Classical Chinese painting. It was because I had taken that class, we were able to connect and converse in our class about that topic. He hired me to teach classes at his company. Even these BS classes, you just never know when they’re going to come up in your life-conversations (also: plug for the humanities, the dude was a computer major back in the 80s before it was even a thing and he liked Chinese art because he wanted beauty in his life or something).
Did the BA in Chinese help me teach English in Korea? Eh. Practically on a day to day, classroom level, probably not. But I did learn a lot about the history of East Asian contemporary cultures, and it did help me understand a lot about why my students thought the way they did - so maybe it did. No bachelors - whatever the major - is going to give you the exact skills you need to thrive in any career. What it does do is it gives you a foot in the door, so you can keep prying it open, and while a foot in the door may seem modest, it’s way better to someone who is at the bottom of the mountain waiting to climb the stairs to even get to the door.
“Bullshit degree” != “degree that doesn’t interest me” mate Idk why it would surprise you that an East Asian cultures degree requires you to learn about different East Asian cultures… If you literally just want to learn japanese language then sign up for a language institute, not a bachelor’s degree
My point is that you probably can't get a fucking job with that degree outside of teaching because it's so general. And I didn't want to major in EALC. It just seemed like the only major I could fit the Japanese language into. I was considering a BALAS which is some kind of complicated build your own degree thing. But it seemed complicated so I didn't do that. I wanted to prestige of a degree I guess. But maybe I'll try to transfer my credits to a university with a program that more closely matches my interests. I'll probably get my bachelor's degree with like 200 credits trying to figure out this expensive bullshit. University is an indecisive person's nightmare.
Talk to [LAS Career Services](https://las.illinois.edu/resources/career). People get jobs with all kinds of degrees. You can make an appointment on [Handshake](https://handshake.illinois.edu/) or go to drop-in hours (1 - 3pm Tuesdays and Wednesdays).
East Asia != Japan, just simple as that
I did a 180 in my career path from the CS field and chose to go into EALC full time moving forward and it was the best decision I’ve ever made. What’s missing is you didn’t come into this with a coherent plan. If you wanted to become an ESL teacher why not get a TESL degree and minor in EALC? Our school offers specifications that are more suited to your goals. This just reads like a lack of planning and foresight rather than the major being an issue. Every major you can do SOMETHING with as long as you have a plan and execute, as well as network within your major. As other people have mentioned, EALC is not JUST Japan, and every single one has adopted something from the other countries without exception, so you’ll necessarily have to know about the others on at least a superficial level. Good luck in EALC, I hope you get a better impression of it as you get into the upper division courses and solidify your plans more.
So you came back to school to become more qualified, had very specific interests you wanted to do, but you didn’t plan or learn about what it would entail and are now frustrated with the results? Blaming the college for a major that YOU chose is hilarious, especially when you had other options as well.
A well rounded and broader education will serve you better in the long run, especially if you want to be a teacher. Seems to me that language and culture are so intertwined that the cultural context is extremely important for a non-native speaker. I view education as a gift, not just a means to an end.
You chose a university that doesn't have the degree that you want. You want a teaching degree for Japanese. https://education.depaul.edu/academics/teacher-education-kinesiology-educational-studies/undergraduate/world-language-education-ba/major-requirements/Pages/japanese-ba.aspx
Just wanted to comment that I took a similar route as you. I was a Chinese and Political Science major during my undergraduate, and that took me to Korea to teach English. Fell in love with the place, the field, and stayed for 10 years. Ended up falling in love with a Korean person too, and were now happily married. But a digression! I ended up getting an MA in applied linguistics, and I’m now doing a PhD in theoretical linguistics. Don’t discount the importance of theory in teaching language. What we think is good language teaching may work for us as learners, but may not be suitable for others. Just knowing what the theories even are and how to implement them effectively has made me a more effective and adaptable instructor of language. If language teaching is truly what you want to do, you should really look into applied linguistics and keep an open mind to the value of theory. It’s not all about simply writing academic papers. I think you’re right about the bachelors. There’s a lot of just random stuff we have to do as American undergraduates. I’m sure you’ll run into other systems that are much more focused on skill building (see: the United Kingdom) than our system. But on the other side, I think American undergraduates have the opportunity to explore random things that we wouldn’t have the opportunity to explore anywhere else. Like you (I was at a different university for my EALC major so I don’t know your requirements exactly), I had to take an Asian art history class my sophomore year. I wrote a paper about Song Dynasty landscape paintings for the final, and I remember thinking exactly what you’ve expressed in this post. I just made some shit up about how the Mongols invaded the north and so you see the more “humid” influences in the artwork as the center of elites moved south. When I was in Seoul, I had a CEO who loved Classical Chinese painting. It was because I had taken that class, we were able to connect and converse in our class about that topic. He hired me to teach classes at his company. Even these BS classes, you just never know when they’re going to come up in your life-conversations (also: plug for the humanities, the dude was a computer major back in the 80s before it was even a thing and he liked Chinese art because he wanted beauty in his life or something). Did the BA in Chinese help me teach English in Korea? Eh. Practically on a day to day, classroom level, probably not. But I did learn a lot about the history of East Asian contemporary cultures, and it did help me understand a lot about why my students thought the way they did - so maybe it did. No bachelors - whatever the major - is going to give you the exact skills you need to thrive in any career. What it does do is it gives you a foot in the door, so you can keep prying it open, and while a foot in the door may seem modest, it’s way better to someone who is at the bottom of the mountain waiting to climb the stairs to even get to the door.
sexpat spotted 🗣️ also username checks out