Adjunct Faculty Spotlight: Kunihiko Matsui

Kunihiko Matsui, adjunct faculty in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, began teaching Japanese at The University of Scranton last fall. Fluent in both Japanese and English, he prefers speaking Japanese because it allows him to communicate with his family.

The advice he offers for anyone interested in learning another language: Find an environment in which you will be pushed to use and think in the language you are studying.

Matsui's interest in learning another language began in grade school because he wanted to travel to the United States or England. He first learned English when he was five years old and became fluent by the time he was 18. 

While attending Ball State University in Indiana for architecture, he was asked to teach at the University and decided to gave it a chance. Looking back, he said, he is glad he did as he enjoys it very much because he is learning his own language with the students.

During the spring semester Matsui was teaching Elementary Japanese 102 and Intermediate Japanese 212. 

When asked why he would encourage students to study a world language while at the University, Matsui said, “More foreign languages are showing up everywhere. It is not even about just speaking another language, but also being aware of other cultures. It allows you to look at your own culture from a different point of view.”