Most of the students at Lafayette learn a foreign language in order to satisfy the requirement, however that is not the case for junior Lindsay Lamp.

In her free time, Lamp teaches herself Japanese.

She began in eighth grade, when her friend introduced her to anime. “I’ve always been interested in art, so I grew to really enjoy that style of cartooning. Through that, I started learning a lot about Japanese culture and I thought it was really interesting. Their language was what stood out the most to me though” she said.   

Lamp uses a variety of different methods including flashcards, books, websites, and even Japanese music.

“You hear a lot of words you’re learning which helps with memorization and pronunciation,” she said.

Since she doesn’t learn the language through school, she doesn’t have the extra stress of homework and tests, and she can learn at her own pace.

However, she claims, “It’s difficult because you have to use a lot of self- discipline, or else you won’t get anywhere.”

Aside from learning Japanese, Lamp learns Spanish in school. Once she is fluent in Japanese, she wishes to learn Korean.

As advice to those who wish to learn a language on their own Lamp says, “Learning about culture and some of the history is really helpful. Also, when you learn words, try and use them when you can.”