Introducing the New International Programs Director: Jeff Dionne!

Student reporter, Abby Turner, interviewed the new International Programs Director, Jeff Dionne, to get the inside scoop on this new addition to the faculty and staff of Ashley Hall.

Mr. Dionne on the streets of Tokyo.  Photo by: Dionne

So to start off, where in the country/world have you lived?

I was born in Connecticut and moved to Maine (three different towns in Maine).  Then I moved to several towns in Massachusetts, and Rhode Island as well.  Until the age of twenty nine, I lived in four different states in New England.  And then, I went to Japan in the year 2000 for thirteen years. 

You must speak Japanese well then. How long did it take you to learn to speak it fluently?

When I went to Japan I didn’t know how to speak it at all.  But I was completely open to learning as much as I could about the language, the people and the culture.  As my proficiency grew, of course my understanding of the culture and people grew so much and I loved it more and more.  I'm probably "business-level proficient" fluent now. True fluency in reading and writing is the final frontier of which I am still a student.

What made you decide to live in Japan?

Teaching English to students in Japan. Photo by: Dionne

I was open to learning more about different cultures and ideas, and when I met my wife in Boston, who is a Japanese person, I began learning more about Japan.  I was inspired by her way of seeing the world.  Then I thought that I'd go live there for just one year, which obviously didn't go according to plan.  In Massachusetts I was a public school teacher, so I had the teaching experience and a Master's degree which helped me find a great private school to work for right in the heart of downtown Tokyo.  The move to Japan was everything I'd hoped for and more - Japan is a fantastic place to be and it will always be a big part of my life.  I also traveled through parts of Asia and loved it.

Do you ever feel yourself thinking in Japanese?

Yes, but that’s happening less and less since I’ve moved back.  But I certainly have, after living in Japan for thirteen years.  And there are many times when I know the perfect expression or word in Japanese for something, but I can't come up with the right English.  There are a lot of culturally-specific words and terms.  I still communicate with my Japanese friends and in-laws, which of course makes me think in Japanese.

Since Japanese has characters different than our alphabet, do you have to learn to speak it separately from learning to read it?

That’s one of the main challenges.  If you’re speaking a Romanized language like English or French, it's easy to look up words you don't know because it's all alphabet-based.  Whenever you want to use a language with characters such as Arabic, Korean, Chinese, or Japanese there’s a big obstacle because if you have to look up a word in the dictionary that doesn’t have the Romanized version of the word, then how do you plan to find it?  You wouldn’t even know where to start. 

Cherry blossoms in spring.  Photo by: Naoko Dionne

Because it doesn’t characterize the word by its first letter.  How do they set up their dictionaries in Japan?

Well it goes by the first phonetic part of the specific word (however, a certain sound may be represented several different characters).  They do use a certain alphabetical order, but it goes by sounds rather than an actual alphabet.  There are first five vowel sounds, then the ‘k’ sounds, then the ‘t’ sounds, but each consonant is followed by a vowel sound in the same order. 

And then we have computers. So if you have a Germanic language, then you can always just easily type in the letter, but with a character, how would you look it up? 

When I first moved to Japan it just seemed impossible.  And over time, of course, it happens but through a lot of trial and error.  And as I said, I'm still a student.  I wasn't exactly young when I went over there so my old brain was challenged every day.

What made you decide to be an International Programs Director?

I had spent so much time in Japan and visited other parts of Asia, and I felt ready to come back to America.  You know, the countless experiences all over Asia have taught me so much.  I believe that there are such great benefits to learn about other cultures, their wisdom.  It widens our minds, increases our capacity of compassion and understanding of ourselves and others.  The catch phrase these days is 'global empathy' - it's an ability you can cultivate that will help you immensely in life.  It's especially relevant today, now that technology connects everyone so easily.  So I felt like I had a lot to offer and grow personally as an educator.  This position at Ashley Hall here fit me so well - I remember reading the job description and it felt perfect.  I'm so happy to be spending time with Chinese students now - they are wonderful and China is just so fascinating, so full of ancient wisdom.  And I loved Ashley Hall from the onset. All of those things made this job a great fit for me and I'm so happy and fortunate to be here!  

Cherry blossom viewing. Jeff Dionne and daughter Misa. Photo by: Dionne