Japan personal statement

I am a 27 year old primary school teacher in the UK with a passion for education and languages. In 2014 I completed my degree in Primary Education at Sheffield Hallam University and started my current job as a full time teacher. As a teacher this year I have had to plan, prepare and deliver lessons across the curriculum, including teaching French as a Modern Foreign Language, and supporting a child with English as an Additional Language.
I developed a love of language - both foreign and English - through my school studies and while reading for personal enjoyment. I studied French and German at school, and I have always found myself drawn to characters in books, video games, and films who could speak more than one language. I have come to think that to stay in one country for my whole life, and to only ever be able to speak one language, would be denying myself a great opportunity for life experience and to better understand others.
Reading is a passion I have had my whole life, and it has partly been through reading books like 'Shogun' and 'Memoirs of a Geisha' that I have come to admire Japan and Japanese culture, although influences of Japanese origin have appeared in many forms of popular culture in the UK. From Japan's feudal history to its modern technological advances, and through media companies like Nintendo and Studio Ghibli, I have enjoyed the products and influences of Japan in many ways throughout my life.
I first started studying Japanese by taking a beginner's course at the University of York in 2007. I decided to study Japanese because I wanted to challenge myself to learn a completely different language from those I had already experienced. I enjoyed the beginner's course, but it wasn't until a year and a half ago that I decided to begin private tuition with a native speaker. I now have a solid basic vocabulary, set of phrases and understanding of grammar, which I was very lucky to be able to put into practice during a holiday to Japan earlier this year, where I used the public transport system to visit Nara, Osaka, Kyoto and Himeji.
The end of my first year of teaching in the UK is approaching and I would love to go to Japan to teach English for some time. It will be an invaluable experience for me as a teacher in the UK; I look forward to being able to incorporate my experiences in Japan into my teaching when I return, and I hope to be able to raise awareness of Japan and its significance in the children I teach.