Language Courses

Course Description

This course presumes no prior background in the Japanese language. Students will develop a solid foundation with adequate levels of four skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. function at a survival level in daily life (shopping by oneself, making requests, initiating and receiving phone calls, etc.);
2. handle other conversational situations they encounter in daily life by making the most of what has been introduced in the textbook;
3. comprehend approximately 160 kanji in addition to all the hiragana and katakana symbols which are contextualized in given texts;
4. write simple passages with appropriate combination of kana symbols and kanji that have been introduced in the textbook;
5. understand and appreciate many aspects of Japanese socio-cultural practices; and
6. make a speech on a certain topic by using a variety of basic structural patterns to be introduced on this level.

Coverage

Genki L.1 - L.12

Textbooks & Other Materials

• Banno et. al. Genki I
• Banno et. al. Genki Workbook I
• Various worksheets and handouts

Course Description

This course is designed for students who have successfully completed Japanese courses at a college level for a minimum of one year (approximately 150 hours of classes) or those who have obtained a comparable level of competency, including mastery of around 150 basic kanji used in various contexts.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. improve all four skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) to the point where they can explain and describe things more precisely and in detail;
2. demonstrate a rudimentary understanding and appreciation of important socio-cultural practices central to effective communication in Japan;
3. utilize an additional 200 kanji in various contexts with accuracy;
4. improve the reading and writing skills through the use of essays and short stories with more complex structural patterns;
5. increase awareness of the different levels and styles of speech (written/spoken, formal/informal, men's/women's, and polite expressions);
6. exhibit a wider appreciation of Japanese customs, culture, and social phenomena; and
7. make a speech on a certain topic by using a variety of basic structural patterns to be introduced on this level.

Coverage

Genki L.13 - L.23

Textbooks & Other Materials

• Banno et. al. Genki II
• Banno et. al. Genki Workbook II
• Various worksheets and handouts

Course Description

This course is designed for students who have successfully completed Japanese language study through JCMU Level 2 (or who have obtained a comparable level of competency) and are motivated to further develop their Japanese language skills and deepen their understanding of Japanese language and culture. While active development of all four language skills remains a priority in this course, greater emphasis is placed on reading and writing. Classes will be conducted primarily in Japanese. Students are expected to communicate in Japanese during class. 

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. describe and narrate daily events and personal experiences in an organized manner, both in speaking and writing (Intermediate-High, as described in the ACTFL Guidelines).
2. participate in daily conversations in Japanese with accurate pronunciation, maintaining linguistic and cultural coherence.
3. exchange thoughts and opinions on topics introduced in class and engage in extended conversations with native Japanese speakers.
4. deliver simple, organized presentations on familiar and concrete topics, comparing and contrasting data in graphs and explaining similarities and differences.
5. listen to longer authentic materials in Japanese and identify participants, themes, social contexts, and main ideas.
6. read authentic or more extensive materials in Japanese, identify participants, themes, key information, and social contexts, and summarize the readings.
7. write about personal experiences, compose book reviews, and express opinions and ideas clearly by discussing online Japanese newspaper articles related to Japanese politics, culture, or society in organized essays.
8. recognize the role of culture and social behavior in communication.
9. utilize various resources, such as dictionaries and online tools, to enhance reading comprehension and conduct research (students will conduct independent research and present their findings in class).

Coverage

Quartet I & II L.1 - L.12

Textbooks & Other Materials

• Tadashi Sakamoto et al., Quartet: Intermediate Japanese Across the Four Language Skills I
• Tadashi Sakamoto et al., Quartet: Intermediate Japanese Across the Four Language Skills I WORKBOOK
• Tadashi Sakamoto et al., Quartet: Intermediate Japanese Across the Four Language Skills II
• Tadashi Sakamoto et al., Quartet: Intermediate Japanese Across the Four Language Skills II WORKBOOK
• Various worksheets and handouts

Course Description

This course is designed for students who have taken Japanese courses at a college level for a minimum of three years and who can demonstrate intermediate-high level of skills in all four areas: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. This course will further improve students' language skills through a wide variety of authentic materials such as newspaper / magazine articles, essays, short stories, movies, and TV dramas.

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. engage in a wide variety of common conversational situations with a high level of accuracy and fluency;
2. feel comfortable in dealing with authentic materials on a wide variety of topics;
3. express their opinions and lead discussions on the contents of what they have read or watched in the teaching materials both with high level of consistency and sophistication;
4. exhibit a better understanding and appreciation of the cultural, social, and economic realm of contemporary Japan; and
5. make speeches on various topics by using a variety of more sophisticated and complex structural patterns introduced on this level.
6. research a wide variety of topics in Japanese and be confident in presenting and sharing findings.

Coverage

Authentic Japanese Unit 1 - 10

Textbooks & Other Materials

• Kamata et. al. Authentic Japanese: Progressing from Intermediate to Advanced [New Edition]
• Kamata et. al. Authentic Japanese: Progressing from Intermediate to Advanced [New Edition] Workbook
• Various worksheets and handouts
• Various authentic materials

*Contents of the packets are subject to change.

Textbooks & Other Materials

• Banno et. al. Genki I
• Banno et. al. Genki Workbook I
• Various worksheets, handouts, and online resources/apps

Coverage

Genki L.1 - L.6

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Proficiency

1. Ask and answer simple questions on familiar topics and handle basic situations or transactions. This includes introducing oneself, ordering a meal, asking for directions, making purchases, and using learned sentences and expressions.
2. Initiate, expand, and close simple sequences of conversation beyond a minimal question-answer pair in an appropriate manner.
3. Understand simple sentences in various contexts, such as discussing basic personal background, social conversations, and daily routines, including everyday tasks like getting meals and giving/receiving simple instructions.
4. Read and comprehend the main ideas and basic information in simple texts about personal and daily topics.
5. Write about personal experiences and short messages both by hand and using word processing software. 

Cultural Understanding

1. Deepen their knowledge about Japanese culture and society by learning about Japanese customs, traditional events, cultural products, practices, and other cultural aspects.

Collaboration

1. Act as a collaborative member of one's own Japanese language community and contribute to the learning community.

Textbooks & Other Materials

• Banno et. al. Genki I
• Banno et. al. Genki Workbook I
• Various worksheets, handouts, and online resources/apps

Coverage

Genki L.7 - L.12

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Proficiency

1. Talk about familiar topics and handle basic situations or transactions, including sharing likes and dislikes, describing people's characteristics, expressing opinions and wishes, discussing health conditions, and giving simple advice.
2. Use and understand both casual speech styles (with friends and family members) and polite speech styles (with strangers and individuals of higher social status).
3. Listen to and comprehend narrations and conversations on familiar topics, such as those mentioned above.
4. Read simple texts related to the topics above, identifying main ideas and gathering some detailed information.
5. Write about personal experiences and meet a limited range of practical writing needs, such as composing short messages and parts of emails, both by hand and using word-processing software. 

Cultural Understanding

1. Deepen their knowledge about Japanese culture and society by learning about Japanese customs, traditional events, cultural products, practices, and other cultural aspects.

Collaboration

1. Act as a collaborative member of one's own Japanese language community and contribute to the learning community.

Textbooks & Other Materials

• Banno et. al. Genki II
• Banno et. al. Genki Workbook II
• Various worksheets, handouts, and online resources/apps

Coverage

Genki II L.13 - L.18

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Proficiency

1. Speaking skills & tasks: Students can communicate with Japanese people on a wide range of familiar topics such as what you can and want. They can handle several straightforward tasks such as having a job interview, planning a trip, contacting a lost & found office.
2. Speaking discourse level: Students can create with the language and express meanings by combining the introduced vocabulary and grammar. Compared to JPN102, they can use more subordinate clauses such as reasons, time references, and relative clauses which modify nouns. They can express emotions, such as gratitude, wishes, apologies, and regret. Also, they can explain situations and events in which multiple people are involved, such as who gave what to whom. Using these skills, they can speak in a few sentences at once.
3. Listening: They can understand a wide range of familiar, everyday content areas such as job descriptions, travel information, and detailed descriptions of a room.
4. Reading: They can understand the facts and the ideas from the texts on familiar, everyday topics, such as descriptions of celebrities and TV shows. They can also obtain the information from the basic tables and charts in Japanese. A total of 95 new kanji characters will be introduced.
5. Writing: They can write about topics related to personal experiences, such as their favorite towns. They can satisfy several practical writing needs, such as writing a letter to apply for a job.

Cultural Understanding

1. Students deepen their basic knowledge about Japanese culture and society through learning about Japanese customs, traditional events, cultural products, cultural practices, etc. Examples include Japanese towns, shows, artists, and lifestyles.

Collaboration

1. Students can act as collaborative members of one’s Japanese language community and contribute to the learning community. Students can gain a deeper understanding of Japan from a Japanese perspective through interview activities with Japanese university students.

Textbooks & Other Materials

• Banno et. al. Genki II
• Banno et. al. Genki Workbook II
• Various worksheets, handouts, and online resources/apps

Coverage

Genki II L.19 - L.23

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Proficiency

1. Speaking skills & tasks: Students can communicate with Japanese people on familiar topics such as their childhood and handle tasks such as guiding someone around a town, returning merchandise, and reporting a crime to the police. Students can use honorific and humble language to speak in business and other formal situations. Students can provide detailed information to accomplish the tasks and speak in a way to be trusted or to avoid conflict.
2. Speaking discourse level: In JPN202, students can use honorific and humble expressions in Japanese, which helps them communicate with someone with a higher social status. Also, they can talk about events from different people’s viewpoints, such as what their parents made them do when they were children vs. what they were forced to do by their parents. Using these skills, they can speak in a few sentences to a paragraph at once with vivid and specific details.
3. Listening: They can understand many familiar, everyday content areas such as crime reports and how-to instructions. Also, they can comprehend honorific and humble expressions used in the service industries, interviews on TV, etc.
4. Reading: They can understand many familiar topics with more complicated situations than JPN201, such as the love triangle. Also, they can expand their range of reading materials, such as an old tale from the Edo period and a simple research paper.
5. Writing: They can write about personal experiences, such as their childhood, and satisfy several practical writing needs, such as writing a thank-you letter. They can write in a series of discrete sentences easily, and when they spend time, in a paragraph to a few paragraphs.

Cultural Understanding

1. Students deepen their basic knowledge of Japanese culture and society by learning Japanese customs, traditional events, cultural products, cultural practices, etc. The examples include rakugo (traditional comic storytelling), Japanese education and parenting, and cross-cultural analysis of one’s facial expressions & gestures.

Collaboration

1. Students can act as collaborative members of one’s Japanese language community and contribute to the learning community. Students can gain a deeper understanding of Japan from a Japanese perspective by working with Japanese university students on collaborative tasks.

Textbooks & Other Materials

• Quartet I: Intermediate Japanese Across the Four Language Skills (2019)
• Quartet I: Intermediate Japanese Across the Four Language Skills Workbook (2019)
• Various worksheets, handouts, and online resources/apps

Coverage

Quartet I L.1 - L.6

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Proficiency

1. Speaking skills & tasks: 
• Students can talk about various topics, including personal interests, travel, and current events.
• Students can use appropriate vocabulary, grammar, and expression in spontaneous speech.
• Students can complete specific speaking tasks, such as giving short presentations, making requests, and providing explanations.
2. Speaking discourse level:
• Students can understand and use more complex sentence structures to maintain conversations clear and organized.
• Students can demonstrate the ability to participate in discussions that involve expressing opinions, agreeing or disagreeing, and summarizing key points in various social contexts. 
3. Listening: 
• Students can comprehend and interpret intermediate level spoken Japanese, including conversations, announcements, and media broadcasts. 
• Students can identify main ideas, specific details, implied meanings, extract information, follow instructions, and understand different speakers' perspectives in a variety of listening contexts. 
4. Reading: 
• Students can read and comprehend intermediate-level texts, including articles, short stories, and informational passages. 
• Students can identify and understand key ideas, supporting details, and overall structure of written materials.
• Students can expand vocabulary and reading strategies to handle unfamiliar words and complex sentence structures.
5. Writing: 
• Students can compose coherent and well-organized texts, such as essays, reports, and personal letters using intermediate level grammar and vocabulary accurately and effectively. 
• Students can revise and edit written work for clarity, coherence, and correctness, incorporating feedback from peers and instructors. 

Cultural Understanding

1. Students can understand Japanese cultural practices, traditions, and societal norms through learning activities. They can also understand and discuss the impact of cultural differences on communication styles, social interactions, and everyday life in Japan while exploring and comparing cultural concepts, values, and customs between Japan and their own cultures to foster cross-cultural empathy and insight.

Collaboration

1. Students can engage in group projects and activities that require collaboration with classmates to accomplish specific tasks related to Japanese culture and language, while practicing effective teamwork skills such as communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution. They can contribute to group presentations or discussions, demonstrating the ability to work cooperatively and integrate diverse perspectives.

Textbooks & Other Materials

• Quartet II: Intermediate Japanese Across the Four Language Skills (2019)
• Quartet II: Intermediate Japanese Across the Four Language Skills Workbook (2019)
• Various worksheets, handouts, and online resources/apps

Coverage

Quartet I L.7 - L.12

Course Objectives

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Proficiency

1. Speaking skills & tasks: 
• Students can discuss a wide range of topics, extending beyond personal interests to include more complex social, cultural, and global issues.
• Students can employ intermediate/advanced vocabulary, grammar, and expressions to convey nuanced ideas effectively in spontaneous speech.
• Students can perform advanced speaking tasks, such as delivering structured presentations, participating in debates, negotiating, and articulating clear explanations.
2. Speaking discourse level:
• Students can produce and comprehend complex, multi-clause sentence structures, ensuring their speech remains logical and cohesive.
• Students can actively engage in discussions by articulating opinions, challenging viewpoints, reaching conclusions, and synthesizing ideas in both formal and informal settings.
3. Listening: 
• Students can understand and analyze intermediate/advanced spoken Japanese, including interviews, lectures, podcasts, and media broadcasts.
• Students can identify main ideas, specific details, implied meanings, extract information, follow instructions, and understand different speakers' perspectives in a variety of listening contexts. 
• Students can discern main ideas, key details, implied meanings, and cultural subtleties, while identifying speakers' tones, attitudes, and perspectives.
• Students can effectively follow and evaluate detailed instructions or arguments in varied listening contexts.
4. Reading: 
• Students can read and analyze intermediate/advanced texts, such as opinion articles, essays, and excerpts from literary works.
• Students can identify complex ideas, evaluate arguments, and infer implicit meanings while navigating unfamiliar vocabulary and idiomatic expressions.
• Students can apply critical reading skills to interpret text structures, recognize cultural nuances, and deepen comprehension.
5. Writing: 
• Students can compose coherent and well-organized texts, such as essays, reports, and personal letters using intermediate/advanced level grammar and vocabulary accurately and effectively.
• Students can revise and edit written work for clarity, coherence, and correctness, incorporating feedback from peers and instructors.
• Students can produce texts that demonstrate cultural awareness and appropriateness in tone and content. 

Cultural Understanding

1. Students can analyze and interpret Japanese cultural practices, traditions, and societal norms through various learning activities.
2. Students can engage in discussions about the influence of cultural differences on communications styles, interpersonal relationships, and daily life in Japan.
3. Students can critically explore and compare cultural concepts, values, and customs between Japan and their own cultures, fostering deeper cross-cultural empathy, insight, and mutual understanding.
4. Students can articulate how historical, social, and cultural contexts shape contemporary Japanese practices and perspectives.
5. Students can apply their cultural knowledge to navigate real-life situations and interactions in culturally appropriate ways.

Collaboration

1. Students can engage in group projects and activities that require collaboration with classmates to accomplish specific tasks related to Japanese culture and language, while practicing effective teamwork skills such as communication, negotiation, and conflict resolution. They can contribute to group presentations or discussions, demonstrating the ability to work cooperatively and integrate diverse perspectives.

Level Description

JCMU Advanced Japanese studies (offered during Fall) includes courses focused on the study and application of advanced Japanese with a focus on developing professional competency in the language:

• Business Japanese for Pre-Professionals (3 credits)
• Description: This course is designed for intermediate-high to advanced-low level students to foster the skills and knowledge necessary for effective communication in Japanese business settings. The prerequisite for this course is that students must have completed second-year Japanese and have some familiarity with Japanese polite language (keigo). The course will cover business vocabulary, polite language (keigo), business etiquette, and practical communication skills.
• Textbook & Other Materials:
• Chiga et al., Omotenashi no Nihongo 
• Reading Packet (assorted materials)
• Additional Courses TBD (3 credits)