Japanese Language Courses
- Japanese Language
- JAPANESE 111-1,2,3 – Japanese I
- JAPANESE 121-1,2,3 – Japanese II
- JAPANESE 211-1,2,3 – Japanese III
- JAPANESE 310-0* – Japanese IV: Yu Miri
- JAPANESE 312-1 – Japanese IV: Contemporary Japanese Literary Works for Reading and Discussion
- JAPANESE 313 – Japanese IV: Japanese Newspaper Reading and News Listening
Japanese Language
JAPANESE 111-1,2,3 – Japanese I
Overview of class
Japanese I (JAPANESE 111-1, 2, and 3) is a yearlong course that covers the first half of college-level elementary Japanese. In Japanese I, students will build a solid foundation for Japanese language learning while developing the four skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Students will also learn various aspects of Japanese culture and society through in-class activities and written assignments. Careful and thorough review and preparation for each class session are required.
Registration Requirements
Except for JAPANESE 111-1, students must pass the preceding course with C- or above, or must be placed into the course by the departmental placement test.
Learning Objectives
The year-end goal of Japanese I is to bring students’ overall Japanese proficiency to the Intermediate-Low level defined by the American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency guidelines. Upon completing the course, students can greet, introduce themselves, describe their families and friends, describe their familiar places, and discuss their daily routines, experiences, and opinions.
Teaching Method
This course is conducted mostly in Japanese, and class hours are spent mainly on oral proficiency development. Written assignments are given for reading and writing proficiency development.
Evaluation Method
Class participation and performance; assignments; quizzes; oral, listening, and written examinations.
Class Materials (Required)
Oka, M. et al. (2021). TOBIRA 1: Beginning Japanese. Tokyo: Kuroshio Publishers. ISBN 978-4-87424-870-6.
Oka, M. et al. (2022). TOBIRA 1: Beginning Japanese Workbook 1 – Hiragana/Katakana, Kanji, Reading, Writing. Tokyo: Kuroshio Publishers. ISBN: 978-4-87424-910-9.
Oka, M. et al. (2023). TOBIRA 1: Beginning Japanese Workbook 2 – Vocabulary, Grammar, Listening. Tokyo: Kuroshio Publishers. ISBN: 978-4-87424-950-5
Class Materials (Suggested)
Endo-Hudson, M. (1994). English Grammar for Students of Japanese. Ann Arbor: The Olivia and Hill Press. ISBN: 0-934034-16-8; Makino, S. & Tsutsui M. (1989). Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar. Tokyo: The Japan Times. ISBN 4-7890-0454-6; Kodansha. (2012). Kodansha's Essential Kanji Dictionary. Tokyo: Kodansha. ISBN: 978-1568363974.
JAPANESE 121-1,2,3 – Japanese II
Overview of class
Japanese II (JAPANESE 121-1, 2 and 3), sequel to Japanese I (JAPANESE 111), is a yearlong course that covers the second half of college level elementary Japanese and prepares students for intermediate Japanese (JAPANESE 211). In this course, students will continue developing the four skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) and learn various aspects of Japanese culture and society through readings, videos, written assignments, and in-class activities.
The emphasis will be on developing the skills necessary to describe not only their own experiences and daily lives, but also their community, general trend, and what is happening in society, while increasing vocabulary and sentence structures that they can use more precisely. Students will also practice summarizing a story that they heard, read, or watched. Careful and thorough review and preparation for each class session are expected. With consistent oral and written feedback from the instructor, students will enhance their language and cultural awareness, leading to increased understanding, appreciation, and utilization of the target language, to become autonomous learners.
Registration Requirements
Students must pass the preceding course with C- or above, or must be placed into the course by the departmental placement test.
Learning Objectives
The year-end proficiency goal of Japanese II is for the students to reach the Intermediate-Mid level defined by the American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency guidelines, and A2 - B1.1 defined in the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR), as closely as possible. Upon the satisfactory completion of the course, students will be able to handle various types of more complex daily conversational situations and passages with some fluency.
Teaching Method
This course is conducted mostly in Japanese. Class hours are spent mainly on development of oral interpersonal communication skills, and written assignments are given for reading, listening, and writing proficiency development.
Evaluation Method
Class participation and performance, assignments, quizzes, oral and written examinations, and essays
Class Materials (Required)
Oka, M. et al. (2022). TOBIRA II: Beginning Japanese. Tokyo: Kuroshio Publishers. ISBN 978-4-87424-900-0.
Oka, M. et al. (2023). TOBIRA II: Beginning Japanese Workbook 1: Kanji | Reading | Writing. Tokyo: Kuroshio Publishers. ISBN 978-4-87424-960-4
Oka, M. et al. (expected in 2024). TOBIRA II: Beginning Japanese Workbook 2
-Vocabulary, Grammar, Listening. Tokyo: Kuroshio Publishers.
Class Materials (Suggested)
English Grammar for Students of Japanese. Ann Arbor: The Olivia and Hill Press. ISBN 978-0934034166; Makino, S. & Tsutsui, M. (1989). Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar. Tokyo: The Japan Times. ISBN 978-4789004541.
JAPANESE 211-1,2,3 – Japanese III
Overview of class
Japanese III (JAPANESE 211-1, 2, 3) is a yearlong college-level intermediate course, the sequel to Japanese II (JAPANESE 121-1, 2, 3). In Japanese III, students will continue developing the four skills of speaking, listening, reading, writing, and learning various aspects of Japanese culture and society through reading materials, TV dramas, class discussions and interview projects (211-2, 3). The formal writing styles are introduced, and students will learn to distinguish formal/casual speech and writing styles. The yearend proficiency goal of 211 is Intermediate-High, defined by the American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency guidelines.
Registration Requirements
Students must have completed the preceding course with C- or above, or must be placed into the course by the departmental placement test.
Learning Objectives
Upon the successful completion of the year-long course, the students will be able to 1) comfortably and appropriately handle daily situations, 2) describe and narrate daily events and personal experiences in an organized manner, 3) summarize the main points of a short presentation or a story, 4) use casual/formal speech and written styles, 5) attain a working knowledge of kanji that are frequently used in media, and 6) communicate with native speakers on familiar topics in informal settings. The students are also expected to 7) deepen their understanding of customs, culture, and social phenomena of contemporary Japan, and 8) learn strategies to become autonomous learners.
Teaching Method
Discussion. This course is conducted in Japanese.
Evaluation Method
Class participation and performance, assignments, quizzes, oral and written examinations, projects.
Class Materials (Required)
JAPANESE 211-1
Yasui et al. (2019). QUARTET: Intermediate Japanese Across the Four Language Skills, Vol.1 (English Edition). Tokyo: The Japan Times. ISBN: 978-4789016957
JAPANESE 211-2 and 211-3
Yasui et al. (2020). QUARTET: Intermediate Japanese Across the Four Language Skills, Vol.2 (English Edition). Tokyo: The Japan Times. ISBN: 978-4789017459
Class Materials (Optional)
Kano et al (2015). [新版] Basic Kanji Book Vol. 2. Tokyo: Bonjinsha. ISBN: 978-4-89358-883-8
JAPANESE 211-1
Yasui et al. (2019). QUARTET: Intermediate Japanese Across the Four Language Skills, Vol.1, Workbook (English Edition). Tokyo: The Japan Times. ISBN: 978-4789016964
JAPANESE 211-2 and 211-3
Yasui et al. (2020). QUARTET: Intermediate Japanese Across the Four Language Skills, Vol.2, Workbook (English Edition). Tokyo: The Japan Times. ISBN: 978-4789017466
JAPANESE 310-0* – Japanese IV: Yu Miri
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Overview of class
This is an advanced course in reading and translation of modern Japanese, focusing on the literature of Yu Miri. Known for her stark portrayals of memory and marginality, Yu Miri occupies a singular place in contemporary Japanese literature. A Zainichi Korean writer whose work spans fiction, memoir, theater, and radio, Yu challenges normative narratives of nation, family, and identity through formally inventive and emotionally resonant prose. In this course, students will engage directly with selected works by Yu to deepen their linguistic proficiency and develop a critical sensitivity to style, voice, and cultural context. Weekly sessions will emphasize close reading and translation practice, with attention to idiomatic nuance, affective tone, and the social-historical textures embedded in Yu’s language.
In addition to literary texts, students will read critical essays on Yu’s work and related theoretical writings on diaspora, memory, trauma, and language politics. We will explore how her prose resists easy assimilation into national or literary categories, and what it means to translate a voice marked by in-betweenness. Primary readings are in Japanese with discussion and theoretical readings in English.
Registration Requirements
Students must have completed JAPANESE 211-3 with C- or above, or must be placed into the class by the departmental placement test.
Learning Objectives:
- To develop understanding of Japanese vocabulary and grammatical structures appropriate to authentic, historical texts, and to gain familiarity with reference resources for self-learning and independent reading
- To move from accurate linguistic parsing of the Japanese language to analysis of literary style and form (from what is written to how and why)
- To develop strategies for context-sensitive translation, and begin to grasp conceptual problems surrounding the translation of cultural texts.
- To understand the problems of representing urban experience in language and to survey the strategies used by Japanese writers to address those problems.
Teaching Method
Discussion, workshopping of translations, lecture
Evaluation Method
Attendance and participation, weekly writing assignments, midterm exam, final project
Class Materials (Required)
Jay Rubin, Making Sense of Japanese: What the Textbooks Don’t Tell You ISBN 978-1568364926
All other materials will be made available in PDF form.
JAPANESE 312-1 – Japanese IV: Contemporary Japanese Literary Works for Reading and Discussion
Overview of class
In this course, students will enhance their language skills by exploring literary materials in Japanese and discussing them. While literature courses in Japanese studies emphasize historical contexts and specific analytical frameworks for the texts, this course focuses on students’ own engagement with and language analysis of written works. The course materials include poems, essays, manga, short stories, and novels. Supplementary movies may be provided depending on their availability.
Registration Requirements:
Students must have completed JAPANESE 211-3 with C- or above, or must be placed into the class by the departmental placement test.
Learning Objectives
1) Enhancing language proficiency in reading and speaking to Advanced-Low in the ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, 2) Explore various literary genres and identifying their stylistic elements and themes, 3) Developing critical thinking skills by analyzing texts from multiple perspectives, and 4) Becoming an autonomous learner through examining strategies to achieve proficiency independently.
Teaching Method:
Discussion. This course is conducted in Japanese.
Evaluation Method:
Participation, assignments, projects, oral and written exams.
Class Materials (Required):
All materials will be provided via Canvas.
JAPANESE 313 – Japanese IV: Japanese Newspaper Reading and News Listening
Overview of class
Course summary coming soon!