Japanese

As a neighbor, China is geographically close but politically distant. At a glance, Chinese society seems similar to Japanese society; however, China has a large territory and various ethnic groups and thus cannot be understood easily as a “nation of the same race and same script.”

This course offers lectures on the Historical Change of Chinese society in the 17-19th centuries, in South China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi provinces and Taiwan). It focuses on migration, ethnic minorities, unification of society, and secret sects.  The course explores the following three problems: the migration that kept the population explosion in China; the relationships and conflicts between ethnic minorities and Han Chinese as the result of exploitation in the frontier area, and the unification of society that resulted as a process of migrant settlement.

This is a Japanese language course for non-JLP students. It is designed for students who have completed elementary-level courses and aims to facilitate a mastery of the oral communication and listening skills that are necessary in daily conversation. Students learn expressions used in various daily situations and practice speaking and listening skills to communicate smoothly in Japanese. 

This is a Japanese language course for non-JLP students focused on advanced grammar corresponding to Level N1 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. It is offered in the Spring and Fall Semesters with different course content. The course aims to understand the basic meaning and usage of N1 level sentence patterns and grammar to create example sentences. 

This is a Japanese language course for non-JLP students. It is designed for students who have some experience learning Japanese, focusing on grammar and comprehensive practice of the four skills.  Instruction of grammar acquisition and sentence patterns is based on the textbook Elementary Japanese for Academic Purposes Vol.1 (Lesson 7 to 12).

This course provides an overview of the basic themes essential to properly interpret Japanese classical literature. Understanding Japanese classical literature requires multiple perspectives, including various aspects of society, politics, religion, environment, education, architecture, lifestyle, fine arts, and performing arts. The course instructs on literary works (both poetry and prose) dating from the Nara period to the Kamakura period, but the focus is on the Heian period. This course expects to enable students to rediscover the pleasure of reading classical literary works.
 

This course is part of the "Japanese as a Foreign Language Program." It provides an opportunity to learn reading, writing, and usage of vocabulary and kanji in the latter half of intermediate-level Japanese. The course includes lectures on reading, writing, vocabulary usage, research, as well as individual and group presentations. There will be weekly check assignments on vocabulary and kanji. Prerequisite: “J4: JAPANESE” or equivalent.

This course requires two years of prior Japanese language study. The course explores Japanese with the goal of improving comprehensive skills toward advanced level. Students examine various themes such as proper grammatical structures, kanji, vocabulary, and situations described through readings. Through discussion and presentation about various themes, students develop a proficiency that enables them to communicate with native speakers actively on common daily topics. 

<Level V>
Target Students: Those who have partially completed intermediate level studies.
Course Goals: To develop understanding and command of the 200 important intermediate sentence patterns for further improvement of the four skills of reading, listening, speaking, and writing. To master the 6,000 basic words and 1,000 to 1,200 basic Chinese characters.

<General 1-5>
Goal: To develop balanced, intermediate-level proficiency in reading, listening, speaking, and writing.
Contents: Learning the 100 important intermediate sentence patterns and vocabulary and improving reading comprehension with an upper intermediate level textbook. Developing command of intermediate Japanese through short sentence composition exercises. Mastering the points learned at the intermediate level to proceed to the advanced level smoothly. Increasing vocabulary by learning both the words introduced in the textbook as well as additional related words.
Improving the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing by understanding the textbook and exchanging opinions on it.

This class is designed for students with no prior knowledge of Chinese characters and wish to start learning kanji and/or to establish solid foundation for learning kanji. The class covers kanji components, how to use and write kanji, and basic kanji words. At the completion of the course, students will be able to comprehend basic kanji in context. 

This course is for students who have basic knowledge of Japanese and Kanji (traditional /simplified characters).  Students learn about the characteristics of Japanese Kanji while using the knowledge of Kanji they already have. The course aims for students to be able to read elementary to intermediate level of Japanese Kanji and to be able to distinguish between Japanese kanji and traditional / simplified characters.