Japanese

Building upon the basis of Japanese 2, this course develops ability to communicate and expands the repertoire of daily topics and situations. Complex structures such as noun modification, transitive/intransitive verb sentences and conditional forms are introduced. Approximately 140 kanji are introduced. With this knowledge of characters, students will be able to understand and write simple and short essays.

This course examines basic communication skills in understanding and speaking Japanese. Students will also learn to write the two Japanese syllabaries and approximately 60 kanji characters and to recognize at least 100 kanji characters in context. Relevant socio-cultural information is integrated with the language learning.

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. 

An exploratory culture course, Japanese Culture B is offered for foreign students to learn about and share insights into various aspects of living in Japan. The course comprises three basic approaches: discussion of certain cultural aspects of the country; reading literature, and fieldwork at places of cultural significance. Those who took Japanese Culture A in the fall semester should take Japanese Culture B in the spring semester since they make a pair. Culture B and D courses overlap in part due to the nature of certain special events taking place during the semester.

The goal of the course is to provide students a new perspective of Japanese culture by examining the interconnection of various elements, including the history and culture of Tohoku Region; rebuilding effort from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and certain ways people have expressed themselves on different occasions. 

The course comprises of lectures and discussions accompanied by fieldwork opportunities. Twelve years after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, disaster prevention and mitigation has come to hold an important place in the culture of this nation. The Japanese Culture class has been contributing to this cause since soon after the 2011 event and will continue to do so during this semester as well, albeit in a small way.

<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.