Japanese

Students will acquire basic grammar and vocabulary needed for everyday life and attending university classes in Japan, learn the four skills “listening” and “writing”.

Eligibility: A2.1 level in the CEFR/JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education (N4 in the JLPT).

Learning Objectives: 
A2.2 level in the CEFR/JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education
Review the expressions/sentence structures learned at the basic level (A1-A2.1); learn new expressions/sentence structures, and when, where, and how to use them, to achieve the below goals:
・ Comprehend concise conversations and monologues about familiar topics in everyday and classroom situations. 
・ If you prepare in advance, you can enumerate events, briefly describe them, tell stories, express your thoughts and feelings. 
・ You can interact with other people with little difficulty in everyday situation. 

This course instructs on understanding and utilizing grammar and vocabulary needed to read articles and essays on familiar topics of interest. Course assignments involve attendance, writing reports, and expression of one's own opinions, toward mastering the Japanese “listening” and  “speaking” skills that lead from intermediate to upper-intermediate level. 

Eligibility A2.2 level in the CEFR/JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education (N3 in the JLPT). 

Learning Objectives B1 level in the CEFR/JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education. Understand the necessary sentence structures/expressions, and when, where, and how to use them, to achieve the following goals: 

1.  In daily communication and studying at a university, understanding of a spontaneous conversation and a monologue about one's concerns (listening).

2. Describing concerns so that the other party is interested, and responding appropriately by asking questions of the other party's interests. Also, adding simple prefixes and fixed form expressions etc. in formal scenes (spoken production).

3. Responding by looking at the reaction of the opponent, by adding appropriate fillers, response, and necessary information (spoken Interaction).

This is a beginning elementary Japanese course intended to cover the first year of Japanese language study at UC. The purpose of this course is to provide a basic understanding of Japanese sentence structures, grammar and vocabulary necessary for daily communication in both spoken and written Japanese. Students master hiragana and katakana, learn approximately 125 kanji, and develop an ability to read and write simple texts constructed with learned sentence patterns and vocabulary. By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to orally deliver personal information, experiences, and factual information, as well as express simple opinions. Through communication with native Japanese speakers, students develop strategic skills for obtaining information about the Japanese language.

This course presents styles of speech appropriate in various situations in Japanese society and develops oral communication skills mainly through role playing. It teaches the differences between formal and informal oral expression, proper words and phrases to use in a formal setting, polite body language, and nonverbal signals. Through pair and group work, students become able to express their thoughts clearly and efficiently as well as to listen to and comprehend others' opinions and expectations. They also practice pronunciation including Japanese sounds, rhythm, accent, and intonation. 

Note: Intermediate Japanese language levels at the host university are comparable to UC upper-division language courses.

This advanced Japanese course develops Japanese skills in an academic setting. Students are split into groups to engage in activities, discussion, and group work concerning the selected topic. The goal of the class is to help students to acquire academic language skills required in a variety of educational settings. The program offers various theme courses and students may take multiple sections.