Japanese

In the Meiji period, many predicted that the traditional genre of the haiku would rapidly disappear as Japan transformed into a modern society. Contrary to this prediction, the haiku has proved to be widely popular, not only in modern Japan, but also outside the country, especially in North America. This phenomenon raises many questions. Are modern haiku the same as traditional haiku? Are haiku written in English the same as those written in Japanese? How far can a form of poetry change and yet still be regarded as the same form? This course answers these questions by surveying the historical development of the haiku from its roots in the medieval poetic form of the renga to contemporary haiku being written in Japan and abroad. 

This course teaches the major conventions of the haiku form; the differences between classical hokku and modern haiku; the representative works of the major poets through the centuries and the ways in which haiku were understood and misunderstood when they were introduced to Western countries. 

This course is aimed at those who have already studied the first half of elementary grammar. The course focuses on learning grammar and sentence patterns according to the textbook, "University Japanese: Beginner's Course, Tomodachi vol.2" compiled by the Japanese Language Education Center for International Students, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.

This course improves lower advanced level listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. It introduces the 50 most important sentence patterns for advanced level students and reviews the important sentence patterns from the intermediate level. Students acquire a command of practical Japanese necessary for daily communication and for study and research in a Japanese university. They master 8000 basic words and 1500 basic kanji. 

In addition to the 160 basic kanji characters taught in K150, students will learn to read, write and type 160 new characters. They will become familiar with various methods of kanji learning and expand their vocabulary of words that contain kanji.
Eligibility: Students who have learned about 160 kanji characters and are at least A1 level in the CEFR/JF Standard for Japanese-Language Education (N5 in the JLPT).
Learning Objectives: 
・Understand the meanings and readings of 320 kanji and words using those kanji.
・Be able to write the 320 kanji vocabulary words with the help of example models.
・Be able to type short sentences containing the 320 kanji on a smartphone or PC.

Students will acquire basic grammar and vocabulary needed for everyday life and attending university classes in Japan, learn the skills “reading” 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 texts on every day, specific, familiar topics. 
・ Writing concise texts about events, past activities, and personal experiences using simple conjunctions to connect ideas (soshite, shikashi, nazenara, etc.). 

The course is designed for students who are able to write around 300 basic kanji characeters to study around 100 kanji characters and to practice reading and writing sentences using these characters.