This course covers Lessons 7-12A of the JSL (Japanese: the Spoken Language, Part 1), enhancing the basic skills for conversation, reading and writing. In class, we will emphasize the development of your communicative skills (i.e., your actual use of Japanese in contexts). By the end of this semester, you are expected to carry on a daily conversation with Japanese people.
This course will stress active command of Japanese, not passive knowledge. There are two types of classes, FACT and ACT. FACT classes will provide grammar information, cultural information, etc. In ACT classes, all the activities will be conducted only in Japanese, and you'll be asked to perform assigned CCs (Core Conversations). Keep in mind that you must be able to PERFORM or ACT OUT assigned CCs! Come to classes well prepared.
Required Texts
H. Jorden, Eleanor, and Mari Noda. Japanese: the Spoken Language, Part 1. Yale University Press, 1987.
Kana-Kanji Version of Japanese: the Spoken Language 7-12.
Evaluation
Daily Grade 35% *
Hourly Exam 10%
Oral Interview Exam 15%
Lesson Quizzes (L7-L10) 25% **
Vocabulary and Kanji Quizzes 10% ***
Class Participation 5%
* The four lowest daily grades will be dropped at the end of the term.
** The lowest LQ score will be dropped at the end of the term.
*** The four lowest Vocabulary and Kanji quiz scores will be dropped at the end of the term.
There will be NO MAKE-UPs for missed performances and quizzes.
Daily Grade
Your performance of CCs in ACT classes will be graded on the daily basis. We will also grade your class participation during ACT classes. Instructors will grade your CC performance/class participation, using the following scale:
10: excellent (near native)
9: very good / strong performance; with a very few minor mistakes
8: fair performance with some mistakes or weakness
7: prepared, but weak in major areas
6: present, but evidently unprepared
0: absent / attended a different section without giving prior notice
Exams and Quizzes
There are two oral interview exams and an hourly exam. A Vocabulary Quiz is given in each FACT class, and a 20-to-25-minute Lesson Quiz is given at the end of each lesson. There are also a few Kanji quizzes.
Attendance Policy
Because of the cumulative nature of language learning, it is essential that you attend all sessions and keep up with the course work on a daily basis. Please follow the online Weekly Schedule and come to class well-prepared.
You must regularly attend the class section which you are registered in, unless you have made official arrangements with the instructors at the beginning of the semester. If you have to attend a section other than your regular section on a particular day, you must notify the instructors at least one day in advance.
Only in case of an emergency you may be allowed to participate in class activities and quizzes in a different section without the aforementioned one-day-in-advance permission from the instructors. Oversleeping is NOT regarded as an emergency.
Other Information
You should try your best never to fall behind. Any student who feels he/she is behind is encouraged to see an instructor and discuss the situation with her before it is too late.
Students are expected to come to class in time. Coming in late not only results in missed performances and quizzes that may not be made up for, but also distracts other students.
The Humanities Concentration for Japanese is Japanese I-IV or II-IV.