Instructor: Rieko Wagoner 42DSeabury Hall Ext. 2434

Drill Instructor: Yoshimi Fukuda

Time: MWF 10:00-10:50, TTh 9:55-10:45

Textbook:

Nakama by Makino, Hatasa & Hatasa, Houghton Miffin Company.

About the course:

This course aims at the student's acquisition of the four basic skills in Japanese - speaking, listening, writing, and reading. The emphasis is on thorough mastery of the basic structure of Japanese through aural-oral exercises in class and daily written assignments and dialogue memorization. By the end of the year, the student should be able to:

-read and write all the three writing systems, hiragana, katakana, and approximately 160 kanji characters. -converse in simple sentences regarding basic daily activities.

-carry out simple conversations for such occasions as self-introduction, describing concrete objects, shopping, visiting and inviting.

-follow the gist of conversation between native speakers in above mentioned situations.

There will be three quizzes for each lesson throughout the semester: vocabulary quiz, kanji quiz, and review quiz. In addition, you will be assigned with dialogue memorization for grading almost daily. There will be three exams, all containing written and oral parts. In order to maintain a steady rate of progress and keep the workload manageable, QUIZZES MUST BE TAKEN ON THE SCHEDULED DAY unless you received prior permission form the main instructor.

Grading will be based on every aspect of the work you do for this course:

exams will count for approximately 45% (10%, 15%, 20%) of your final grade; attendance and homework 20%; dialogue presentations 10%; and quizzes 25%. Requirements: The 90% of attendance and turned-in homework is REQUIRED to pass the course. No ifs, ands, or buts. Please review your reason for missing classes or homework before you contact me to see if it is truly a genuine and legitimate reason. If you miss any sleep the previous night and are extremely tired, you still have to come even if you may end up sleeping in class. There is no substitute for being in class. Be aware LEARNING TAKES PLACE IN CLASS. You are required to learn new vocabulary on your own prior to the class meeting. You will be given the necessary handouts in advance, and a computerized vocabulary flash card program is available in the Modern Language Computer Lab. in Seabury Hall. Dictation exercises for each of the lessons are also available in the computer lab. You are required to make appointments, for 30 minutes each week of the semester, with your teaching assistant for extra tutoring. Failing to do so results in reducing your total points which determine your final grade. As mentioned above, you must take all quizzes and exams at their scheduled time. Since the method of leaning is mainly through aural/oral drills, please know that you must speak up in class, either repeating after the instructor or responding to questions. Bring your loud voice and participate!

Finally, this is an intensive language course and will demand a tremendous of initiative and discipline on your part. Set the time aside for the study of Japanese daily and work promptly and steadily throughout the semester. Keep close contact with the instructor for questions and problems -- you need it!

Basic Class Schedule for each lesson in class and at home:

Day 1 vocab. drills new vocab. practice intro. new patterns (Computer Lab)

Day 2 VOCAB.QUIZ written exercise new characters character practice pattern drills 1 dialogue 1 memorization dialogue 1 practice

Day 3 pattern drills 2 written exercise dial. 1 presentation dial. 2 memorization dial. 2 practice

Day 4 KANJI QUIZ written exercise pattern drills 3 dial. 3 memorization dial. 2 presentation dication exercise dial. 3 practice

Day 5 pattern review review material dial. presentation Reading Comprehension - translation

Day 6 REVIEW QUIZ new vocab. preparation

Additional course information is available on the Language and Culture Studies' course descriptions and course schedule pages.