Instructor: Rieko Wagoner 42D Seabury Hall Ext. 2434
Drill Instructor: Yoshimi Fukuda
Time: MWF 11:00-11:50, TTh 11:20-12:10
Course Material:
Textbook:
Nakama 1- 2 by Makino, Hatasa & Hatasa, Houghton Miffin Company.
References:
Kanji and Kana: A Handbook and Dictionary of the Japanese Writing System by Hadamitsky & Spahn, Tuttle.
A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar by Makino & Tsutsui, the Japan Times Ltd.
All are available at the College Bookstore.
Video Yan san to Nihon no hitobito
About the course:
This course is a continuation of JAPAN 101-201. After reviewing the basic grammar introduced in elementary Japanese, we will continue working on all four aspects of the language -- speaking, listening, writing, and reading -- through aural-oral exercises in class and daily written assignments and dialogue memorization. We plan to cover lessons 17 through 23 of IMJ in the fall and 24 through 30 in the spring. Naturally, grammatical materials from these lessons are more complex than those from the earlier lessons and require your close examination and rigorous exercises to be successfully digested. Our goal for this semester is to reach the Intermediate-low level defined by the ACTFL (American council of Teachers of Foreign Languages) proficiency guidelines. By the end of the year, you should be able to:
-become fully efficient in reading and writing all the three writing systems of hiragana, katakana, and approximately 300 kanji characters.
-converse in sentences regarding daily activities, description of observed situations and activities, family introduction, and interactions with others.
-connect sentences effectively with conjunctions thus expressing chronological, descriptive, reasoning, supporting, contrasting, rhetorical, and/or subjunctive relations.
-follow the gist of conversation between native speakers in selected video materials.
As in the first year, 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 also be three exams, 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% (15%, 15%, 15%) of your final grade; attendance and homework 10%; dialogue presentations 10%; and quizzes 35%.
Requirements:
The 90% of attendance and assigned homework which is turned in in time re REQUIRED to pass the course. 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., Seabury 4. Dictation exercises for each of the lessons are also available in the computer lab. 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 amount 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!
Additional course information is available on the Langauge and Culture Studies' course descriptions and course schedule pages.