Japanese II (121-2-21)
Instructors
Noriko Taira Yasohama
8474671986
1880 Campus Drive, Kresge Hall, Office 4-552
Office Hours: Varies quarter to quarter, please check with instructor.
Jeung-Hee Park
Meeting Info
Kresge Centennial Hall 2-410: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri 1:00PM - 1:50PM
Overview of class
AT 24-25 Japanese II (JAPANESE 121-1, 2 and 3), sequel to Japanese I (JAPANESE 111), is a yearlong course that covers the second half of college level elementary Japanese and prepares students for intermediate Japanese (JAPANESE 211). In this course, students will continue developing the four skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) and learn various aspects of Japanese culture and society through readings, videos, written assignments, and in-class activities.
The emphasis will be on developing the skills necessary to describe not only their own experiences and daily lives, but also their community, general trend, and what is happening in society, while increasing vocabulary and sentence structures that they can use more precisely. Students will also practice summarizing a story that they heard, read, or watched. Careful and thorough review and preparation for each class session are expected. With consistent oral and written feedback from the instructor, students will enhance their language and cultural awareness, leading to increased understanding, appreciation, and utilization of the target language, to become autonomous learners.
Registration Requirements
Students must pass the preceding course with C- or above, or must be placed into the course by the departmental placement test.
Learning Objectives
The year-end proficiency goal of Japanese II is for the students to reach the Intermediate-Mid level defined by the American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency guidelines, and A2 - B1.1 defined in the Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR), as closely as possible. Upon the satisfactory completion of the course, students will be able to handle various types of more complex daily conversational situations and passages with some fluency.
Teaching Method
This course is conducted mostly in Japanese. Class hours are spent mainly on development of oral interpersonal communication skills, and written assignments are given for reading, listening, and writing proficiency development.
Evaluation Method
Class participation and performance, assignments, quizzes, oral and written examinations, and essays
Class Materials (Required)
Oka, M. et al. (2022). TOBIRA II: Beginning Japanese. Tokyo: Kuroshio Publishers. ISBN 978-4-87424-900-0.
Oka, M. et al. (2023). TOBIRA II: Beginning Japanese Workbook 1: Kanji | Reading | Writing. Tokyo: Kuroshio Publishers. ISBN 978-4-87424-960-4
If released in time:
Oka, M. et al. (expected in 2024). TOBIRA II: Beginning Japanese Workbook 2
-Vocabulary, Grammar, Listening. Tokyo: Kuroshio Publishers.
Class Materials (Suggested)
English Grammar for Students of Japanese. Ann Arbor: The Olivia and Hill Press. ISBN 978-0934034166; Makino, S. & Tsutsui, M. (1989). Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar. Tokyo: The Japan Times. ISBN 978-4789004541.
Class Attributes
Prerequisites apply, see description
Specific requirements in the language
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Prerequisite: Students must have passed Japanese 121-1 with at least a C- or be placed in according to placement test results.
Prerequisite: Students must have passed Japanese 121-1 with at least a C- or be placed in according to placement test results.