Undergraduate Course: Japanese Language Lower Intermediate (ASST08060)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | A continuation of Japanese Language Pre-Intermediate. Teaching will be aimed at enabling students to speak, read and write Modern Japanese at a lower to mid-intermediate level of the language, equivalent to Japanese Language Proficiency Test level between N4 and N3, or Common European Framework of Reference for Languages level A2/B1.
The course provides essential grounding for the third-year Japanese Honours Degree level.
This course is intended primarily for students taking Japanese Honours and priority will be given to those students when spaces are limited.
This course is not available to native or near-native speakers of Japanese, or complete beginners. If in doubt, contact the Course Organiser.
A placement test and questionnaire on students' background in Japanese language studies will be conducted in the first class. |
| Course description |
Japanese Language Lower Intermediate will continue to cover all four language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) to expand students' socio-cultural knowledge for communication further, and will help them to consolidate the grammar, vocabulary and kanji foundation they studied at the beginners level. The course also helps students to progress to the intermediate level language learning by focusing on more reading skills for comprehending longer, authentic texts in the field of Japanese culture and society. The course will cover more academic types of activities (e.g. reading followed by discussions, group presentations, writing short essays etc, all in Japanese), as well as providing useful speaking practice as a preparation for the third year in Japan.
Japanese Language Lower Intermediate is taught through a series of classes focussed on different aspects of language learning. These classes are expected to be supplemented by individual study. The teaching activities will follow this pattern on a weekly basis:
- Main textbook class covers the main textbook, Tobira.
- Reading and Writing class covers translation (Japanese to English) of some texts in the main textbook as well as authentic texts from various sources.
- Tutorial covers the Workbooks of the textbook
- Kanji class covers kanji character practice from Tobira textbook and Kanji workbook.
- Oral Tutorial covers survival skills and useful vocabulary and phrases in case of emergency. Materials are provided by the instructor.
There will be tests and quizzes throughout the year, as well as oral activities and writing assignments. Formative feedback to support student learning will be given orally in class or in written form within 15 working days after submission. Students are also expected to do a set of group work exercises with a peer feedback element.
Students should be sure to read the additional class delivery information before enrolling on this course.
|
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2019/20, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 15 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 64,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
130 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
40 %,
Coursework
40 %,
Practical Exam
20 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Degree exams (60%): 2 hour written paper (40%) in December / May diet, Practical exams (20%) «br /»«br /»
Course work (40%): tests, project work, assignments and tasks. |
| Feedback |
Feedback is an essential element of all aspects of the course. Students will receive timely and detailed feedback on formal homework assignments and class tests. They will also receive informal feedback throughout each semester on performance in classes. They should make use of both forms of feedback to help them see where they are doing well, as well as areas which need improvement. Effective use of feedback will help improve on performance in final and degree examinations. |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S1 (December) | | 2:00 | |
|
| Academic year 2019/20, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Quota: 28 |
| Course Start |
Semester 2 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 66,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
128 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
40 %,
Coursework
40 %,
Practical Exam
20 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Degree exams (60%): 2 hour written paper (40%) in December / May diet, Practical exams (20%) «br /»«br /»
Course work (40%): tests, project work, assignments and tasks. |
| Feedback |
Feedback is an essential element of all aspects of the course. Students will receive timely and detailed feedback on formal homework assignments and class tests. They will also receive informal feedback throughout each semester on performance in classes. They should make use of both forms of feedback to help them see where they are doing well, as well as areas which need improvement. Effective use of feedback will help improve on performance in final and degree examinations. |
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 2:00 | |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- use the lower to mid-intermediate level of the language, equivalent to Japanese Language Proficiency Test level between N4 and N3, or Common European Framework of Reference for Languages level A2/B1.
- handle a variety of straightforward oral communicative tasks in daily social situations as well as more formal occasions.
- utilise approximately 500 kanji characters in total, and read authentic Japanese text on familiar topics with the aid of a dictionary.
- write short essays with some detailed description to express their opinions, and personal letters.
- work both independently and in a team as a successful language learner in preparation for their year abroad.
|
Reading List
Essential textbooks:
1. TOBIRA Gateway to Advanced Japanese Learning Through Content and Multimedia
Authors: Mayumi Oka, Michio Tsutsui, Junko Kondo, Shoko Emori, Yoshiro Hanai, Satoru Ishikawa
Publisher: Kuroshio Publishers, ISBN: 978-4-87424-447-0 C0081, 13/07/2009.
2. Power Up Your Kanji- 800 Basic Kanji as a Gateway to Advanced Japanese (TOBIRA Gateway to Advanced Japanese series)
Authors: Mayumi Ota, Satoru Ishikawa, Junko Kondo, Michio Tsutsui, Yoshiro Hanai
Publisher: Kuroshio Publishers, ISBN: 978-4-87424-487-6 C0081, 11/08/2010.
3. Tobira, Gateway To Advanced Japanese : Grammar Power Exercises for Mastery(TOBIRA Gateway to Advanced Japanese series)
Authors: Shoko Emori, Yoshiro Hanai, Satoru Ishikawa
Publisher: Kuroshio Shuppan. ISBN: 9784874245705, 2012.
Supplemental textbooks for independent study of Kanji:
1. Kanji Look And Learn Textbook:
Authors: Eri Banno, Yoko Ikeda, Chikako Shinagawa, Kaori Tajima, Kyoko Tokashiki
ISBN: 9784789013499, Publisher: Japan Times Published: May 2009.
2. Kanji Look And Learn Workbook
Authors: Eri Banno, Yoko Ikeda, Chikako Shinagawa, Kaori Tajima, Kyoko Tokashiki
ISBN: 9784789013505, Publisher: Japan Times Published: June 2009.
3. Intermediate Kanji Book VOL.1 (Rev. 3rd Ed.)
Authors: Chieko Kao et al.
Publisher: Bonjinsha
ISBN-10: 4893588109
ISBN-13: 978-4893588104
Dictionaries:
1. The Japan Foundation Basic Japanese-English Dictionary (Tokyo/Oxford: Bonjinsha & Oxford U.P., 1986)
2. Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English and English-Japanese Dictionaries
3. Haig, John W. ed., The New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary, based on the classical edition by Andrew N Nelson (Tokyo: Tuttle 1997)
4. Hadamitzy, Wolfgang and Mark Spahn eds., Japanese Character Dictionary with compound lookup via any kanji (Boston: Cheng and Tsui 1991) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Personal and intellectual autonomy: Self-awareness and reflection; independent learning and development; creative and inventive thinking, knowledge integration and application
Personal effectiveness: Planning, organising and time management; team working; assertiveness and confidence; flexibility.
Communication: Interpersonal skills, verbal and written communication, presentation. |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Fumiko Narumi-Munro
Tel: (0131 6)50 6971
Email: F.Narumi-Munro@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Vivien MacNish Porter
Tel: (0131 6)50 3528
Email: vivien.macnish-porter@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage