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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures : Asian Studies

Undergraduate Course: Japanese Language 2 (ASST08047)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Literatures, Languages and Cultures CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits40 ECTS Credits20
SummaryA continuation of Japanese Language 1. Teaching will be aimed at enabling students to speak, read and write Modern Japanese at an upper-elementary / lower-intermediate level, equivalent to Japanese Language Proficiency Test N4 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.

All students will be given a formative feedback exercise that will be helpful for the assessment for this course and students' general academic development.

A placement test and questionnaire on students' background in Japanese language studies will be conducted in the first class.
Course description Course Outline:

Japanese Language 2 will continue to cover all four language skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) and will help students expand their socio-cultural knowledge for communication. It will also provide further knowledge of kanji characters, grammar and vocabulary from the upper elementary level to the lower intermediate level of Japanese language, including honorific expressions, passive forms, causatives etc.
In Semester 2, we will focus on more readings to study Japanese culture and society through long texts in Japanese, such as Japanese geography, technology and society. The class will shift towards 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 practices as a preparation for the third year in Japan.


Learning Experience:

Japanese Language 2 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 Conversation and Grammar section of Genki textbook in Semester 1, and the main Tobira textbook.
- Reading and Writing class covers the Reading and Writing section of Genki textbook including kanji characters in Semester 1, and reading practice of (semi-) authentic texts from various sources in Semester 2.
- Tutorial covers the Workbooks of the textbooks, in both Semester 1 and 2.
- Oral Tutorial covers materials that are provided by an instructor.


There will be tests and quizzes throughout the year, as well as oral activities and writing assignments. Formative feedback to support your learning will be given orally in class or in written form within 15 working days. You are also expected to do a set of group work with peer feedback element.

Be sure to read the additional class delivery information before enrolling on this course.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Japanese 1 (ASST08002) OR Japanese Language 1 (ASST08046)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Students MUST NOT also be taking Intermediate Japanese Language (ASST08048)
Other requirements None
Additional Costs Textbooks (approximate costs: Genki 2 textbook: £45.50; Genki 2 workbook: £20.50, Tobira, Gate Way to Advanced Japanese: £42.99; Tobira Grammar Workbook: £28.50; Tobira Kanji Workbook: £28.50. Supplemental textbook for self-study for kanji characters: Kanji Look and Learn Textbook: £23.50; Kanji Look and Learn workbook: £15.50)
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. reach at the Lower-Intermediate level of the language, equivalent to Japanese Language Proficiency Test N4 or Common European Framework of Reference for Languages level A2/B1.
  2. handle a variety of straightforward oral communicative tasks in daily social situations.
  3. understand sentence-length utterances in both formal and informal contexts.
  4. master approximately 500 kanji characters in total, and to read authentic Japanese text with familiar topics with the aid of dictionary.
  5. write a short text in Japanese such as personal letters/essays with short descriptions, and to control more complicated syntax towards the end of the course.
Reading List
Essential textbooks:

From the beginning of Semester 1:

1. GENKI: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese II [Second Edition]
[ With a CD-ROM for Win & Mac ]
Authors: Eri Banno, Yoko Ikeda, Yutaka Ohno, Chikako Shinagawa, Kyoko Tokashiki
Publisher: The Japan Times
ISBN: 978-4-7890-1443-4, Published: 30/11/2011.

2. GENKI: An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese Workbook II [Second Edition] [ With a CD-ROM for Win & Mac ]
Authors: Eri Banno, Yoko Ikeda, Yutaka Ohno, Chikako Shinagawa, Kyoko Tokashiki
Publisher: The Japan Times
ISBN 978-4-7890-1444-1 , Published: 30/09/2011.


From the end of Semester 1:


3. 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.


4. 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.

5. Tobira, Gateway To Advanced Japanese : Grammar Power Exercises for Mastery(TOBIRA Gateway to Advanced Japanese series)
Authors: Shoko Emori, Yoshiro Hanai, Satoru Ishikawa
Publisher: Kurosio Shuppan. ISBN: 9784874245705, 2012.



Supplemental textbooks for Kanji self-studies:

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. Basic Kanji Book I & II
Authors: Chieko Kano et al.
Publisher: Bonjinsha
ISBN 4-89358-091-4, 1989.


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 Not entered
Additional Class Delivery Information Students must attend a set of the same group classes. See the web timetable.

Group allocation will follow the placement test in the first class meeting.

Students with timetable restrictions on which group they can join might not be able to take the course, depending on the result of the placement test. If in any doubt, please contact the course administrator to confirm availability before enrolling on the course.
KeywordsAS Jap Lang 2
Contacts
Course organiserMs Fumiko Narumi-Munro
Tel: (0131 6)50 6971
Email: F.Narumi-Munro@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr David Horn
Tel: (0131 6)50 4227
Email: david.horn@ed.ac.uk
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