SyllabusSyllabusI. Communication: To develop contextually appropriate communication skills in both spoken and written Japanese.
1. Communication Skills:
a. using greetings
b. introducing oneself
c. introducing other people
d. asking questions about other people2. Speaking/Listening:
a. routine expressions in the classroom (e.g., greetings, date, weather, day of the week, time)
b. introduction
c. information exchange about oneself and others (name, age, school, home town, class schedule, major, hobbies, etc.)
d. social invitation
e. telephone greetings3. Reading/Writing:
a. Hiragana symbols, Hiragana writing conventions
b. Hiragana words recognition and production
c. Katakana symbols, Katakana writing conventions
d. Translating Katakana words into their equivalents in English and occasional other languages and English and other languages into Katakana transcription
e. Kanji characters
f. reading/writing simple descriptive texts
g. reading/writing personal letters
II. Grammar: To understand the basic structure of the Japanese language.
a. basic Japanese word order
b. case-marking particles
c. verb/adjective conjugation rules
d. question forms (Yes-No and Wh-).
e. negative forms
III. Culture: To develop a clear understanding of Japanese culture.
a. everyday customs in Japan
b. basic cultural way of thinking underlying linguistic structures and expressions
c. basic geography
d. basic historical facts
e. pop culture
I. Required materials
Course packet ($30.25) : available at the bookstore in University Center.
II. Optional Materials
English-Japanese, Japanese-English Dictionary
1. Random House Japanese-English English-Japanese Dictionary by Seigo Nakao $12.95, Random House Reference &; ISBN: 0679780017
Strongly recommended
2. Kodansha's Furigana Japanese-English Dictionary by Kodansha International, Paul C. Hulbert (Editor) $28.00, Kodansha; ISBN: 477001983,
3 . Kodansha's Furigana English-Japanese Dictionary by Kodansha International, Paul C. Hulbert (Editor) $28.00, Kodansha; ISBN: 477002055, orGrammar dictionary
A Dictionary of Basic Japanese Grammar (by Seiichi Makino and Michio Tsutsui, 1989, The Japan Times, ISBN: 4-7890-0454-6).III. Materials available at the MLRC or Modern Language Resource Center, PH 225C
1. Video Tape: Main text dialogues (shown in class).
2. Japanese-English, English-Japanese, Kanji dictionaries available at the MLRC.
IV. Materials available on-line: www.andrew.cmu.edu/course/82-171/
1. Course syllabus
2. weekly schedule & homework (Updated information will be announced in class.)
3. listening exercises
4. main text dialogues, video and audio
5. other useful links (e.g., Hiragana and Katakana recognition exercises)
a. main text dialogues: explanation and practice
b. grammar explanation
c. conversation practice
2. Grammar Exercises:
Most of the grammar exercises take a conversation format since it is grammatical points make sense more clearly when you practice them in a meaningful context. We also hope that you develop functional skills to use your new knowledge in actual communication. Knowing grammar is not enough to be an effective communicator. Your active participation in all in-class learning activities is expected.
3. Cultural Activities:
Japanese culture is introduced in every opportunity through various activities and materials. Also, there is a section in the textbook called “Culture Notes” in which you will be assigned to do web-based research on selected topics.
4. Learning about Language Learning (LaLL)
To maximize your language learning strategies, there will be a series of video and discussion sessions. Required assignments include self-evaluation and two
brief written reports.
5. Homework Assignments:
In the classroom, you will focus on oral communication skills. That means that you need to work on literacy skills outside the classroom. The development of all four language skills (i.e., speaking, listening, writing, and reading) is attainable only if a large quantity of significant student study, carefully coordinated with in-class activities, occurs outside the classroom. Additionally, listening exercises will be provided to solidify foundations for developing a high-level of competence and fluency of comprehension skills. To ensure the effectiveness of such out-of-class learning activities, you will be assigned homework assignments on a daily basis. Each assignment is due the following class, unless otherwise indicated. Prompt and detailed assignment critiques will be provided.
An individual mid-semester conference will be held to inform you of your progress.
1. Class participation: 15%
Points will be given to each class period according to your participation (1, 0.5, or 0 point).
You are expected to actively participate in class activities. Just coming to class is NOT sufficient. If you are late for class, you will NOT receive full credit.
2. Quizzes & presentations: 20%
Listening quiz (10 points)
Hiragana quizzes (30 + 20 = 50 points)
Katakana quizzes (30 + 20 = 50 points)
Vocabulary quizzes (10 x 8 lesson units = 80 points)
Conjugation quizzes (10 x 3 = 30 points)
Dialogue presentations (10 x 8 lesson units = 80 points)3. Lesson tests: 20%
Lesson 1 - 3 (100 x 3 lessons = 300 points)
4. Homework: 25%
Points will be given to each homework page according to your effort (1, 0.5, or 0 point) Homework includes: Writing exercises (Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji) interview report, grammar exercises, listening exercises, vocabulary exercises, reading comprehension, and guided composition.
5. Final exams: 20%
Conversation test (50 points))
Final project (writing assignment) (50 points)
Final exam (200 points)
Grade Distribution
A: 100%-90%
B: 89%-80%
C: 79%-70%
D: 69%-60%
R: 59-0%
I. Quizzes & tests
1. Quizzes will be given at the beginning of the class so that students can concentrate on class content for the rest of the time. Neither make-up quizzes nor tests will be arranged unless you have a valid reason (i.e., if the reason is considered "excusable"--see "Attendance Policy" below) and you have notified your instructor beforehand. If you are ill, you need to contact either your instructor or the department office before the class starts. The same policy holds for those who come to class late. This policy is also applicable to the final exam, so you should wait to purchase a travel ticket until you know the exact schedule for the final exam, which will be announced in class soon after the date is confirmed. Please talk to your instructor of any special circumstances.
2. There are NO open-book quizzes or tests and thus use of any aids during quizzes or tests is NOT permitted. It is also important NOT to share any information of the tests and quizzes with those who have not taken them (e.g., friends in other sections). You are expected to meet the highest standards of academic and personal integrity. More information of promoting academic integrity is available at the following site: http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/acad_integ/acad_int.html
II. Attendance policy
Class attendance is extremely important. Failure to come to class causes numerous difficulties in the study of the Japanese language and culture. Here is our policy for attendance.
- 3 unexcused absences will lower your final grade by 4%.
- 4 unexcused absences will lower your final grade by 6 %
- 5 unexcused absences will lower your final grade by 8 %
- 6 unexcused absences will lower your final grade by 10 %
- 7 or more unexcused absences will seriously affect your final grade with the, possibility of failure.Excused absences include serious illness, with health center notification; personal emergency with official notification; or extenuating academic circumstances, for example, required travel to a conference with official notification. Unexcused absences varies, but some common ones include oversleeping, busy work with other courses, and problems with an alarm clock and transportation or parking. If any attendance problems arise, consult with your instructor as soon as possible.
III. Homework
1. You should work on each assignment carefully. However, you are welcome to be creative in your answers. As long as each assignment is completed, you will be given full credit for your work. When full credit is not given for incomplete or sloppy work, your instructor will notify you by writing down “REDO” on your assignment sheet. Work on that assignment and turn it in again immediately.
2. You may work with your classmates but do not collaborate in preparing your written answers. ACADEMIC HONESTY is an extremely important issue. If a student submitted work completed by copying down someone else’s work, the student who copied and the student who allowed their assignments to be copied would receive no credit for the assignments. Furthermore, depending on the seriousness of the nature of the incident, those involved will be reported to the Division of Student Affairs, will receive a lower grade, and/or fail the entire course.
It is perfectly appropriate for you to seek help from native speakers of Japanese and/or the students of Japanese who have studied Japanese longer than you especially in writing essays. For example, you might ask if a certain phrase or sentence is correct. However, receiving "too much help" would affect academic integrity. The line between legitimate help and cheating is this: Could you reproduce this "help" on a test or on your own? If the answer is yes?i.e., you learned something from your question and won’t make the same mistake again, that is okay. If the answer is no?(e.g., you can not identify the parts of speech in the phrase) then you should not turn in the assignment as your own work. We have been teaching Japanese for a number of years and can recognize essays that are written by native, near-native, or advanced speakers, or are copied from other sources. If you are unsure about your particular situation, please ask your instructor for clarification BEFORE you submit your work as your own work.
3. Most of the assignments are DUE THE FOLLOWING DAY, at the BEGINNING OF THE CLASS, unless otherwise indicated. It is extremely important that you meet the deadline for each assignment. If you submit your work late, your teacher may choose not to give you credit. Also, it is your responsibility to follow up on assignments turned in late, if you are concerned about credit. The excuses, ‘I turned it in late. You must have lost it.’ or ‘I gave it to the other teacher to give to you.’ are not appropriate. While we make every effort to keep track of all homework submitted, it is not our responsibility to keep track of homework not submitted directly to us in class on the date it is due.