JAPN 101 Elementary Japanese

Fall, 2023

CLASS TIMES:           MWF   9:00am – 9:50am (Main class) at Pardee 112

INSTRUCTOR:           Naoko Ikegami           ikegamin@lafayette.edu
OFFICE:                      Pardee 406       x5960
OFFICE HOURS:        M&W 11:00am – 11:50am and/or by appointment
TA:                               

TEXTBOOKS:             An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese Genki
                                  An Integrated Course in ElementaryJapanese GenkiI Workbook  

                                    The Japan Times (http://genki.japantimes.co.jp/self/self.en.html)

                                     Audio materials (available at Foreign Lang & Lit Resource Center)
                                     http://www.ncsu.edu/project/japaneseonline/JpOnline.htm
                                     http://www.csulb.edu/web/labs/langlabs/listen/Genki/

Course Objectives:

To learn the Japanese writing system (Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji) and basic grammar patterns, including present and past tense in adjectives and verbs in all four skills (listening, speaking, writing and reading).

Student Learning Outcomes:            

The students will master Lessons 1-6 in An Integrated Course in Elementary Japanese Genki I in this semester. At the end of the semester the students will:

  • Recognize basic grammatical patterns.
  • Demonstrate an active knowledge of useful expressions, Hiragana, Katakana and about 90 Kanji. Kanji.
  • Be able to conduct basic everyday conversations, including real-life contexts of greetings, counting, describing things, explaining daily activities, requesting, making plans, and shopping.

Course Description:

Point Distribution

Five Written tests                                 40%     Homework                               10%
Final exam                                           10%     Two Oral tests                          10%
Quizzes                                               10%     Dictations                                  5%
Class performance                               5%     Project                                       5%
Attendance                                            5%

  • All information (course schedule, course syllabus and lesson schedule, and activity information etc.) is on Moodle (http://moodle.lafayette.edu/), so you should visit every time you prepare for class.  Ignorance of a scheduled quiz or test is not acceptable.
  • For the project, each student will produce a 5-minute video presentation of their autobiography, rendered in Japanese.
  • There will be a 50-minute test after each lesson and there will also be two oral tests during the semester (midterm and final).
  • The three-hour final exam (including listening comprehension) is scheduled during the exam period in December.
  • Lesson homework should be submitted by the date of its lesson testNo late homework will be accepted.
  • Arriving late, unprepared, or missing class meetings (including events scheduled outside class) will adversely affect your final grade; exceptions are only made if you receive an official excuse from your dean. You must notify me in advance if you will miss class, and you must come to the following class fully prepared to participate.

Moodle privacy statement:

Moodle is a virtual learning environment that has become very popular among educators around the world as a tool for creating online dynamic web sites for students.  You and your classmates are currently enrolled to use the site for JAPN 101.  Moodle contains student information that is protected by the Family Educational Right to Privacy Act (FERPA).  Disclosure to unauthorized parties violates federal privacy laws.  Courses using Moodle will make student information visible to other students in this class.  Please remember that this information is protected by these federal privacy laws and must not be shared with anyone outside the class. Questions can be referred to the Registrar’s Office.

Disability statement:

In compliance with Lafayette College policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss appropriate academic accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability.  Requests for academic accommodations need to be made during the first two weeks of the semester, except for unusual circumstances, so arrangements can be made.  Students must register with the Office of the Dean of the College for disability verification and for determination of reasonable academic accommodations.

Federal credit hour regulations:

The student work in this course is in full compliance with the federal definition of a four credit hour course. Please see the Lafayette College Compliance webpage for the full policy and practice statement. (http://registrar.lafayette.edu/files/2012/07/Federal-Credit-Hour-Policy-Web-Statement.doc)

Academic integrity:

According to the Student Code of Conduct (Student Handbook): “To maintain the scholarly standards of the College and, equally important, the personal ethical standards of our students, it is essential that written assignments be a student’s own work, just as is expected in examinations and class participation. A student who commits academic dishonesty is subject to a range of penalties, including suspension or expulsion. Finally, the underlying principle is one of intellectual honesty. If a person is to have self-respect and the respect of others, all work must be his/her own.”

A brief outline of course content for each lesson –

 Lesson 1          Grammar / Vocabulary: Basic statements, question sentences

Culture note: Japanese naming system
Family name v. “clan name,” gender conventions for naming children, birth-order conventions.

Lesson 2          Grammar / Vocabulary: pronouns

Culture note: Japanese currency
10,000 v. 1,000 as counting unit, changing “faces” of currency

Lesson 3          Grammar / Vocabulary: Verb conjugation, particles, word order

Culture note: Japanese houses
The Japanese home, and the Japanese stem-family system; age and gender hierarchy in Japanese family system

Lesson 4        Grammar / Vocabulary: Describing where things are, past tense

Culture note: Japanese national holidays
National and Nationalist holidays; Holidays as Mnemonic sites

Lesson 5         Grammar / Vocabulary: Adjectives, counting

Culture note: Japanese festivals
Rites of passage; local variations and regionalism; folk Shintō v. state Shintō

Lesson 6        Grammar / Vocabulary: Te-form, expressing reasons

Culture note: Japanese educational system
Educational meritocracy as Confucian legacy; the place of Chinese characters in the Japanese Character

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